How do we really find out what our customer wants?
With the ever-increasing speed of today’s technology, the customer is becoming better informed, more selective, increasingly value orientated as opposed to being price conscious, and more sophisticated in their product research.
In a previous post, I explored what customer service and building customer relationships was all about and what it should mean to the entrepreneur. But more importantly; how the business owner should be strategizing and defining a workable customer service plan or model.
Related article: Customer Relationships Part 1: Understanding what good customer service means.
It was also determined that customer service is an ever ongoing and dynamic process and not just a once-off campaign, undertaken as and when sales drop off.
In Part 2 I shared various quotes from customer service savvy authors and entrepreneurs and a light-hearted video highlighting some of the behaviours we should avoid exhibiting.
Related article: Customer Relationships Part 2: Some great quotes on customer service.
This post is about the first step in trying to determine how we as small business owners, go about finding out what it is our customer really wants and/or needs.
Customer expectations
Each customer has their own expectations of what they wish, or hope, to fulfil when buying a product or service. It is up to the company to try and asses these expectations as they interact with their customers, whether directly or indirectly.
The customer perceives that their expectations will be met on three levels:
The initial expectation is one of “the first impression”. Is the web site eye catching but at the same time easily navigated and clear as to what is on offer. Meeting this expectation can be critical for a new start-up.
Are the premises tidy and clean, are employees presentable, are the products displayed is a manner that ensures convenient shopping; all of which will hopefully leave a “good” first impression.
The second expectation is that the customer will be satisfied with the product or service that he or she purchased – the tangible expectation. I want to buy a pen and a pen is what I received in line with my quality and price parameters.
The third is the experience the customer enjoys, or not, whilst on the company’s premises or site and during interaction with employees. Was I attended to promptly and was the employee knowledgeable and courteous? Did the company or store stock what I was looking for and were product ranges correctly grouped and displayed?
All these expectations will have been met if your customer leaves the company, or your site, with a single thought in mind: I’ll buy from them again! Their shopping experience has been a successful and pleasant one.
However, what the business owner needs to understand is that these expectations can, and probably will change over time.
We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better. – Jeff Bezos
In an article titled “Will Your Company Be a Leader of the Customer-Service Revolution?” the author refers to a recent study of the future of B-to-B customer experience industry, Customers 2020, undertaken by customer intelligence firm Walker Information, and quotes the following from the study:
……”which revealed a startling prediction: By 2020, customer service – not price or product – will be the key factor consumers will use when making brand-loyalty decisions.”
How do we find out what these enigmatic customers want?
There are many ways to go about ascertaining what it is your customer wants, some more obvious than others. Three are discussed in this article.
One comment I would throw in the mix is that to home and small business owners cash flow is a primary daily concern and often, small enterprises do not have the funds to employ consultants or organisations to carry out customer surveys using the latest gizmo or acronyms. So we have to make do with what we have.
At first glance it is probably wise to start with what you should already have available.
Back office research
I have to assume that all smart companies are doing this: crunching the numbers.
Whether you use sophisticated software or simple spreadsheets, you have to be keeping track of what is going on in terms of sales volumes, trends, rejections, returns and other events that impact on your monthly sales.
The constant assessment of sales trends, market influences, new product releases, customer responses to surveys and competitors strategies are all necessary and informative exercises, although sometimes I think these can be more suggestive than predictive.
But it needs to be done – ignoring what the numbers are telling you can be fatal but just make sure your interpretations of the numbers are correct.
Will the numbers tell you what the customer expects when dealing with your company – probably not. If sales are going through the roof then it is likely you and your employees are doing something right or alternatively, you have such a wow product that people will buy it irrespective of how bad the customer service levels are. Sort of a Pokémon GO type situation.
All well and good, until someone releases a similar product and a terrific customer approach.
Your sales are good but could they be better? Are there those nuances that you are missing because you are not interacting with your customer AFTER the sale is complete? Is your service personable?
The statistics alone may not answer these questions.
Asking your customer what he or she wants
My first observation with this approach is that the statement should not be taken literally. Asking a customer, clutching your latest widget to their chest at your checkout counter, what he or she wants, could reward you with a sarcastic response, at best.
Various studies have revealed that, generally, customers want:
Reliability – they get what the company claims it will provide;
Responsiveness – to both their needs and their complaints or queries
Assurance – providers staff must be knowledgeable and courteous
Empathy – listen attentively to their concerns and resolve them timeously
Tangibles – the things the customers sees; the product, the layout, the employees, etc.
For me, the very first person to ask about what customers want is yourself.
You are both a provider and a customer almost every day of the week, be it in your business capacity or as a general consumer. Over the course of the average month, most consumers will have encountered a reasonably large cross section of providers, be it services or products. As a starting point in terms of what customers want, review those companies that impressed you, and why? It is possible that what they are doing, or conversely not doing, could provide valuable pointers for your own Customer policy.
I do believe it is a wee bit easier for the online providers as they are able to accost their email subscribers repeatedly for feedback on their site and service levels.
For the brick and mortar owners it gets a bit more complicated and finding innovative and creative ways to coerce your customers into giving honest feedback is what is needed. Be selective, approaching an irritated and annoyed customer who has been in the checkout queue for the last 45 minutes to ask them if they have enjoyed their shopping experience could prove near fatal.
Tell them what they want
As with the recommendation in the previous section, I would not take this approach literally or you may need urgent surgery to remove your latest widget from you know where.
Steve Jobs in an interview with Business Week in the 1990’s is quoted as saying: “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
I personally am not an avid believer in any form of dictatorial approach with customers. If you are able to “tell” your customer what it is they need as a consequence of knowledgeable and friendly questioning or surveying then yes, you are meeting your customers’ expectations.
So-called negative marketing or aggressive sales tactics can sometimes be perceived by a potential buyer as being dictated to – “buy this product or your life will end” does not in my opinion, do anything for the customer.
But then Henry Ford did say:
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
How do you ascertain your customer’s needs?
Whether you choose to rely on the statistics or whether you ask or tell your customer what they want, it really is about continuous interaction with each and every customer.
Get to know the regulars well and constantly assess their reactions to their individual shopping experiences. You may not get it right every time, but ensuring that your company has a synergistic policy when it comes to customer care, will go a long way to bringing them back.
I will be sharing, in more detail, thoughts on how to ask your customer what they want, in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!
What tactics have you found rewarding in your business?
Image courtesy of Flickr by Jacob Botter
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