The success of any business is its customers.
They are the cogs in the machine that give you a revenue, that supply ith a profit margin, that pay your employees wages and your company’s overheads. It doesn’t matter whether you sell wooden toys or a consultancy service; the customer is the pivotal part of everything you do.
That is why you need to ensure you are doing all you can to win their business, which is why you need to ask yourself the following question:
What are customers searching for in a vendor?
Well, we have been asking ourselves this question on your behalf recently. We have spoken to a broad range of customers, consumers, businesses, researchers and studied detailed reports to come up with a comprehensive list of what customers want.
So, without further ado, we bring to you, a list of tasks where your business needs to be unparalleled in order to raise that bottom line.
Always Bring Something New To The Table
The reason why any customer, or any client, or any consumer, heads to a vendor in the first place is to get something they couldn’t get create themselves. Make no mistake about that. If they had the ability to diagnose a problem on their own or create the product you sell, then they would do it themselves, no questions asked.
The reason why they haven’t gone it alone is because they can’t. They are stuck and they need your help, and getting this right could help your struggling sales. It could be that they need help with their SEO or it could be they need help to build a treehouse in their garden.
It doesn’t matter. They are turning to you, which is why you need to bring something new to the table; something they can’t do and your competitors isn’t doing.
Know The Importance Of Durability
Too many businesses confuse the word value with the word cheap. They are not the same thing, not by any means. Cheap is something that consumers want to steer clear of, while great value is something they desperately want.
That’s where being durable comes in. If you are selling painted car wheel rims, then make sure you use ovens for powder coating so that the paint job lasts longer. If you are offering a digital learning solution, then offer a maintenance warranty that extends past that being offered by others in the market.
All of these things make you better value because what they are buying comes with a longer shelf life and an extra layer of protection. Buyers are hesitant beings these days, so you need to encourage them by using a durable buffer.
Be The Confidence That They Want To See
No one is going to buy anything from you unless you can convince them that you are going to deliver the promised results, whatever those results are. You need to persuade them that you are capable of doing what you say you can. This confidence stems from one place and one place only; you.
Why? Simple. It is about as impossible as it gets to persuade a customer to believe in your product or service unless you truly believe in it, to begin with. This has to be genuine too. You may have an unbelievable ability to sell, sell, sell, but customers have an unbelievable ability to smell out BS. So, believe in your product or service and make that belief as contagious as possible.
We All Want Our Voice To Be Heard
When looking for ways you can improve your revenue, the best clue is usually found in your customer. This is because all customers like to talk about themselves. We all do. It is a completely natural thing to do. So, all you have to do is listen. Listen to what they are saying about themselves and their needs and then tailor your offering to that.
Whatever you do, don’t sit there waiting for your chance to sell them something. Customers will be so turned off by this and, trust us, they know when the pitch finally arrives. Instead, just listen and take a genuine interest in what they are saying. Suppress your urges to turn the conversation toward you and forget your sales targets. Listen to the customer and remember that it is all about them. Always.
Make Things A Little More Personal
This is the way the business world is going, so stay ahead of the peloton by communicating with your customers on a personal level. That is what it is all about; making a connection between you and them because that is where trust forms and trust is an almighty tool in business.
It could be that you use their name when they walk into your shop, knowing that their name is the most beautiful word they can hear in any language. It could be that you offer them the usual, or start delivering what they want before they even ask for it.
Perhaps you can wrap your product in an electric blue paper because you remember them saying it was their favorite color. It doesn’t matter how big or small this personal connection is, it will have huge impacts on the repeat business you are after.
Be The Best Value You Can Possibly Be
Price. Yeah, it was always going to make an appearance at some stage and that is because it is still an important factor to consider. You need to be competitive. That is what customers want to see. Competitiveness.
So make sure you know what the market is doing, how your foes are pricing up their products and services, and how you compare to them in terms of value. So, either you compete on price or you find a way to convince your customers that buying from you is the best choice they could possibly make, which is no easy task.
Like we alluded to earlier on in this blog; value doesn’t mean cheapest. It just means making sure your customers understand they are getting the most amount of bang for their buck. It is why the average consumer now reads three reviews before buying a product online. They want to get the best value.
Customers are the most important asset of a business.
Offering original products or services is a way to reach success.
Thanks for the post.
Wise point of view.
Glad you shared it, Lee.