Posted by Jason Harling on Tuesday 24 March 2009
Listen to your customers
One of the things I am sadly constantly surprised by is the number of times I find my clients and prospects have virtually no contact with their own customers.
Marketing unfortunately has become particularly guilty of almost divorcing themselves from their client base, preferring to hear second or even third hand what feedback they can get either from their sales or customer service colleagues. I heard what potentially could be an urban myth but still rings true for me in that a particular company had received negative feedback for one of their oldest products in the range, and decided to withdraw it from their portfolio. Upon hearing this news one of the delivery drivers was heard to comment that it was about time, as he had been receiving complaints about that product from the customers for ages. No-one had ever thought to find out what customer insight was available around the organisation, and yet it was the delivery driver who had the best feedback for the company.
I will always ask when requested to pitch for some business what research actually exists, as I need to get as much background knowledge as possible to be able to add any value at all to a client. All too often, I find that there is little, if any, and that most work undertaken by the marketing department is done "because that's what we've always done", or because that's what the marketing managers know how to do. As budgets become tighter, I think it is even more important to keep talking and LISTENING to your customers, to find out what they are thinking, and what is changing for them. Are your products still considered an essential purchase? Are your competitors stealing the edge in terms of relationship building? Have you got all the right contact channels covered to ensure you can have some dialogue with your clients and let them know what is happening within your world?
There are many sources of customer information available without having to go out and commission a full research project every few months. Customer complaints are always a good point to start - I often feel that customers who actually take the time to complain (rather than just moan about things to their friends and colleagues) have a genuine interest in seeing you improve your service. Of course, sometimes the letters and emails are just entertaining to read, but that is another story! Ask the call centre or customer service staff what they are hearing from the clients, and of course the delivery drivers if you have any. Sit down with the sales team, and talk through what they are hearing as well. It is simple and cost-effective these days to run short web-based questionnaires for people either through your website, or through email.
Of course the challenge then is to know how to use this information, and to make sure the on-going dialogue remains relevant and engaging with your clients. If you are genuinely listening to their feedback, tell them how and what you are changing as a result of their comments. Take on board the comments (good and bad) and think about what you might need to change, either in your product/service portfolio, or your communication strategy. The old rule of turning a dissatisfied customer into a brand advocate still remains, and given the continued importance of word of mouth, these people are essential to nutrure and engage with.
Here at breeze we continue to listen to our audience, so do let us know if you have any feedback, and of course if you would like some help listening to your customers through a questionnaire or other methods!