It’s a Consumers’ world; and Businesses live in it!

Gone are the days when businesses wield their power over customers.  Competition among like brands is high, brand distinction has created dissimilarities between companies and new age marketing has literally pitted businesses against each other as they compete for the consumers’ dollar.

Like it or not, this is the new world; the consumer’s world!   There is a new and improved customer with a more discerning taste with specific and defined preferences.  This customer is socially conscious and drawn to a business’s philanthropy and goodwill.  The customer is more tech savvy, engages in research prior to purchase and is influenced by newsmakers and thought leaders.  This is the new age customer.

So how do businesses, in particular small and start-up businesses, survive in this new environment? The answer is simple; businesses must become customer-centric i.e. create products for the customers instead of trying to find customers for the products they create.

Businesses that are customer-centric are bound to find success in their endeavours.

Graphic showing the shift in power from businesses to the customer (Image source: forrester.com)

The following are six tips for small and start-up businesses to create a more customer focused operation:

1.       Define your customer service strategy – Craft your customer service strategy by engaging your two main stakeholders in this process; your employees and your customers.  Find out what each segment expects and identify ways that the business can exceed those expectations.

2.       Stay connected to your customers – Keep an open line of communication between your business and your customers.  Set-up a customer contact system that includes a dedicated telephone line as well as 24/7 online support to ensure that your customers are able to contact you when product issues arise.  Address customer issues and don’t allow them to fall into a black hole.  You would have defeated the purpose of defining your great customer service strategy in step one.  Also, use tools such as email marketing, text messaging and social media platforms for formal communications with your customer groups.

3.       Construct your marketing campaign from the customers’ perspective – One of the most powerful words in marketing is ‘you’.   ‘You’ includes to the customer in the message. Angling your marketing campaign towards providing solutions for your customers’ needs and wants is a great way to appeal to not just existing but potential customers as well.

4.       Ask them what they think - Get your customer’s feedback and more importantly, use it!  The business will receive valuable insight and your customers will feel like part of your business.  Customers like to know that their opinion is valued.

5.       Institute a good customer relationship management programme – A good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programme not only collects vital customer data, it also provides information that the business can use to market to the customers. Additionally, the CRM programme can help to tier customers so that an effective and fair loyalty programme can be instituted.

6.       Link all customer-centric activities to your bottom line – A customer-centric company will inevitably become a financially successful company. Customers put their money where they mouth is, they do not mind paying a premium because they get great products and excellent customer support, their opinion is valued and they feel like part of the business.