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Every relationship is build on trust and transparency and where its lacks there are misunderstandings , disputes and arguments to avoid such things we need to communicate effictevely and have a transparent reporting in case of colleagues, a good rapport and helping and supportive nature for customers. This way you can make long relationships which will last for years.
When running a high-growth business you could well find the amount of attention you can devote to each customer becomes increasingly stretched as your company develops and your client base expands.
But even when rapid growth places additional strain on the product or services you deliver, it is essential to remain aware of the importance of managing customer relationships.
Customers expect a high level of service. Regardless of the quality of the product or service your provide, they will not stay loyal to you on a long-term basis unless you treat them properly before, during and after a sale.
You need to consider how you communicate with your customers, how effectively you respond to their demands and how you gather and act on their feedback.
1Communicate with customers
1.1Keep customers involved and satisfied at all times.
Regular interaction with your customers will help build trust and loyalty. If your customers believe that you are communicating with them openly, they will feel their relationship with you is one of mutual trust.
Standards of service are constantly improving, so keeping customers satisfied is a continuous process.
Ensure your whole business is focused on meeting customers' needs. Your product or service may be excellent, but the customer experience can be undermined by late delivery, sloppy invoicing or an off-hand employee.
1.2Comply with your legal obligations to keep customers informed.
Under distance-selling rules you are legally obliged to provide customers with certain information about their order including a description of the goods or service, price, cancellation rights and delivery information. You must also make it clear who you are by providing your business name and location, address of your registered office and contact details.
Distance-selling rules also require you to provide customers with an order confirmation.
Under the Consumer Credit Act you must provide consumers with a signed, written agreement detailing the amount and period of credit, cancellation and cooling-off rights, default and early repayment charges and the rate of interest. You must provide at least one statement per year to consumers on a fixed-credit agreement and notices of any amounts in arrears if a consumer misses or falls behind with payments.
1.3Use every channel available to talk to your customers.
As well as telephoning your customers to keep in touch, you might use your website - or even an extranet - to provide them with useful information and gather feedback.
You might email your customers regularly with useful information - but make sure you have permission to contact them in this way (see section7).
Respond to customer contact quickly and efficiently. This will make them feel their feedback is appreciated and acted upon.
1.4Consider appointing key account mangers for important clients.
Remember that it is easier and more cost effective to retain existing customers than it is to sell to new ones.
A key account manager could provide a more personal service to your most valued customers.
2Measure customer service levels
2.1Identify key performance indicators (KPIs).
These can be anything from the number of complaints you get and how many faulty goods are returned to order-fulfilment times and how regularly you contact each customer.
2.2Monitor KPIs regularly and make changes if necessary.
Make sure you use the information you gather to improve your customer service. For example, if your level of on-time deliveries falls, you need to identify why and take steps to address the problem.
2.3Collect information about your customers.
Gathering regular feedback and monitoring customer satisfaction is essential to maintain high standards of customer care (see section3).
You need to be constantly in touch with customers' needs and market developments to keep a step ahead of competitors.
2.4Benchmark your service against that of your competitors.
Ask your customers who they consider your competitors to be - this can provide some surprising insights into your market position.
Find out how your performance compares with your competitors. What do you do better - and worse? You can then take action to exploit your strengths and minimise your weaknesses.
It can also help to benchmark your performance against similar suppliers (but not competitors) that your customers use. Your customers may use their experiences with such suppliers to judge your performance.
2.5Communicate relevant information across your business.
Put internal processes such as appropriate contact-management systems in place to communicate relevant information on customer contact.
If a customer complains, make sure that a relevant account manager knows. If the complaint is, for example, about product quality, ensure the person responsible for manufacture is informed and that action is taken to avoid a recurrence.
2.6Remember your customers' customers.
If you sell to other businesses, consider how your service levels will affect their customers. What can you do to make their lives easier?
3Gather continuous feedback
3.1Use a range of means to find out more about customers - and tell them about what you can offer.
If your customer produces a newsletter or other marketing communication, ask to be sent regular copies so that you are aware of changes to their business, potential threats and new opportunities.
Use technology to develop the relationship you have with your customers (see section7). For example, if you have a website, provide a feedback form for customers and post answers to frequently asked questions.
Use hard-copy or email newsletters to keep them in touch with your business developments, new product launches, achievements and awards.
3.2Make regular face-to-face contact with your customers if this is cost-effective.
By visiting your customers you can better appreciate how their business works, and they will feel that they are a priority customer because you have made the effort to come out and visit them.
Getting to know your customers on a more personal footing will help to develop a loyal and trusting relationship.
3.3Put processes in place to gather feedback at every opportunity.
Do not wait until customers approach you with problems - they may never tell you about them. Be pro-active and set up processes to collect feedback.
Give anyone dealing with customers a feedback form. This means that if there is a problem it can be rectified quickly.
Attend events and exhibitions that you think customers will attend.
Consider involving customers in the development of new products or services.
Always act on any problems that you identify. You may want to use 'mystery shoppers' to check standards of service at every point where customers interact with your business.
Thank customers for their feedback and let them know if you implement any changes as a result.
3.4Use surveys to assess satisfaction levels.
Keep questions brief and specific, and consider using an incentive as an inducement for customers to respond.
Avoid overloading customers with such surveys.
Benchmark your surveys to evaluate if your business is making improvements or remaining static. If the same complaints and problems keep occurring, it shows you are not listening to your customers.
Such surveys should be an addition to the ongoing process of gathering feedback from customers. Whenever the customer is in contact with anyone representing your business, they should be asked if everything is meeting their expectations.
4Assess your resource levels
4.1Look at resource levels throughout the whole supply chain.
Assess whether buying in bulk, for example, changing delivery days or switching to just-in-time delivery could bring mutual benefits and help you deliver an improved service to customers.
Pay close attention to your relationships with suppliers. When your business is stretched, you will need their support.
4.2Ask your suppliers whether they have sufficient capacity to cope with your growing needs.
As your business develops, you may outgrow a supplier. You may have to source materials from new suppliers or use several at the same time.
If you outsource delivery, talk to several transport businesses to find out what they can offer your business.
4.3Run an audit of your internal resources.
Make sure you have enough phone lines and people to answer calls.
If you manufacture a product, assess whether you have the capacity for increased work. You may need more staff or additional equipment.
Assess how you could work more efficiently. If, for example, you take orders via your website, consider integrating this with stock control and accounting systems.
4.4Consider your cashflow and investment resources.
Avoid overtrading. Do not take on orders that you cannot fulfil.
Be clear on how much extra funding you will need to support your growth and how quickly that growth will bring a return on the investment.
4.5Think about how you can prioritise customers.
Often a small proportion of your customer base - perhaps as little as20 per cent - can be responsible for as much as80 per cent of sales and profits. You need to establish who your most profitable customers are and ensure they receive the highest levels of service.
These are the clients for whom you may want to nominate dedicated account managers to deal with any problems they may have.
You may want to provide extra benefits for these customers - by waiving minimum order levels or inviting them to special events, for example.
5Assess and monitor your delivery capabilities
5.1Aim to deliver on time, first time, every time.
Assess your delivery reliability in fulfilling customers' needs.
Make sure your delivery system ensures that the customer receives exactly what they are expecting, when they are expecting it. Late deliveries, incorrect deliveries or damaged goods only cost you money and seriously damage customer relationships.
5.2Collect information on deliveries.
Talk to your customers and find out if they are satisfied with your delivery standards.
Delivering slightly earlier or later, or even on a different day, might make all the difference to them.
Tailoring your service to suit your customer will give them the impression you are respecting them as a key account.
5.3Act on the information you gather.
If a customer complains about delivery, treat it as an opportunity to improve the service.
Act on any negative comments and keep your customer informed about the changes you are implementing to avoid a repeat.
A customer who believes their complaint has been handled efficiently and that they have helped to rectify a problem will recognise that you are listening to them and may become more loyal as a result.
6Ensure staff are suitably trained
6.1Staff who have regular contact with customers should receive training on customer care.
These staff are at the front line of your business and need to portray an efficient, professional image at all times.
If you do not have anyone in-house who can train staff, consider hiring a professional trainer to plan and carry out sessions for you.
6.2Ensure all staff have been carefully trained in how to do their jobs.
Training for all staff is vital. Ensure they know why they are doing their particular job and how it will affect the customer if they do not do it properly.
For example, packing a product incorrectly could result in the product being damaged during delivery, causing inconvenience to the customer and costing your business money dealing with the return and providing a replacement.
6.3Keep people informed about your business strategy.
Involving everyone in the business helps them to understand your aims and objectives, also keeping them up to date with customer needs and changing demands.
Encourage staff to support one another and to work together to meet customer needs. Avoid a 'blame culture' where people blame other employees to explain problems to customers.
7Make the most of technology
7.1Upgrading the technology you use could improve your customer relationships.
Network all your PCs so that any member of staff can retrieve customer information and deal with a query.
7.2Develop an effective database.
A good database or customer-relationship-management system (CRM) can help you to record, plan and manage contact with your customers. It allows you to store and use information you learn from customers, whether this is in person, on the phone, by email or over the Internet.
CRM allows you to analyse your customer base and determine the characteristics of your most profitable customers. You can then plan marketing campaigns to target these customers and potential clients with similar characteristics - and track their success.
Remember that your database is only as good as the information on it - it is essential to keep your data up to date.
7.3Examine other ways in which you can use technology to boost your customer service.
You could set up a secure extranet to allow customers to access key information such as pricing and stock levels, make repeat orders, give feedback or access manuals or other documents.
7.4Find out if integrating your IT systems could help you bring added benefits to customers.
The integration of customer service with other functions such as ordering, warehousing and delivery can help your business to remain customer-focused.
Consider if using technology could provide tighter stock control, more efficient ordering and delivery for your customers while reducing your costs.
It may be possible to link your technology to that of both your customers and suppliers. Bringing the supply chain together in this way can produce more efficient order-processing and financial administration.
7.5Ensure you comply with relevant legislation.
If you hold information about your customers in either electronic or hard-copy form, you must comply with the Data Protection Act.
ln some cases, you will need to notify the Information Commissioner of the information you are collecting, and for which purpose.
If you send marketing emails to potential or existing customers, you must comply with a range of requirements under e-commerce regulations.
I try to ensure the win-win concept in customer relationships and that proved to be successful so far. In relationships with colleagues, I see that building trust is the key element in the success of the relationship.
There are 10 ways of developing profitable and satisfying relationship with customers and colleagues as mentioned bellow:
There are5 Key elements of relationships success as described bellow:
A successful relationship is one where both parties are nourished in mind, body, and spirit, in a positive way that improves each individuals quality of existence. It is being able to say, "My existence is better for having you in it."
Whether it be your significant other, best customer, or a colleague, every relationship has a different dynamic, but requires the same five elements in order to be successful. These elements are:
when the customer explains his problem to you..just listen to them..give them total attention rather than waiting for your turn to defend.make them believe that you care..even if you can't help.
With customers it is a win-win relation, with colleagues friendly conducts.
Make it mutually beneficial for both of you.
Satisfied customers could remain loyal and loyal customers buy repeatedly and as a result seller has a chance to make profits.
Customers after all buy more than a product. They buy the whole relationship with the seller. Customers prefer brands, but they reserve loyalty for people according to sales guru Tom Reilly.
Selling is relationship management. It’s imperative to build stronger relationships as a foundation for loyalty. It is to be noted that Loyalty is a two way street. It’s the reciprocity of trust. The give and take of friendship.
Relationship building concerns the dynamics of your one on one relationship with a customer.
I wish to quote Tom Reilly as follows
Fundamentals of building lasting relationships
Trust is fundamental: when two people like each other , trust each other, and want to do business with each other , they will work out the details. And price is generally a detail. Sales people who deliver on their promises and follow through on customer requests build trust with their customers . customer s know they can depend on these salespeople.
The sale is always about the customer: It’s their problem. It’s their money. It’s a solution with which they must live. The sale should be about the customer. What is the focus of your relationship with your customer? Is it more about you or is it about the customer? A winning formula for any relationship is to expect40 % and give60 %. You will thus please yourself and rarely disappoint others.
Empathy is your internal monitor: You can be as aggressive as you want in pursuing an opportunity if you balance it with an equally strong measure of empathy. Empathy in this context is perceiving your solution as value received not just as value added. It requires that you first put the spotlight on your customer. The behavioral side of empathy is asking questions and listening to customers. You must be empathetic to understand fully the customer needs.
Reality is in the eyes of the beholder: The only reality that matters in selling is in the customer’s mind. You may believe that your company delivers a great service! But your service is great only when your customer says that it’s great. Customer satisfaction is a function of how your solution measures up to customers expectations. If you meet your customers expectations you satisfy your customers. If you exceed their expectations you delight them. It’s important that you believe in your service it’s imperative that your customers believe in your service.
Success is a two way street: your success depends on your ability to help others succeed. Helping customers achieve whatever they want to achieve is the first step in your achieving what you want to achieve. You need to put customer first.
As a salesperson: you could also employ the following methods to build lasting relationships
Listen more than you talk. Listening is a fundamental selling skill
Demonstrate genuine interest in your customer: When you give others the floor, make it real. Be truly interested in their welfare. Find out what’s going on in their lives. Let them know that you care about them beyond the order sitting on their desk. Be sincere.
Make them a hero: Customers want you to make them a hero so that they can in turn make you a hero. While providing a solution to customer’s company , make him a hero in the eyes of his own peers in his company.
Involve customers in your business : ask for their input. Make each of your customer feel like an important member of the family. When they know that you value their opinions it strengthens the ties that bind you.
Immerse yourself in their business :
Design customer loyalty programmes: Loyalty programs encourage customers to return. Special training seminars, rebates etc are some of the examples.
Deliver Proactive service
Help grow their business: one of the more positive ways to have an impact on your customers world is to look for ways to help them grow their business. This demonstrates your genuine concern for their continued success. Give them leads, Introduce them to other businesses so they could grow their relationship. When you help them you are solidifying your future with them.
All the above is part of the essentials of a value added salesperson. When one is a value added sales person one is able to grow satisfying and hence profitable relationships. Colleagues are internal customers and the same principles apply.
Simply by adopting the golden rule of selling: Unselfishly treating your customers - treat your customers the way you are like to be treated.
Dear amer jayyousi (CPPM) ,
amer jayyousi (CPPM) international sales/operations at US auto exports
Follow
The key of success is coverded up within the following lines
1) your product is easily availble in the market
2) the price of product should be less then others
3) your product should be in attracted packing with quality standared
4) and always use papular media and sourcess for the promotion of yoursproduct
Develop trust. It is the foundation of any solid relationship. If trust is established it means all the good elements (and social graces) such as truth, openess, integrity and honesty are there. And to develop trust you have to have the courage to speak your truth. This creates the connection and inspires loyalty and respect.
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