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

Understanding The Customer

Who can survive without a customer? Well…

This is is why it is imperative for organizations to find ways to
delight and continuously satisfy their customers.

In our past article, Service That Sells, we saw that customer care
is key to building customer loyalty. Here, we will discuss the
customers’ changing values and attitudes to be effectively give
them that care.

First, we have to understand that values are not quantities of
something; nor are they advantages or disadvantages of
alternatives. Values are not tastes and preferences of customers,
instead, it’s their values that form customers’ opinions, influence
their decisions, and motivate their actions – to purchase your
product or not.

So, what are these factors that affect customers’ values?

FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD. Let’s face it, from the time we were
born to our teens, our parents tried to mold us according to what
they perceive as good for us. Thus, we are no longer a “blank”
slate but thinking human beings, judging mostly according to how
we were brought up.

CULTURE. If a human being is molded by his family, a family is
molded by culture among others. As to be socially accepted, as
the saying goes, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

RELIGION. This is one aspect where people in society takes a
turn. Each religion has various practices. Say, some sectors
forbid the human consumption of pork; therefore, their decisions
in purchasing are also affected.

NORMS AND TRADITIONS. If you examine each country, notice
the differences in holidays? This is part of tradition. Each country
has their own kind of celebration and reverence. So if we align
our campaigns with consideration to their “norms” then we would
be able to maximize our gains.

PEER PRESSURE. Be it at school or at work, peer pressure
contribute to customers values. If you say no when everybody
says yes, you will be left out in the cold. To be part of a group,
you need to wear the same colors.

MASS MEDIA. Technology has contributed a great deal to
influence people. Many times, mass media dictates on what is
fashionable and acceptable. So, imagine if your business is
strategically supported by this element?!


Almost everybody knows multiplication, but only few could
multiply without using tools. The point is, once you get to
understand your customers’ values, you have taken that valuable
first step in pumping blood to your business.

“You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion
and get all kinds of press… but if you don’t deliver the goods,
people will eventually catch on.” - Donald Trump

Take note... "To effectively understand the customer, be unselfish."

Core Management Skills II

Here now are the last two core management skills...

TECHNICAL SKILLS. These are your specialized skills, which
are useful to you in understanding various types of jobs that are
done under you and why things operate as they do.

While your employees need these skills in order to successfully
do their job and complete their tasks, you need these skills in
order to guide, assist, and coach your people in doing their job.

Technical skills are particularly important in supervising
employees who are unfamiliar with their job or present assignment.
Yet superior or above average technical skills can sometimes
become a disadvantage for managers. It might make them set
unrealistic standards for their people (i.e., "asking if I can do it,
why can't they", "forgetting the preparation time and experience
they have had", etc.), be impatient with their people, or focus on
"doing" instead of managing.

Nevertheless, if you are in transition, make sure you learn the
ropes and understand the process the soonest. Remember?
Experience is just repetition. Familiarity is a matter of exposure.
It's high learning ability that really counts.

ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS. The skills involved here are the
functional abilities of a manager: planning, organizing, and
controlling work in one's unit, section or division. It also includes
skills in problem analysis and decision making.

Your ability to use your administrative skills effectively is based
on your knowledge about the organization as a whole and how
the different units are related to and depend on each other.

A manager who has administrative skills has the ability to
achieve his goals within the bounds of organizational constraints
and its policies and procedures. This means that the manager...
understands his job, understands his subordinates' jobs, takes
immediate action... does not ignore problems, follows up on
promises, gets tough when necessary, and assures that the next
in command knows his role and has the authority to act.


In all these, even if your core management skills are tops, if you
do not have the guts to disengage from the status quo... you can
not be that great power.

"A public opinion poll is no substitute for thought."
- Warren Buffet

Take note... "There's no end to learning... and in this case,
courage, proactiveness, and high learning ability is what really
matters specially for managers."

Core Management Skills

Do you have what it takes to manage effectively? Well, why such
a question? Because still many are in positions they do not really
deserve but are seated just because of how one's resume was
traditionally perceived.

See, management is not a fashion show. To be deserving, you
got to earn your wings by having the courage to bend rules when
necessary; by having the the fire to improve yourself; and by
having the guts to set a trend... all in a diplomatic way.

Here now is the first of three core management skills...

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. Through your interpersonal skills,
you are able to better understand and relate with people.

You treat people as individuals who are different from one
another. You are sensitive to each person's unique needs,
desires, problems, interests, preferences and ideas. You don't
think of your people as just a means to achieve the goals that
you want to achieve.

You treat each individual as a person of worth in his own right.

Interpersonal skills help you to build a working team who can
achieve the task and who have the passion and commitment
to do a good job.

One who is possessed with good interpersonal skills has the
ability to relate to people in a considerate and effective way. This
means that he has the 3 C's... Care, Communicate and Challenge.

Interpersonal skills also help you build good inter and intra
personal relations in the work place and outside of it. Good
interpersonal relations with your peers and top management
contribute to your effectiveness.

Having such skill, you should see each of them as an ally and
as a partner. You should treat them as people who have a stake
in your career. This means, you must assume that your allies
are competent and smart; second, that they will not take any
action that will purposely intend to hurt you.

Viewing peers as allies and partners involves seeking areas of
mutual benefit and interest. Plan every move so that it is
mutually advantageous. See, you can't expect to agree about
everything with your ally but you have to work harder to find
common ground.

You must exhibit openness. Work at building mutual trust
and respect. Talk straight to your allies. Remember, it isn't
possible for any one of them to know everything, so give them
the information they need to know... to help you better.

You should treat your boss or your superiors as your partners...
senior partners. Partners who contribute to the achievement
of your goals, as true partners would.

When you think as a partner, you should not just silently stand
by when other partners (no matter how senior) are about to
make a huge mistake, overlook opportunities, or miss vital
information that could affect performance and success.

Again, you can not expect your boss to know everything; hence,
it would be good for all if you would know some things your
boss does not know about. Thinking like a partner means
sharing knowledge, even when the boss doesn't know and
therefore can not ask for it.

The underlying factor here is cooperation.

Bear in mind that every person is created uniquely yet with
good interpersonal skills... we can move mountains.

"If you do not believe in cooperation, look what happens to a
wagon that loses a wheel." - The Law Of Success

Let's join hands... together, WE WILL MAKE IT.

Take note... "People need people... just know where to tickle."

Seven Rights You Lose... The Second Half

Here now is the second half of the seven rights you lose.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO HAVE FAVORITES.
You have to avoid being perceived as "too close" to anyone as
this would lead to perceptions of favoritism. While you may
share similar interests or hobbies with some of your people, this
should not be used as an excuse to constantly be with that
employee. You have to have equal time for all or at the very
least create a perception that it is so.

Part of the transition that you experience in your journey to
becoming a manager, is a difference in perspective and a shift
in focus.

As an employee, you were responsible only for what you did.
Your focus is on your own performance. For you, what counts
the most is achieving your career goals and your personal and
work-related concerns.

As a manager, you are responsible not just for your work. You
have become responsible for the work of others. If they don't do
well, you are accountable, you have failed.

You no longer do the job by yourself. You are a working leader.
You work with and through a team.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO LOSE YOUR TEMPER.
You can be firm without being emotional and argumentative.
Keeping your cool contributes to your thinking straight. Emotions
can cloud your judgment and hamper your effectiveness.

As a manager, you need to master your emotions completely.
If you can not control your temper, you will have difficulty in
controlling others. In fact, you may also experience difficulty in
gaining the loyalty or respect of those who are under you. They
will never know for sure what your reactions are going to be,
specially if they bring a difficult problem to you... hence, you must
be both calm and consistent if you want their trust and respect.

It is therefore important to keep calm and cool, most specailly
during busy times when everyone is under pressure. When you
calmly communicate and do not get upset, you help get the job
done. Otherwise, you will be unduly adding to the pressure and
increasing your staff anxiety and tension.

Never let your emotions enter the picture when you are
correcting someone. Always focus on the action or behaviour,
never criticize the person specially in public, but point to him
what needs to be improved. The moment you become angry in
your attempt to correct someone's actions, the issue becomes
cloudy and obscure. The result will be nothing more than a
shouting match between two combatants.

Never yell at a person unless he's so far away you have to shout to
make him hear you. And even then, make sure he understands
the reason why you are shouting at him. Shouting or yelling at a
person only creates trouble.

Being cool specially in hot situations will earn you the respect,
understanding, and support of your people. If you lose your cool
and make a scene, what your people will remember is not what
you said but how you said it.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO BUCKPASS.
You take responsibility for what happens in your department and
assume full accountability. You do not blame or point a finger at
others. Blaming is for the weak and incompetent; analyzing then
correcting is for the goal-oriented.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO RESIST CHANGE.
As a manager, you are a facilitator of change. You must be
"change friendly". You need to be supportive and open to change.

If you constantly resist change, you and your department will be
at a stand still or will most likely find yourselves behind the times
and unable to catch up with changes specially in technology.

As a manager, one of your concerns is to help create and shape
the future of your organization. So remember, "if you are not
moving forward, you are most likely... moving backwards".


"Your position is nothing more than your opportunity to show
what sort of ability you have. You will get out of it exactly what
you put into it... no more and no less. A 'big' position is but the
sum total of numerous 'little' positions well-filled.." - TLOS

Leaders, readers... we only have one life to live and we are all in
this world together. Let not pride affect your ability to serve. Let
not selfishness cloud your heart to share. We don't need to see
people crawling in pain first, just to help.

As we all know, we should not judge a book by it's cover; hence,
give opportunity to those who seek opportunity. Take time to
have a long look into one's eyes and what you exactly require...
Only then will you realize that anything is, indeed, possible.

Take note... "With great power comes, not just,
great responsibility... but great sacrifice."