A few days ago on my way out, one of my
clients called me sounding very worried and concerned. She was in the
process of reviewing her business and sought to know how she could
revamp the business and make her customers want her and not her
competitors, because she operates in a highly competitive environment
like we all do.
She was also in the New Year mode, when
we all chart our paths, vision and goals for the year. I listened to
her patiently and allowed her to air her concerns about what her
challenges were. After the conversation, I came to a conclusion on what
I thought was wrong with her business, because I also patronize her
services.
In the same week, another client, asked
me, “how do I get clients to sign new contracts because I am always
having to attract new customers to my business? Why do my customers not
stay? What am I doing wrong? How long should it take to convert? How
do I relate with my customers?”
The questions I was being asked by both
clients were similar. They both understood that they had problems, but
could not readily identify what the problems were. It was clear to me
that they had both not grasped the concept of “Client for Life”. But,
were transactional with their clients and were focusing more on new
customer acquisition for revenue growth. They both paid more attention
to new customers and neglected the needs of old customers. This I could
attest to, because I was a recipient of poor service from my first
client when I became a regular customer.
The Harris Interactive research “showed
that not only is it six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new
customer than to keep an existing one, but that 86% of consumers will
pay more for a better experience, and yet organizations on the whole are
slow to wake up to the bottom line benefits of attracting customers for
life, and even slower to allocating the resources necessary to do so.”
Why will our customers stay with us for
life? How do we retain them for life? Have we really asked what they
want and how we can serve them? What they “want” is the crucial
question. How do organizations, in this era where they are being judged
and evaluated on the need to provide transparency and trust in their
brands show that they want YOU as their customer who is now in the
driver’s seat and demanding to know HOW?
It is clear that my clients who were
calling me to express their concerns about their growth had not pondered
on nor answered the questions above. Many businesses need to start
answering the question, “Why will my customers want me.”
According to Wunderman, who came up with
the new concept of “Wantedness”, not the dictionary definition, but
defined in terms of brands showing that they truly care for their
customers. Wunderman said that “to succeed in today’s environment,
brands must adopt a new approach to consumer engagement, which is
defined as “the degree to which a brand proves their commitment to
earning a customer’s business across every touch point throughout the
entire path of purchase.”
Not sure I have come across any brand in
Nigeria that truly cares about me and I am sure I am not the only one
in this category. I agree that organizations have a bottom-line and are
set up to make profit but, they will continue to give their customers
and me a reason to switch easily because many have not shown that they
really care.
Wunderman went on to say that
“traditionally marketers have primarily focused on developing consumer
loyalty to their brands, but data now shows that brands need to
demonstrate their commitment to serving the consumer and exceeding
expectations every day.” Keeping this promise is made worse by the
access customers have to the best of everything via their mobiles, which
make the entitlement syndrome worse because “when you have that much
choice you expect more from everyone.”
To start with in practicing Wantedness,
we have to unlearn how we have traditionally approached planning and
targeting and focus on real people, who they are and how they feel. We
have to make them feel desired and special and do so irrespective of
whether we are dealing with standalone customers or organizations.
How do we practice “Wantedness”:
- Start organizing around your customers in context of their needs and how they live their lives. Customers crave convenience and experience. Ask yourself, “how am doing this?”
- Make all interactions friction free and easy for them to buy your goods and services. We need to think it from the consumer’s perspective not from our view point.
- Change our orientation from seeking loyal customers to becoming loyal brands. I am sure this point may be difficult for many of us to wrap around our heads. A ringing question, will be, “how do I become a loyal brand?”
- Make service to customers paramount. It is not about wringing loyalty from consumers through promises or promotions. Commit to being in service to consumers in everything you do – every day and at every point in the relationship.
- Be a trailblazer in experimenting new ideas and innovation. Don’t let your customers become bored. Continuous renewal is what you should strive to constantly achieve.
To my two clients and in summary, your
customers want you to know them, deliver for them and continue to win
them over and over again. Practicing these actions and all the points
indicated above, will bring “Wantedness” into your business.
Holler!
Today we are giving a Holler! to Grandios Paps. Grandios Paps has taken pap making to the next level.
I know some of you may see this as
mundane, but many of us who grew up with pap and akara and moin moin
will understand what I am talking about. In fact some of us either had
to learn to make it in order to ensure it was hygienic or looked for
local women we considered hygienic to supply us. But now, the pap is
displayed on the shelves of most hypermarkets.
Other great beneficiaries are our
families abroad who can now have pap at will. My parents who live in
the UK worry me every time to buy packs for them.
The packaging and branding is good and
attractive. Though, I am not sure they have done enough marketing to
bring their products to the attention of consumers.
Let’s give a Holler! to Grandios Pap for
taking our lowly pap to the next level and putting it at par with other
food items in its category. Holler!
– Marie-Therese Phido is Sales & Market Strategist and Business Coach
Email: mphido@elevato.com.ng
tweeter handle @osat2012; TeL: 08090158156 (text only)
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