All you need is love

In the latest in a series of articles, Daniel Ronen, from Portman Business Consultancy, advises businesses on the importance of making sure customers feel wanted.

It's rare for businesses to truly understand the customer decision making process. Indeed, the majority of business owners would suggest that price is the largest contributing factor as to why people buy from one source instead of another.

Whilst the importance of price cannot be underestimated – (and indeed in certain industries price competitiveness is indeed the key determining factor) - there’s usually far more to it than simply price.

What do customers value?

Studies have repeatedly shown that the top five issues shoppers buy on are:

1. Convenience (ease of shopping)
2. Relationship with seller
3. Product / price / time (specifications, price or availability)
4. Perceived indifference
5. Misc

The one to watch – perceived indifference

We can all understand the importance of building relationships with our customers – and indeed we are all probably culprits of convenience shopping. Yet perceived indifference is often ignored by many business owners.

Given that studies about buying behaviour report consumers as placing as much as five times more importance on perceived indifference than they do on price, it's vital that all business owners focus on this key decision maker.

To grasp an understanding of perceived indifference (from the customer's perspective), think about how often you feel following about the vendor, when making a purchase:

A feeling that they don't care about you or your individual needs
They act as if they don't want your custom
They are not prepared to differentiate themselves from the competition
The vendor is not prepared to fight for my business, to work to please and deliver the service I want

These feelings unfortunately occur all too frequently when dealing with businesses. Frequent examples include; a blasé sales assistant who clearly can’t be bothered to put themselves out for you or being held on the phone for 50 minutes to then be cut off!

Don't cut prices – delight your customers in ways that matter….

To boost sales – most businesses cut their prices (and usually their margins) with a 'Sale'. This can generate strong short-term benefits, such as clearing old and building brand or market strength. However, problems start to occur when price becomes the key deciding factor – selling on price is a very dangerous thing.

This is because there is almost always someone else willing and able to sell cheaper. All customers like a good deal – however, research has clearly identified that what customers really want is to feel valued throughout the whole purchasing experience. The minute they feel that 'perceived indifference' is creeping in – and they and their purchase is not valued – they switch off. And it’s very difficult to switch them back on again!

So - how to overcome perceived indifference

Clearly, the key to overcoming the problem of perceived indifference is making the customer feel that they are important to you. If the customer thinks that you want and value their business, they are much more likely to make both initial and repeat purchases.

Think about whether or not you instil measures within your business to ensure that your customers don’t feel the powerful punch of perceived indifference – and be sure to implement simple measures that show your customers you are attentive, eager and importantly value their business.

Ask yourselves:

Do you answer the phone on the second ring every time?
Do people have an on-hold message to listen to?
Do you thank your customers or potential customers for calling?
Do you thank your customers or potential customers for visiting your business?
Do you thank your customers for buying from you?
Do you and your team always arrive on time for meetings with customers?
Do you deliver products or services when you say you will every time?
Do you always let your customers know beforehand if there’s a problem?
Do you always return phone calls the same day you get the message?
Does each team member take responsibility for helping customers or do they hand off customer problems from one to another or from department to department?
Do you stay in touch with customers regularly?
Do you keep them informed about new things happening in your business?
Do you thank your customers when they pay on time – every time?

Make an effort to communicate openly and regularly with your customers. Get your team members involved – and run a brainstorming session to pull together some ideas as to how you too can ensure you rid your business of any 'perceived indifference'.