This is a post from guest blogger Jennifer Berkeley of The Insight Advantage who is a well-respected market researcher in Silicon Valley. Jennifer has meaningful insights on how to talk to your customers - especially in these tough times. I thought her thoughts would be of interest to you all. You can reach Jennifer at: JBerkley@TheInsightAdvantage.com. Here is what Jennifer has to tell us:
Talking
to your customers is a key strategy to weathering bad times. It’s a great way to keep your finger on
the pulse of how loyal your customers are and to increase their loyalty to you—a
very critical factor in times like these.
Now more than ever, you
cannot afford a mass exodus, or even a slow leak, of your current customer
base.
WHY Do You Need to Stay in Touch?
- To stay relevant. You need
to ensure that you are keeping updated on what is changing for your customers.
- To avoid making big mistakes. Getting
ongoing input from your customers about what is most important to them is a good
way to make sure that you are not cutting back on things that are important to
your customers.
- To open up the dialogue. Your
customers are your eyes and ears for information that you can’t possibly get
any other way.
- To make sure you are doing the important
things very well. Having the insight of what is most important to your
customers allows you to focus your efforts on doing the few things that are
most important to the customer and doing them very well.
- To define new products and
services. Your customers have a wealth of information to share
with you about what products should be added to your bag of tricks and what
services would help them make the most of your existing products.
- To remind them that you are here. This may
sound quite obvious, however, in times like these, customers are getting used
to seeing companies shutting down, reducing operations, etc.
- To ultimately gain their undying loyalty. You will differentiate yourself from other
vendors/suppliers by taking the time to keep in touch with your customers.
HOW to Keep in Touch with Your Customers
Those
are the reasons why you should reach out to your customers…but now you
may be wondering how to get in touch with them. Some potential ideas to choose from:
- Personal calls from upper management, salespeople,
support staff
- Customer surveys
- Questions/conversations during support calls
- Conducting an ongoing customer loyalty monitoring
effort
- Monitoring and commenting on existing blogs and
discussion boards where your customers are talking about your company and
its products
- Monitoring Twitter for comments about your company
and its products
- Establishing/maintaining a blog of your own
The
best approach would include some combination of these activities.
If
you are overwhelmed about where to start, just pick up the phone and make a
phone call to one very prized customer.
You will see how pleased they are to hear from you. And you will realize just how powerful
communicating with your customers can be in helping both of you weather
the economic storm.
Jimmy WalesJimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia thinks the most important changes ahead will be forged by the “next billion people coming online, mainly in India and China.” He discussed the cross-cultural impacts as people from various backgrounds, cultures, and linguistic heritages “mix and match in amazing ways.”
by Reena Kapoor