Understanding The Future...

"Knowledge is the only meaningful resource today."
~ Peter Drucker

If we are to understand the future, we need to be well-informed
about matters related to what we wish to foresee, from past to
present. For today's marketers, executives, and entrepreneurs,
it is important to make a careful and near-accurate estimate of
the current market size of their respective industries, their
various market segments, the competing products, their current
sales, and market potential. For example, the future market
growth for the over-the-counter and proprietary drug products,
may be related to the growing tendencies of health-conscious
people toward self-diagnosis and self-medication practices. It is
highly imperative then that in today's highly computerized
marketing environment, we are able to measure and forecast
the ranging impact of these practices into quantifiable terms
with respect to product demands and market growth potential
for certain products so that timely and responsive marketing
decisions can be implemented in full force with ease and
confidence.

See, successful small, medium, and large-scale businesses
periodically prepare product forecasts in units and absolute
amounts. The forecast analysis is broken down into semestral,
quarterly, and monthly targets based on several factors in the
internal and external environments. These forecasts or targets
are further divided into specific market segments and smaller
segments by region, area, or territory or by type of outlets or
customer classifications. Market outlets practically do the
same in forecast demand for certain products that are fast
moving, slow, or moderate, non-moving or non-saleable items.
Thus, they can effectively implement marketing approaches to
significantly meet forecast demand.

Got it? So, sales forecasting is an educated estimate of sales
a company expects to make in a given period of time based on
socio-political-economic indicators; it can also be an educated
guess of the projected consumers' demand for the product.
Simply stated, sales forecasting is the art of anticipating what
buyers are likely to do under certain conditions for the
purposes of adjusting production and marketing plans
accordingly.

"When the whale comes to the surface and spouts,
that's when he gets harpooned." - John Livingston Weinberg

How "futuristically" accurate are you? Can you boast of a track
record that you would not even really need to be in networking
sites as opportunities just flock to you? We all need help.

It's time to fix your aim and join hands. The future is a moving
target yet understanding the future is in how you position
yourself, and in this case, how well-coordinated your company is.

Take note...
"Big companies are small companies that succeeded."
- Robert Townsend

Analyzing Opportunities...

"We're willing to place some bets because the world can not
avoid needing sustainability in the long run."
~ Robert B. Shapiro

When we think of analyzing a situation or an entity or what,
what would be the prerequisite? Information. And what for?
To determine risks and opportunities. To grow your business
and to enhance competitiveness.

In this case, marketing opportunities in any industry or market
segment are many. We can make use of them to the fullest for
purposes of market growth, leadership, and survival. We only
need to promptly identify new market opportunities for our
products, markets, and respective businesses so we can best
gather timely and accurate information about customers,
competitors, distributors and dealers, suppliers and other forces
in the business jungle. All these are important to improve our
position or standing in the minds of our target end-users and
in the industry.

"The successful economies of the future will excel at generating
and disseminating knowledge, and commercially exploiting it."
~ Tony Blair

Hence, we need to develop more responsive marketing techniques
in the light of keen competition. Certainly, being proactive is also
being responsive as we do not completely expect a "perfect"
future and this responsiveness would prove crucial during
adverse situations that might hinder us from achieving desired
results.

Consequently, we would need such information to test or validate
the effectiveness of our marketing tools. More than ever, we
need timely information to favorably develop a high level of
confidence in many of our major initiatives, both in the short
term and future goals, as we plunge into a series of calculated
risks toward aggressively implementing a well-balanced
marketing program.

As Leaders, we are the head marketers of our organizations.
We, therefore, need to intelligently and creatively propel our
businesses to greater heights of success. And to ably meet the
challenge, we must carefully design and install a marketing
research and marketing information system to solidly back up
marketing decisions critically vital and urgent as called for by
the need of the times.

Information is power.

Remember, the company that is able to crystallize information
into meaningful outputs, in a normal or crisis atmosphere,
undoubtedly are several steps ahead of competition...
more powerful and on firm ground.

The business environment never sleeps. There is always a
threat. And it is in this regard that we should go out of our
way to transform all these seemingly endless obstacles into
opportunities, or at least minimize threats and optimize
available resources; to continually search for new ideas or
ways of doing things right at the first opportunity if possible...
anytime and all the time.

Take note...
"Economic activity should not only be efficient in its use of
resources but should also be socially just and environmentally
and ecologically sustainable." - Warren Bennis

Reality Check... Part III

For most, the reality they are in now is because of the plans
and actions that they did yesterday. Why only most? Well,
for some, it may have been for some "uncontrollable" events
that had greatly affected their today. Still, this is not to excuse
them but after all, it's reality that we want and listening plays
a role. Nevertheless, for the few who understands that things
evolve not just because of himself but because everyone
weaved as well, thereby, coming up with a giant colorful fabric.

"In the future, the optimal form of industrial organization will
be neither small companies nor large ones but network
structures that share the advantages of both."
~ Francis Fukuyama

See, the future that we are looking at 5-10 years from now is
already here. It has already happened! Have you responded
to the challenges?

Shape the company's business brands, services, and messages
toward achieving desired objectives, goals, strategies and
measures.

Advertise truthfully. Do not present messages and information
in a way that is exaggerated, untruthful, and misleading in your
brand performance.

"Most organizations are not designed, they grow."
~ Charles Handy

Come out with marketing strategies that are well-researched.
A marketing strategy should not be based on sales power.
It should be a strategy that responds to the buyers' clamor for
different styles, features, and other attributes. Work on
improving the use of branding, product positioning and
differentiating, advertising and sales promotions.

Realize that growth comes naturally just like the human body
yet not all that comes with it is positive, therefore, growth does
not always lead a business to build on success. There are
instances where it would just turn a good company into a
run-of-the-mill kind of organization.

However, reality is that if enthusiasm holds up, ideas just come
pouring in and the success you wished for -- becomes a reality.

Take note...
"A company's ability to innovate is rapidly becoming the primary
source of competitive success." - Christopher A. Bartlett

Reality Check... Part II

Are you ready? Here's more of reality.

Reality is understanding that our competitors can be friends
but not to forget that we are still competing; therefore,
professionalism should always be upheld. Reality is recognizing
that while customers bring in the dollars, employees help you
multiply it. Reality is realizing that times have changed because
business changed it, hence, you have a big say in influencing
the future.

"It is a world made for elephants, with experts prophesying that
80% of online sales will eventually go to only 30 companies."
~ Charles Handy

Isn't it ironic that both forecasting and fantasizing starts with an
"F", or is it just coincidence? Well, we can not just leave the future
to such if you really want a fortune.

Do not just rely on self-improvement. Adapt the best practices
and emulate world-class performers.

Attract business-to-business purchasing on the internet. Allow
customers to access pictures of products, catalogs, or shop among
online vendors for the best margins and terms. While shopping
online is a breeze, take necessary precautions when making your
purchase. Shop with online merchants that you know and trust.

Focus on building customer share rather than market share.
Notice, McDonald's practices cross-selling and up-selling.

Do not base decisions on intuition alone, gut-feel or pedestrian
approach but combine them with models and facts.

Examine marketing scorecards to know what is happening to
market share, customer loss rate, customer satisfaction, and
product quality against those of competition. A change in
marketing indicators predicts movements in financial results.

"When nobody wants something, that creates an opportunity."
~ Carl Icahn

Recognize that every employee must be customer-focused.
Each of them has to think, do, and act as a customer would.
Refrain from relying on the old impression that marketing is
the sole responsibility of sales and marketing personnel.

Train your people to be entrepreneurs... and gain new customers
with the objective of having them in your camp for the long run.

You are the Head! Go for it!

Take note...
"Pull off a coup and you're a national hero, fail and you're an
evil criminal; in business it's the same difference between
bankruptcy and making a fortune." - Jeffrey Archer

Reality Check...

To survive difficult times, and more so, to thrive -- it is a must
that you face the realities of the times.

"The number one impediment to cultural change in large
organizations is a lack of urgency fostered by too much
historical success." - John P. Kotter

Notice? The marketplace is not what it used to be. To do more
of the same routine activities that made you successful in the
past will make you obsolete. To do exactly what competition is
doing will not give you the needed competitive edge. To use your
past performance as your benchmark will make you a history in
the marketing world. Companies must overcome the paradigm
of doing things based on past behaviors and past successes.
Past actions are based on their best knowledge in dealing with
the circumstances present at that time. In thinking about the
future, companies must make the changes today to create the
business of the future.

Challenging times are always around us. Crisis is like a double
bladed weapon. It becomes a danger or an opportunity. Every
crisis situation presents an equal opportunity. Economic
slowdowns come and go, hence, preparedness is a virtue.

"The important things of tomorrow are probably going to be
things that are overlooked today." - Andrew S. Grove

Realize that there's not just the 4 Ps of the marketing mix but
there's also the 4 Ms of the new economy: men (people, human
asset), money (resource allocations, budgets), machines
(hardware), and materials (software).

The course your company takes tomorrow depends on the
choices you made today. Thus, understand that developing a
sustainable competitive advantage is not enough, you have to
keep on inventing new advantages.

There are no short cuts to success so do not try making short
cuts to your marketing plan. Figure out how to develop it in order
to achieve desired organizational goals. Be ahead of schedule.
Aim to be better and faster than rivals. Grab competitors' market
share and move target customers to your side, then you will know
that the smoke is just about to set a lovely fire.

Now get people moving in your camp.

Take note...
"For an effective reality check: Hire someone different from you."

Surviving Difficult Times... Part II

Many times, difficult times is not really due to outside or
unforeseen factors, but because of not really doing things on
time. Planning is useless without proper execution.

"Remember that time is money." - Benjamin Franklin

To survive and emerge a winner, your company's products
and services must grow faster and be better than others.

Focus on profitable products, customers, and channels. This
does not mean to take smaller customers for granted; however,
in difficult times, you energy should be more focused. It is not
wise to scatter investments across many initiatives which are
not aligned with the overall business objective. Create new
partner relationships, where senior managers and executives
are responsible for consumer market not just marketing.

To survive the tough times, streamline design processes by
way of making systems more flexible and efficient.

"The customer is the most important part of the production
line." - W. Edwards Deming

Build up your credibility with customers. Credibility plays a
key role in winning customers to your side, retaining them, and
driving them toward loyalty. The better your product or
service, the more customers you have. And the more credible
your product or service, the more satisfied your customers are,
and the better chance you have at gaining their trust and
loyalty.

Still when you can not control the weather, for obvious reasons,
do not let difficult times weigh you down but consider these
tried and tested formulas...

• Address your inefficiences, redundancies, and excessive costs.
• Identify and partner with a potential and profitable customer that has special reasons to be receptive.
• Focus on creating process improvements, with an understanding of customers' real needs and business context.
• Ask your most valued customers to define the new benefits they want. Connect with and satisfy customers more efficiently.
• Take control of your inventory.
• Invest more on technology.

Strengthen your resolve. You can make it if you really want to.

Take note...
"Everything is always impossible before it works. That is
what entrepreneurs are all about -- doing what people have
told them is impossible." - Hunt Greene

Surviving Difficult Times...

If you don't know it yet -- your business is to succeed.

This was why we even went through growth initiatives. Yet
no matter how sharp one may be, in difficult times, having a
sustainable competitive advantage is not enough.

"Innovation is a necessary condition for business success --
but not a sufficient condition for business success."
~ Randall L. Tobias

What does one still need to do then?

Keep on inventing new advantages. Be proactive rather than
reactive. Find new ways to better serve your customers. Do
everything possible to exceed customers' expectations.

Realize that current traditional markets will not guarantee
sales, growth, and profit. They create new markets and new
channels. So, intensify your marketing efforts in terms of reach,
presence, and availability. Strongly consider the market space
-- and not just the market place.

See, satisfying and responding to customer needs are no longer
adequate. Anticipate what's really important to the customer.
Create business solutions and partnering such as unique
customer access, technical know-how, relationship networks,
and a loyal user community.

The ultimate goal is understanding customers' economic issues
and challenges. These allow you to anticipate rather than
respond to customer needs. From being just another supplier,
you become a key economic partner for your customer.

Create growth-based initiatives on traditional tools for
products, factories and personnel. Then create growth-based
initiatives on hidden assets by building long-term and win-win
relationships, competitive market position, and information.

"Business is often about killing your favorite children to allow
others to succeed." - John Harvey-Jones

In trying times specially, sacrifice is needed; and recognizing
the what's, how's and when's as early as possible would prove
crucial.

Do what it takes to outperform, outlast, and outwit your
competition. It is certainly better to be superior and ahead in
your chosen segments, industry, and product category...
not just to survive difficult times but always.

Take note...
"A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."
~ Grace Murray Hopper

Growth Initiatives... Part III

"Commerce is the art of exploiting the need or desire someone
has for something." - Edmond de Goncourt

Consider McDonald's... see, aren't people tired of eating fries,
burgers, et cera? You answer. Yet how do they retain and
continue to attract customers? They "invent" new products
and "innovate" on existing ones then let packaging and
advertising do its magic. They protect their image despite
branches sprouting like mushrooms while continuously
emphasizing and training their people on customer service.
More so... they partner. In short, their think tanks
"relentlessly" -- think.

Now, growth has always been a target for entrepreneurial
souls but sustaining it has many times been perplexing.

Here are the rest of the steps toward growth...

• Manage your organization, bottoms-up, down, and across functional areas through teamwork, empowerment, and business partnering, instead of doing the usual management from the top then down the line.
• Create a single-minded approach. Multiple message approach doesn't usually work in effectively reaching fast the intended target audience.
• Think out of the box. Think differently. Think from a new perspective. Be novel and creative in marketing practices.
• Manage customer lifeline value through customer intimacy and relationship marketing by focusing on making a profit on each transaction.
• Integrate marketing communication tools into one message and one voice. It is better than planning each communication tool separately.
• Understand and meet customers' real needs and wants, not just selling the product.
• Market an experience, not just an assortment of goods or services. Notice bookstores, food outlets, and clothing stores include coffee bars, which would now and then feature lectures and performances.
• More than just exceed customers' expectations by satisfying, delighting, and surprising customers beyond the 4Ps of the marketing mix by satisfying customers' needs and wants.

"Once all the surviving contenders in a market can offer value,
the battle shifts to speed and innovation. To distinguish
themselves, companies must offer something unique."
~ Noel M. Tichy

Remember -- speed and innovation.

Oh, we all know that. Sure. Still if you simply rest on your
laurels, you would just be an "overnight" success. No need for
speeeeed and innooooovation then, just wait until your product
matures and declines. That's it. The story's finished.

Is that what you want? Of course not, you have even been
following this series, you realllly want a continuing saga.

However...

Realize that we could only make it if we not only deliver on our
promise, but deliver it with speed and precision; not only
produce a useful and attractive product, but incessantly
enhance on its features. When the dusts of battle has settled,
even a 1% "uniqueness" could spell victory, it's a fortress we
could build on.

Don't just smile there... make things happen!

Take note...
"Markets are not created by God, nature, or by economic
forces, but by businessmen." - Peter Drucker

Growth Initiatives... Part II

If you have been following my blogs, you want to grow; and
wanting growth is being ambitious... and being ambitious is
good. And why not, why are you in business anyway?
Or why do you work with a company you believe you could
well contribute and help you move forward?

Unlike evolution, growth is not a natural phenomenon --
it's initiated.

"The strategic challenge for the transnational corporation
is the simultaneous achievement of efficiency, flexible
responsiveness, and worldwide learning and innovation."
- Christopher A. Bartlett

In our previous article, we delved into a handful of steps that
would help bring in the bacon -- not just regularly but
incrementally.

Here now is the continuation of those measures...

• Form networking and alliances with other firms through "coopetition" and "collaboration".
• Instead of making the usual product, make customized products through "house branding", "private labels", or "exclusivity contracts".
• Benchmarking is determining who is the very best, who sets the standards, and what those standards are. In the marketing industry, benchmarking is very useful. If you do not know what the standards are, you can not compare yourself against them. You have to know where your competitors stand. When you have decided to benchmark, you get to know how to improve your products or services. You also get to determine what you have to do to achieve your marketing goals.
• Consider a paperless marketing environment. A paperless office makes paper redundant for routine tasks such as record-keeping and market reporting. Computerization can do the conversion of paper documents, photos, marketing plans, and other paper-based systems. The paperless work system has its advantages: productivity gains, costs savings, space saving, and easy sharing of information and it is environment friendly.
• The internet has paved the way for e-business. This refers to the application of internet technology, to streamline business processes. It is also advisable to market your products or services over the internet. Build an online presence where your company is showcased and detailed information provided. Use the internet to conduct payment, handle transaction details, and support automated customer inquiries.

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great
enterprises." - Demosthenes

See, actually, most everything we want to do in this planet is
achievable by just using the common sense... including
business. But what makes that difference is fire -- to climb
and continuously climb mountains. This is why one's level of
courage and enthusiasm is what sets apart achievers from
regular performers; unfortunately, not many companies are
manned by "forward thinking" personalities and that explains
their fluctuation and eventual fold up.

To be that Leader, learn to spot potentials, in every form, and
cash in on them. After all, your business... is to grow.

Take note...
"There is no resting place for an enterprise in a competitive
economy." - Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.

Growth Initiatives...

You want to grow your business alright. You want to be that
Leader who made an organization a success. Of course. Then
you understand that paying attention to growth initiatives is
essential in building an institution.

"A company must be viewed not only as a portfolio of
products and services, but a portfolio of competencies as
well." - Gary Hamel

Consider these...

• Have an uncompromising commitment to providing your customers with only quality products and services.
• Focus on measured implementation and consistent quality.
• Clearly define roles, accountabilities, and timelines.
• Be creative in finding ways to better serve your partners and their customers.
• Build an effective strategic customer program that leans toward increasing revenues and uncovering emerging needs.
• Devise a systematic program for forward planning, deploying, and reviewing innovations.
• A platform for strategic and operational planning with partners includes the following: setting up joint objectives, performance improvement targets, and an action plan and timetable.
• Explore more ways to provide WOW services for target customers.
• In marketing, there is value in being first. New, improved, or newly designed products or services give you a better chance to be a market leader. But keep in mind that it is as important to be a better provider of products and services.
• Focus on the value chain not on the product. Consider today's intelligent value-seekers. Customers want more value for their money. They want MORE for LESS.
• Go into niche marketing not too much on mass marketing.
• Dominate a larger customer mind share not market share.

If you are in business just because you do not want to be an
employee; if you are in business only to earn a living -- then
you are really just an "ordinary employee" in disguise, so why
not just sell peanuts on the side walk? It's a challenge only
achievers could grasp... whether as an entrepreneur or a top
caliber employee.

An achiever is a dreamer... a dreamer who is not afraid to
dive; a diver who not afraid to swim; a swimmer who
understands risks, thinks of possibilities, and realizes that
courage is what really matters to achieve greatness.

Take note...
"Companies pay too much attention to the cost of doing
something. They should worry more about the cost of not
doing it." - Philip Kotler

Keeping Customers For Life... Part III

"All business, from potato chips to washing machines to jet
engines, is about selling to people." - Tom Peters

Those words is a fact that good marketers understand and thus,
develop strategies to reinforce preference for their brand,
product and service. Keeping customers in your stable now
boils down to analysis, planning and execution.

Yes, most have heard of loyalty programs but then, not all
realizes that its effectiveness really depend on the support of
management, the brains of its leaders and the hands of its
employees. More than just your product, you need a concerted
effort to constantly deliver a good impression to your
customers.

Understand that you do not have to wait for your customers
to tell you to serve them well and better than others to stay
long with you. You got to anticipate their needs and provide
your customers with easy steps for them to do repeat business
with you. These should be simple and cost-effective ways of
acknowledging valuable customers who seek and appreciate
emotional benefits from enhanced self-esteem, distinction, and
customer status.

"Once all the surviving contenders in a market can offer value,
the battle shifts to speed and innovation. To distinguish
themselves, companies must offer something unique."
~ Noel M. Tichy

Yet remember, more revenues from customers do not always
mean profit is better. Knowing who your most profitable
customers are and increasing their number will profitably
sustain your business. Customer satisfaction is for all your
customers. Customer loyalty is for your most profitable and
valuable customers. Therefore, be strategic in allocating your
resources in a way that will best serve and grow your highly
profitable and volume-generating customers.

Here are some tips...

Evaluate priorities and allocate resources accordingly based on
the following:

• How customers contribute to total profitability
• Significance of customers to the total business or in terms of their business size relative to the overall business
• Potential for future growth or any customer expansion plans

Evaluate overall cost of doing business with a customer to sustain
profitable relationships. Breakdown the cost of doing business
through the following:

• Discounts or payment terms extended to them
• Customer promotions

Other ad hoc or temporary support extended such as:

• Volume discounts
• Additional manpower
• Operational subsidies
• Administrative and selling costs

In the end, it is your reputation for doing business that will
carry you through... and keep your customers for life.

Take note...
"We don't know how to sell products based on performance.
Everything we sell, we sell on image." - Roberto Goizueta

Keeping Customers For Life... Part II

"When you are skinning your customers, you should leave
some skin on to grow so that you can skin them again."
- Nikita Khrushchev

This was quoted by the Observer (London) when Khrushchev
addressed British businessmen. Well, it may sound a bit harsh
specially for those who are racist but in a positive sense, it's
actually true. Look, we want to keep customers for life; but,
how could they keep coming back to us if we drain them?
Hence, we got to take care of our customers... sincerely. Let
them feel valued while continuously improving on our products.

Redesign, reshape and re-engineer product offerings, services,
and messages to individual customers. Design market offerings,
services, and prices that have more emphasis on customer
retention to rebuild a longer customer lifetime value.

Reduce the rate of customer defection by hiring only
knowledgeable and well-trained employees, if not those with
high learning ability and enthusiasm. Deliver total customer
satisfaction through better and faster services than
competition.

Enhance customer bonding by way of (a) frequency and
rewards program to customers who buy more often and in
substantial amounts and (b) individualizing and personalizing
customer relationships, turning customers into clients.

Build profitable customers through "share of wallet", cross
selling and up-selling... then you could capture a substantial
share of your customer's expense budget.

"If you love your customer to death, you can't go wrong."
- Graham Day

Provide special treatment to your most valued customers.
Treat them like they are the only customers alive on earth,
send them personalized birthday or wedding anniversary
greetings, small gift tokens, or invitations to special events,
concerts or shows.

Yet realize that looking after your customers is more than
satisfying them or filling their hearts -- it's helping them grow
their business. That is what "skinning and leaving some skin"
is all about!

Take a bank for example. Safekeeping is not the only reason
why people deposit their money but interests and other
financial services. See, they help each other. A bank grows
from its client's money and at the same time, so does the client
from the bank's expertise.

More so, at a different setting, once you have successfully built
that win-win relationship, it would be more easier and natural
to seek your customer's help and support in the design of new
products or in improving total customer service.

Lastly, again, customer satisfaction is for all your customers
but customer loyalty is for your most profitable and valuable
customers; so learn to identify and build on them.

Take note...
"Markets are not created by God, nature, or by economic
forces, but by businessmen." - Peter Drucker

Keeping Customers For Life...

In our previous articles, we talked about customer loyalty; and
for this one, we would continue to dig deeper into the world of
customers.

As we all know, trust is key in building and maintaining customer
loyalty; yet, would there now be room for complacency once trust
has been "firmly" established?

Wait. Established? Is there such a word? See, complacency is
never even a thought for those who wish enduring success. If
you allow such, you would certainly lose ground.

"There's no resting place for an enterprise in a competitive
economy." - Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.

Great business leaders never rest on their laurels. They think
continuously on finding ways to delight customers. They work
harder to build customer lifetime value.

Oh, what is this customer lifetime value again? It is a measure
of the value of a customer to your business. It is the potential
contribution of the customer to your business over a period of
time. It is the "answer" to the question of how much a customer
would spend for your product or service in the course of a life
time.

"He says, 'when I see a frown on a customer's face, I see
$50,000 about to walk out the door.' His good customers buy
about $100 worth of groceries a week. Over ten years, that
adds up roughly $50,000. We all agree that repeat trade is
the key to business success." - Tom Peters

Hence, when confronted with a difficult customer and you need
to be motivated, think about all the money that he could spend
with you in the course of a lifetime.

Remember, some customers can be difficult. They maybe
unhappy at something specific. Others maybe unsatisfied with
nearly everything. So, here then are some guidelines for dealing
with difficult customers...

• Do be clear, specific, and straight to the point.
• Do be prepared and organized. Anticipate and be proactive in answering inquiries.
• Do stick to business. Demanding customers are not interested in small talks.
• Do ask specific questions, i.e. "May I know what exactly is the problem with your Senior Citizens' Purchase Card, sir/ma'am?"
• Do provide a choice of options.
• Don't ramble, theorize, or engage in small talk. Get to the point.
• Don't be disorganized. Demanding customers don't have patience for incompetence.
• Don't leave any loose ends. Present to demanding customers an outright solution to their problems.
• Don't ignore the customer's presence or his anger.
• Don't put the blame on the customer or shift the blame to another office.
• Don't refer him to other offices without listening to and determining the problem which can be solved by your office.

As for angry customers...

• Recognize the presence of the customer by greeting him and making him feel comfortable.
• Listen attentively. Do not interrupt him while he is talking.
• Paraphrase the customer's concern to ensure proper understanding of the problem.
• Emphatize with the customer by saying, "I understand how you feel" or, "I can see your point."
• Offer to help, "How may I help you?"
• If the solution recommended by the customer is not possible, offer alternatives.
• If the solution is acceptable, apologize for the inconvenience of the customer.
• Keep your cool.

Take note...
"There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody
in the company, from chairman on down, simply by spending
his money somewhere else." - Sam Walton

Building Customer Loyalty... Part III

In building customer loyalty, you have to understand how
relationships work; and like great wine, great relationships get
better with time. Yet remember, credibility and Itrust are built
slowly. You can not rush it. And don't expect miracles. When
dealing with tough and difficult customers, don't expect overnight
results. Customers want you to prove to them that you know
what you are talking about and you understand their business
and problems -- and only then will they listen to you.

Customer loyalty is the practice of finding, attracting, and
retaining your customers who could purchase from you. See,
many think customer loyalty is also customer satisfaction; but
they are not the same thing. When you think of having good
business practices, customer satisfaction is the main requirement
and the entry point. Customer satisfaction is for "all" your
customers. Customer loyalty is for your most valued and
profitable customers.

"An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness."
~ Elbert Hubbard

So, what do we do? Have a program. Understand that systems
makes us efficient and responsive to customer wants. Systems
allow us to do the job right the first time.

Now with this in mind, realize that the objective of a loyalty
program is to deepen the customer relationship by offering
relevant rewards and incentives to reinforce the brand, service
or company. A successful loyalty program must consider the
customer's usage behaviour and attitudes toward the product
or service and even the company.

A loyalty program can help differentiate your brand, and
provide customers reasons to stay loyal because there are
rewards they can count on.

Still the question is... does it really work? It's all in the execution.

Hence, before you start giving out those rewards and incentives,
consider the costs of developing your program; and these include
not only discounts but operational expenses as well. Bear in
mind that successful loyalty programs are business and brand
strategies to induce sales.

And just like networking, in loyalty programs, you got to develop
a connection. A deeper connection means greater loyalty and
more customers immune to competitors. And as in networking,
don't simply start and end your link with an "invite". Look out
for each other.

"Complexity and trust go together... the more firms downsize
and outsource, the more they need partnerships, alliances, and
joint ventures." - Peter Keen

Loyalty is about long-term, win-win relationships. It's now a
matter of identifying and developing your most profitable
customers.

Take note...
"Customer loyalty begins with customer satisfaction but
only develops with continuous delivery and care."

Building Customer Loyalty... Part II

"Trust... is the foundation for innovation and coordination of
the supply chain, customer interaction, and market, product
and service development." - Peter Keen

Trust precedes attachment. And so it goes with customer
loyalty. Fulfilling the basic promise of your product is the entry
point to "customer satisfaction".

Nevertheless, nowadays, customer satisfaction only gets you
to play the game, like a buy-in to play in a poker game. This is
simple yet an often overlooked requirement for customer
satisfaction. If a product is to be delivered, it must arrive on
the customer's specified or expected time in "perfect quality"
condition; and most importantly, it must fulfill the benefits
promised by the product or service.

"You achieve customer satisfaction when you sell
merchandise that doesn't come back to a customer who does."
~ Stanley Marcus

Now imagine your customers are delighted enough to tell their
friends about your product or service. That's what actually
happens when we do a real good job for customers, they tell
their family and friends about it. As we know, it's called
"word-of-mouth" advertising, more effective than anything
seen on television. And see, it all starts with "walk the talk".

Does it all end there? Not if you want to end your business.
Hence, realize that it's not enough to satisfy customers -- you
need to find them, attract them, and retain them. That's what
customer loyalty is... "retain" them. Meaning, work for a long
term, win-win customer relationships. Understand that winning
big deals for the day, week or month will neither guarantee a
sustainable competitive advantage nor ensure survival and
long-term growth. At the same time short-term success, in
terms of sales or revenues, market growth rates, market shares
and profitability, are no longer seen as highly significant
marketing efforts.

Overall marketing initiatives are now directed toward
customer retention and loyalty; so it's essential to build a
community of loyal customers, some even unconsciously
behaving as product endorsers for business to thrive and last.

"In business you get what you want by giving other people
what they want." - Alice Foote MacDougall

How far does customer loyalty serve us?
Well, when a customer is loyal, he maybe dissatisfied at one
time yet he will choose to stay on with the business. Loyal
customers are more forgiving of service shortcomings that
they would still choose to purchase your products and avail of
your services -- thus never let your guard down.

Keep working on your products and services while building
on those relationships. Remember, cash registers would only
keep ringing if you give that extra effort... continuously.

Take note...
"Customers can be satisfied but not necessarily loyal.
Satisfaction is just a moment; Loyalty is almost timeless."

Building Customer Loyalty

Once we have built a memorable customer experience, this
customer would certainly want to experience it again. This now
would signal the start of customer loyalty. So, keep trying to
find ways to be on top of the customer's mind... always.

Keep going that extra mile.

Do not charge your customer for the extra service. Your
company can take care of it. Sometimes you would even have to
charge it to your personal account. That is something you would
do to a friend. You just have to think that what you have given
out would come back to you a hundredfold.

"Your employers does not control the sort of service you
render. You control that, and it is the thing that makes or
breaks you." - TLOS

Are customers always right in their requests?
To a certain point -- when the customer's request is related to
business. Just remember, we are here to help him, so apply
flexiblity. This must be resonate throughout the company.

Empower your team to satisfy customer requests on the first
call. Authorize your people to waive annual charges and finance
charge, give a free cake for customers celebrating their
birthday, and offer upgrade to frequent customers. Provide
your reps, agents, or staff a list of what they can offer. On
occasions when a customer is genuinely upset over a service,
have your staff in the front line of your customer service
recovery program.

Aside from offering deep discounts and forking promotional
money to your demanding customers, create value in other
non-monetary ways. Allow them the convenience of having
their problems solved by offering them your time, effort, and
other resources within the company's disposal.

Have your salesperson invest in the one asset which no
psychological gimmicks, incentives or special rewards can
replace... TIME. It's you they want to hear advice and
suggestions from, it's you and your time they want when they
have business, product or service concerns.

However, if the salesperson is not around to serve his
customers, make sure somebody could pick up the slack. You
should have a system for this. Realize that it makes a lot of
difference for the client when another person attends to their
needs in the absence of whom they seek.

Before you can build and maintain a customer’s loyalty, you
have to gain his trust. Doing what you are supposed to do
when you are supposed to do it is the minimum requirement to
provide good customer service.

Take note...
"Time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining." - JFK

Building Customer Experience

If customer is king then there must be something special that
we could do for him, right? Certainly.

For this article, we shall discuss the ways and means to create
that delightful customer experience... a building block to
customer loyalty.

First, see your customers as one of your own, as your family.
This may sound corny or insincere simply because how could
one have an emotional bond with someone he has just seen?
With someone where trust has not been developed yet, with
someone you can not really be yourself with? Attachment
comes with trust. Then it's all about being yourself without
fear of being reprimanded but being understood and supported.

Does this mean that we could just take our customers for
granted? Of course not, why, is that how you treat your
family?

Understand that your family is the reflection of what you really
are. If you put up indifferent faces, it would eventually tell on
you.

If you could treat other people nicely, how much more should
you to your family? After all, you need your family's support
to carry you through tough times but also to help you in your
career. Hence, your family must be an ally in your future plans.
Give them high priority. Give them quality time. And that is
how you should treat your customers as well -- as family,
a family away from home that would help you get ahead.

Now as you connect your customers to family, cultivate notable
times to strengthen the bond, in other words – nurture that
unique customer experience to foster win-win relationships.

See, like family, customers want to feel appreciated. They also
want to get the convenience and comfort of the product or
service they are buying. They need to know they are getting
value for their money. This means, customers perceive value
to be much greater than the cost they paid for the service.

Work on being sought after.

Realize that key to attachment is trust. People like to do
business with people they trust. And many times, customer’s
trust is gained by extending availability outside of the
salesman’s job description.

Thus, do not be surprised or disturbed when a customer calls
for not your business or non-business related assistance.
Instead, consider yourself lucky that you were given their
confidence instead of other salesmen, so much more your
competitors. So, listen and do what you can for them, that
way you grow trust and dependability.

All in all, customer experience is about how customers felt
while doing business with you. The more concerned you were,
the more wonderful the experience. The longer those wonderful
moments were, the more unforgettable they become. The more
unforgettable they are, the stronger the ties you form.

So, why not whenever a customer pays you a visit, don’t just
offer a cup of coffee but a piece of doughnut as well. Ask of his
trip to your office and hook it up with the weather or some
interesting event. Add a little humor then ask how his business
is going.

Subsequently, provide solutions and subtly link your products
or services to it. Remember, don’t be too aggressive in pushing
your products or services. Don’t let him try to finish a glass of
water in one gulp. Slowly does it. Bit by bit. Then you would
have built a memorable customer experience.

Take note...
"Going an extra mile is not just about a smile but an experience."

Customer Is King

Let's go straight to the point here... because the customer is king,
why not take an active interest in your customers' lives?

"Knowing something about your customer is just as important
as knowing everything about your product." - Harvey MacKay

How?

Listen. Well, not just listen but listen to understand. Try to draw
out the customer from his shell. Let him feel positively free to
speak up. When communicating, do not be defensive nor criticize
or comment prematurely; because if you do, you will just put a
barrier in openness. So, try to establish trust by not passing the
buck and always thanking the customer.

See, nowadays, buyers are suspicious and doubtful of your
proposition. They think that you are just after a quick sale or
meeting a monthly sales target.

Yet it is imperative that you must deal with customers for they
also impart you with ideas for product development. And,
customers act like safety gadgets that warns you about your
product's value and relevance as they know your competitors, too.

"If a man is lazy, the rafters sag;
if his hands are idle, the house leaks." - Ecclesiastes 10:18

So, looking a little closer, it's the people more than the features
that will always be the decisive factor in determining who gets
the sale.

To treat your customers as kings...

Develop a restlessness to anticipate your customer's problems and
objectives. Fix things before they break. Anticipate their needs
and get yourself working to find a solution. And when you do see
yourself confronted with a customer problem, convince yourself
that you will have to do it before actually doing setting yourself to
do it. Such an attitude counts big with the customers.

Do not face a customer like how you face other customers.
Instead, recognize a customer as a unique individual with different
tastes, needs and preferences. Do what you can to maximize the
value of personalization; in doing so, you establish friendships and
even build on customer loyalty.

However always remember, it will not make a difference to our
customer if we are nice and warm to them, but we do not do the
job right or take care of their problems.

"Fortunate is the person who has learned that the most certain
way to 'get' is to first 'give' through some sort of useful service."
- The Law Of Success

Indeed, customer is king and no business can survive without
him; so, never treat him as a disturbance to your routine or to
whatever you're doing... but, get out of your way and build that
golden bridge.

Take note...
"Customer Trust is gained by your ability to fulfill the basic promise."

Understanding Consumer Behaviour

In our most recent article, we touched on why would people
want your product or service. And certainly, the most common
answer would be to satisfy their needs. Yet the underlying
reason why people would want to buy your product is simply
because you know your customers.

Let's know why people buy.

SATISFY NEEDS. Ok. People, whether as individuals, groups, or
organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services,
ideas or experiences to fill their needs and wants.

Too simple. Just think of everything a human needs to survive,
enjoy and grow; then you can come up with something unique or
something you can build on to start or take your business to the
next level.

IMPULSE. Some people buy for no apparent reason. They do not
have any particular product in mind nor an intention of buying in
the first place -- they just acted on impulse.

Like the lottery, your product could have been chosen by chance.
So, if only you could continuously improve your product not just
features but design and packaging as well; then try to make it
omnipresent if possible -- your product could hit the jackpot.

Imagine a flock getting hold of your product. Would you want to
end the story there? Definitely not. We want better business,
growth. All you need to do now is take steps in moving them up
the customer ladder.

INFLUENTIAL FACTORS. These would include referrals, ad
endorsements, set of values, perceptions, preferences, and
behaviours brought about by family and other key institutions.
(101 Best Marketing Practices, F.M. Lao)

See, people buy goods and services over a lifetime, shaped by
family life cycle, age and gender of people in the household, or
psychological life-cycle stages such as: marriage, childbirth,
illness, relocation, career change, or retirement, giving rise to
completely new needs.

Likewise, occupation influences consumption patterns or even
personality characteristics or lifestyles which affect buying
behaviour.

How do you get your business rolling with these data?

• Create the image of an ageless society where people define themselves more by the activities they are engaged in rather than by their age.

• Device campaigns that appeal to many demographic segments (multicultural marketing strategies).

• Reach-out and direct messages at opinion leaders, i.e. reference groups, family, social roles, and status.

• Search for relationships between your product and lifestyle groups, e.g. achievement-oriented buyers for computers.

• Target consumers on the basis of their core values, which are belief systems that underlie consumer attitudes and behaviours.

• Understand how various products fit into the plans, goals and lives of consumers.

Take note...
"To know your customer is to know your future." - Jeffry J. Fox

Why would people Want...

... your product or service?

To satisfy their needs?? Ho ho
Too predictable an answer. Of course, people has needs to satisfy
but -- why you, why not others?

What, you have a better product? Better features? Better
packaging, et cetera, et cetera? Ok, makes sense. But don't you
think this is just some kind of infatuation? It's like, they're just
trying it for a while then poof -- gone.

So, why you not them?

Allow me to answer for you. This is because you know your
customer. When the target market has been clearly identified and
well-defined; you have gone a long way to winning the battle.

We understand about knowing your customer, about going that
extra mile because we know that customers are the lifeblood of
any organization; yet why do only few people really work hard in
that area?

Simple. It's just tough to deal with customers.

They can be very demanding, insisting on getting what they pay
for, even for minor or significant purchases. So, a smile or a
courteous treatment at the point-of-sale can make that difference.

See, we should understand and accept that customers are
impatient. They want more convenience yet they do not prefer to
wait to be served. So remember, speed is a competitive
advantage. Like, for example, in the processing of sales orders,
on-time delivery and positive handling of complaints and minor
inquiries give you more star points.

Realize that even if you have been in the business for the last 100
years, this matters little to customers. What really matters to
them are value-added services. Consider how 24-hour service,
free home or office deliveries, or phone-in or e-mail orders can
enhance your business.

Notice? Global competition has somehow caused the loss of
customer loyalty; this is because customers are presented with
alternatives.

Today's customers are even looking for opportunities to get even
with companies that provide poor product quality and poor
customer service. While they do not tell these things to retailers,
manufacturers, or service providers -- this doesn't mean that they
don't have complaints. They tell their bad experience to their
friends and colleagues. Soon, these customers will be going over
to the competitor's camp. Do not let things come to this point.
Employ damage control immediately.

A single customer can really matter, so do work your way through
the following key points (101 Best Marketing Practices, F.M. Lao):

• For ever complaining customer, an average of 26 dissatisfied customers remain silent.

• The average unhappy customer passes the bad news to eight to 16 people. Ten (10) percent tells more than 20 people of their bad experience.

• Ninety-one (91) percent of unhappy customers will never buy from your business again.

• Eighty-two percent to ninety-five (82-95) percent of unhappy customers will stick with you, if you are able to address their problems.

• It costs five (5) times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an old one.

Hence, we should not sell things just because there is a market.
Instead, we should seek to create a new market because we
understand the potential needs and wants of our customers and
society.

Take note... "The future president understands
how the customer is also the 'king maker'." - Jeffry J. Fox