When you get down to it, we all cater to our customers. And we have to, if we want their business that is. There are many ways to cater though, and each is modified to best reach a specific target market. Because what works for Harley Davidson customers, probably wouldn’t attract high-end antique buyers. But when it comes to communicating with our customers, being a consultant is a universal good idea.
The basic caveats of communicating like a consultant is best described on the EdelmanChange blog. For example, “shift from being an order taker to a strategic thinker” represents a fundamental shift for many businesses. If we ran a restaurant, well, wouldn’t we automatically be order takers? If we communicate and consult our diners though, we have opportunities for upselling, ideas for specialty dishes, and many other ways to improve their experiences and keep them coming back.
“Don’t be afraid to ask,” is another good consulting tip. After all, if we don’t ask, how will we know? It’s interesting that sometimes even the customer doesn’t know what they want or need. It’s our job to ask, to find out, and to provide them with what they truly desire.
This one is my favorite: “Align decisions and actions to business goals.” This basically means that instead of measuring the success for a customer with our benchmarks, we use what’s important to them as goals. In communicating, it’s not enough that we simply talked to x amount of people a day. Instead it’s vital that we made x amount of customers satisfied and happy.
Are any of your communication quotas set independent of true customer needs? Do you dig down and get to what is best for the customer? Or do you simply expect them to conform to you, and give their order when they do? Tell us about it in a comment.
