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March 1999 Volume 3.05
The Mission for
Your Customers Continues...
5.0 Survey Key Markets & Processes------->
To cover this step, three articles are required. This article
focuses on the first of three parts; the need to verify markets
annually, the processes to survey and review and confirm the questionnaire
format.
When companies undergo their annual stocktaking they take a snapshot
of the physical inventory at a given point in time. The count information
is reported to the accounting department, which uses the results
to create a balance sheet. Other information related to the inventory,
such as shrinkage or pilferage ratios often reveal if things are
running smoothly for the business. The same principle applies to
monitoring your customer base.
Companies need to place equal emphasis on reviewing the markets
and reviewing the processes to survey. Deciding which markets to
monitor should provide information about trends, your company's
improvement, or competitor activity.
Focussing on the key markets that contribute to a major share of
your company's revenues is the starting point. These markets drive
the financial success of the company. If customers in these markets
are dissatisfied, their decision to discontinue their business with
you can quickly affect your company's financial bottom-line. As
Motorola's CEO, Bob Galvin, has stated, "If I ignore what customers
are saying, I'm mortgaging the future of the business."
Another area to track is the customer's key experience. A delighted
customer is likely to generate more business for your company. The
frequency of surveying the market or selected process depends upon
a few questions:
* How willing are the customers to complete surveys?
* Has the competing market changed?
* Did the competitors change dramatically?
* How often do you need the information?
* How often can you afford to survey?
Noting feedback regarding clarity of questions and common respondent
feedback about a lengthy survey will help you identify fine tunings
in the questionnaire set. If your target market or the demographics
have changed, be sure to add or delete questions as required.
Planning for a review of how your company surveys key markets and
customer processes, produces higher quality of information which
enhances decision making for managing the business, pricing strategies,
or identifying trends. Preparation involved with this step ensures
that your business has a focus on the things that matter to the
customer.
Achieving the remaining six steps is easier and less costly by establishing
that the key markets are correct and your business asks the right
questions.
Watch the next newsletter for more information about the second
part of Step 5.0...
Susan Moore
Previous Step 4.0...
Next Step 5.0 (Part Two)...
Saying 'Thanks' or 'Sorry'
Companies often give little gifts to say 'Thanks' to customers
for their business, or 'Sorry' when they have made a mistake. These
gifts are often very effective at building a relationship. Sometimes
though, a gift intended to say 'Thanks', ends up instead saying
'Sorry'. How do things work out in that type of situation?
American writer Bill Bryson tells the tale of his experiences with
both the British Post Office and the United States Post Office.
('Notes from a BIG COUNTRY' Bill Bryson, Doubleday, 1998.) Once
a year every U.S. Post Office has a Customer Appreciation Day. Bryson
describes how he was quite impressed by these activities designed
to thank him for his business. There was a Customer Appreciation
Day banner and a table with some free goodies - chocolate twirl
doughnuts, pastries, and coffee. He was won over utterly by all
of this.
This type of celebration, done well, is beneficial for both customers
and employees, as it highlights for each group the importance of
the customer to business relationship.
Bryson's rapture with the U.S. Post Office did not last long. He
returned home to find a returned letter stamped 'Insufficient Address'.
It had taken six weeks to go somewhere and back again.
In the United Kingdom his experiences with the Royal Mail had been
quite different. Although the British Post Office never has Customer
Appreciation Days, they do manage to deliver quite skimpily addressed
letters. They even managed to deliver one addressed to, 'Bill Bryson,
Writer, Yorkshire Dales'.
The extensive Customer Value Added research we conduct for our clients
confirm that customers want the basics right first. i.e. They want
their order delivered correctly and when they need it. When these
basics have been met then they appreciate a 'Thank You'. When things
go wrong then a 'Sorry' helps put it right.
Bryson decided that while he would prefer the mail to be delivered
on time, on balance he was happy with both the American and the
British postal services.
Engaging the customer
Fudge and Fun engage customers by making fudge production a comedy
performance. But how does a business engage customers when it has
no direct involvement with them? Angela, a real estate sales consultant,
is a master at this. Although I have no current plans to buy or
sell real estate, and I have little direct contact with her I know
that when the time comes for me to buy or sell, it will be Angela
who gets the assignment. How has Angela achieved this? She sends
out a regular newsletter to past and possible future clients. While
many real estate sales consultants have newsletters, it is what
Angela includes with hers that make them special.
In spring the newsletter comes with a packet of seeds and a note
explaining they are to get you started brightening up your garden
after winter has ended. At Christmas the newsletter comes with a
couple of chocolates as a little Christmas greeting. At other times
of the year it might be 'scratch and win lottery tickets' with a
wish for you to have good luck, or a few Sparkle sweets to add some
sparkle to your life.
Once she offered smoke detectors for sale at cost to people who
receive her newsletter. Think about this. Smoke detectors protect
homes so it links to the real estate business. Making alarms available
at cost sends a signal that she cares about you. And to top this
off Angela offered free batteries for the smoke detectors every
year. So the detectors provided another way of engaging possible
clients with a positive reason for contacting them annually to build
an ongoing relationship with them even though there is no current
business contact with them.
Many people talk about relationship marketing. It's exciting to
see somebody do it so effectively at such a low cost.
Regards,
Rodger Gallagher
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