If you keep them happy you keep them loyal

External factors over which little control can be exerted will always buffet all business sectors. However, every organisation does have a potentially winning weapon in their armoury namely the opportunity to offer excellent customer service.

Everyone expects ultimate value for their cash be it the corporate customer or the man in the street.

It is a paradox that as trading conditions become tougher and business harder to win the level of service offered by many suppliers is falling very short of acceptable standards.

From the frustrations of automated telephone systems, the failure to deal with legitimate complaints or the inability to meet agreed delivery schedules customers are left feeling that their business is not valued.

Little wonder that they choose to vote with their feet.

Customer service is not a difficult act to pull off – in reality all that is required is to give the customer the feeling that their business is important and they are valued, not just “one of a number” or even worse a nuisance.

Those businesses that focus on customer service will see the benefits in their bottom line results.

 

Sometimes it’s best to walk away

 

In business as in poker there are times when discretion is the better part of valour. Put simply, some of the best business deals are those you turn away.

All organisations operating in today’s climate need to have constant and rigorous focus on their commercial exposure.

Against the current competitive background it is obviously difficult to contemplate turning away business especially from a customer of long standing.

However an objective assessment may well lead to the conclusion that in this instance the business would be left to others.

Reduced turnover will result when stricter controls are in place over such elements as payment terms and credit limits.

However, the reward or such fiscal discipline is obvious. Avoiding defaults by customers not only protects the company’s bottom line but allows focus to be placed on more profitable activities.

Boosting sales performance

There are some basic tactics which you can employ to increase your sales.

Companies that are increasing their sales turnover usually have an attractive staff incentive programme in place. Make sure you keep track of what type of “carrot” your competitors are offering to their sales force.

Upselling is a cost effective way to boost bottom line returns. Essentially, upselling involves adding related products and/or services to your sales portfolio and making it convenient and necessary for customer to buy them. Crucially when upselling the customer has to be persuaded of the benefit.

Give your customers the inside track. Try to stay ahead of the competition by having up to date brand and market information combined with technical back-up. For example if a new product launch is imminent it is better to keep the customer’s interest “warm” rather than push them into a purchase which they shortly will become dissatisfied with.

Differentiate your customers. There should be a clear and obvious difference between your regular customers and others – a difference that your regular customers perceive as showing that you recognise and appreciate their value.

Repeat business is the life blood of any sales force. Loyalty cuts both ways and becomes meaningless if all customers are treated as “someone off the street”.

Sound management principles

 

In order to achieve success all organisations must have effective leadership. It is the responsibility of management to lay down a set of ideas and objectives that are articulated, understood and supported by the workforce .Good people do not like working for organisations whose values are muddled.

 

Managers have to take difficult and unpleasant decisions. These often need to be made swiftly balanced against conflicting demands. It is not always possible to access cast-iron evidence to support the decision making process. This is one of the tests of strong management.

 

A clear and defined vision are essential requirements. Managing a large company, and dealing swiftly with a variety of challenges and issues is a complex task.

 

The desire to succeed which provides the drive and focus on excellence is one of the hallmarks of a good manager.

 

The workforce is the company’s most precious asset. Accordingly the ability to judge people and value their contribution is an essential prerequisite for any manager.

 

To build a talented team requires working with people who may be better at their job than you are at yours, and to guide and motivate them. People learn far more about the art of leadership from a good mentor than from any course or training exercise.

 

The ability to respond quickly will prove invaluable when things go wrong. Surviving a reverse and changing direction is the utmost test of resilience and flexibility.

 

You can’t run a business on cruise control

When assessing the performances of various organisations one observation holds true – whilst there are undoubtedly many businesses where the strategy is fatally flawed there are also many which would benefit from a fresh input.

This is particularly true in the case of SME’s. These companies usually rely on the vision of a small team or even in some cases a patriarchal owner. By definition for these people due to their personal involvement it is not always easy to change direction or take appropriate remedial action.

This is where an “outsider” can be of assistance – an objective appraisal can very often mean the difference between merely drifting as opposed to decisively moving forward.

It is a brutal yet incontrovertible truth that hatchet men perform better when they are brought in from the outside the organisation.

 

A false sense of security

Until such times that they are directly faced with a problem it is the nature of most companies to assume that all is well with their systems and operating procedures. These companies are those that are most likely to be blindsided.

Constant monitoring of counter party risk is the order of the day combined with disciplined inventory control.

Just because a customer has always being reliable in the past is unfortunately no guide as to future performance. Look out for tell tale signs such as unusual
ordering patterns, delays in payments etc.

In truth very few businesses fail overnight and there are usually enough warning signals which should enable a supplier to reduce its risk.

Current market conditions will continue to test but undoubtedly there will also be opportunities for those placed to take advantage of less efficiently organised companies.

By far the biggest danger to the welfare of any organisation is complacency.

Do you really know your customers?

 

In a few short years, rapid advances in technology have transformed the way we all conduct business.

Much of business is today conducted in the so-called virtual world of paperless trading. However, we should never forget that essentially commerce is about people trading together.

Whilst Computer “stop loss” mechanisms are the order of the day for “paper trading” the reality of the real world is that goods need to be moved from point of production to point of consumption and obviously this cannot be achieved via a computer terminal.

There is an old adage “know your customer,” this dictate has never been more important than in these uncertain and dangerous times. One of the biggest problems associated with the rise of e-commerce has been the accompanying lack of personal contact between a company and its customers.

Obviously this is not an issue for an online retailers selling products over the net and being paid via a Debit Card or Pay Pal etc.

However, there is an increasing tendency for B2B sales to be concluded by email or even SMS. The personal element has been lost and so has the identity and customer relationship. The surest way to avoid problems is by knowing your customer and understanding their business.

It is not possible to nurture this relationship and mutual understanding thru a key pad and email ordering system.