The client is the foundation of any business. First of all, you just need to answer the question: “What does the enterprise do?”. And any enterprise produces a Product, but not just something ephemeral, but a specific service or product in order to promote them on the market. Moreover, this promotion is always aimed at the buyer - client. It is important for any businessman to realize that his consumers can be many people, but each of them needs to find an individual approach. Why? Because the success of a business depends on the sales of the Product, and then it will be high when all the links in the chain are joined together, and the intermediaries and end customers will become customers of the enterprise. The effect on each of these links should be fundamentally different.
What is a customer?
For a company, a client is, first of all, a person who brings profit to it. A business will be successful given this. An entrepreneur needs to build such a system of relations with his customer that will not allow his maintenance and maintenance costs to exceed real profit.
Moreover, almost every company, regardless of what it does in the market, seeks to ensure that any customer is soon listed in the database as a regular customer. This is very reasonable, because a buyer with a “permanent” mark does not require as much attention and money as a new or potential one.
Your business depends on them
Yes, the success of any business depends on many factors. The product, undoubtedly, must be of high quality, aimed at a specific target audience, meet specified standards and requirements. In addition, if different divisions of the company do not work together and “pull the cart” like a swan, cancer and pike in different directions, then even the most significant offer of the century will be ruined, simply because it will not reach the final buyer.
A regular customer is able to provide uninterrupted profit to the enterprise subject to competent service. The development of the business, its prosperity and competitiveness directly depend on how favorably the buyer treats the store, the visitor to the beauty salon - to his master or the head of a large retail chain - to the distributor.
How to build a customer base: practical tips
The customer base for many businessmen is becoming a top priority, however, it is worthwhile to understand that in many respects good turnover and profits do not depend on quantity, but on the quality of business partners.
In the same way, not always the largest buyer in the market accessible to one or another manufacturer will bring him maximum income. A businessman should always consider his costs of attracting a new client before starting the negotiation process. Initially, it is necessary to analyze the capabilities and resources of the company, it may happen that it does not pull the “tidbit” service at a certain stage of development.
In order for the business to pay off and be profitable, the client base should gradually expand. There are many effective methods to attract new consumers, the main ones:
- Advertising targeted to a specific target audience.
- Collaboration with firms and organizations in related, but not competing industries.
- The use of the personal factor when clients are attracted to the company due to the high communication of the head or employee of the company with the prospective buyer.
- High-quality service to people from an already established base.The client is a rather volatile component of the business: today it is, and tomorrow it can go to another supplier, and others will inevitably reach for one "defector".
How to keep a customer?
In order not to lose the regular consumers of your product, you need to fight for them. At a certain stage, when the relationship is established, many sales managers, consultants, sales representatives relax, letting things go by themselves. However, this is an unforgivable mistake: a competitor will quickly get into a once-strong alliance and lure a regular customer.
But blindly following all the motives and requirements of the buyer is fraught with losses. Yes, he may never leave, but constant kickbacks, bonuses and promotions are an opportunity to earn money, but not for the company, but for its client. In some cases, it’s much cheaper to give up such a consumer than to constantly go on about it. Clients of the company should bring her profit, not losses!
Dirty games
Industrial espionage, theft of data, developments and concepts - all these are realities in modern business. The higher the stakes, the dirtier the rules of the game. Fair competition is an illusion. Rival firms seek to sink their counterparts, using a variety of methods.
Often, the most coveted secret that all entrepreneurs dream of revealing is the data of clients with whom a competitor on their heels cooperates. This information is not subject to disclosure, and for its safety the entrepreneur is responsible for his own reputation. In the event of a leak, you can not only lose an important customer, but also earn real problems with the law.
Dismiss an employee and lose business
The notorious phrase of many employers that there are no irreplaceable people often turns out to be unexpected problems for them. In marketing, there are many technologies that help promote a product on the market, but none of them can earn without the human factor. As much as a competent "salesman" is able to raise a company, by as much a negligent one can sink it. From one person who directly cooperates with customers, their attitude to the company as a whole depends.
The client feels this and eventually begins to associate a particular company not so much with itself and the product or service that it offers, but with its representative. And at the moment when an employee of the company decides to leave or falls under dismissal, it is important for the manager to understand that he may lose important, often key customers, and in his interests to do everything possible so that they do not leave after the one with whom they previously worked .
