Let's Rethink Approach to Customer Relationships

To a child with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Too many customers probably think that's how they're perceived by too many companies.

Here's a quick test. Does your company approach every business opportunity with the same simple tactic? Do your employees both to learn what the prospect's needs are?  Those are obviously mindsets that have no benefit to a customer.

Too many businesses fail to understand the difference between sales and marketing:

• Marketing creates awareness and trust of a company and its products and services.
• Sales turns that awareness and trust into revenue.

But good marketing and good sales efforts are essentially relationship building. Examples: The florist who knows her client's name and makes an extra effort to stock his favorite items. The waiter who remembers his customer's dining preferences. Those people make us feel as though they understand our needs and will go lengths to satisfy them.

Confidence, consistency

A business relationship doesn't have to be that personal, of course. It can be one of implied confidence and consistency. Here's a global example of the latter: French fries at McDonald's. You know exactly what to expect. Not that's a concrete business relationship.

When you do business, you rarely make your decision based solely on one product benefit, even if that benefit is the lowest price. For any non-commodity product or service, decisions are based on total value rather than simply price.

Oddly enough, when we become sellers rather buyers, too often we forget to look at the big picture of customer needs. Instead, we try to hammer home whatever benefits of our product we perceive as most important.

Let's think again about "best overall value." That comes about only when you have a better understanding of your clients' needs, when you listen more than you sell.

Do you get unsolicited referrals from your customers? Do your customers ask your opinion on matters outside the range of your business? Do your customers include you in their planning?

If you answered "yes" to any of those, then congratulations. You are building relationships with your customers. You will be rewarded for understanding customer's needs.

Beware of competitors

Keep in mind that you must continue to find ways to improve the experience of doing business with you. After all, if you don't take care of your customer relationships, someone else will.

This customer-centered attitude should permeate all aspects of your business, going beyond the actions of your salespeople and extending to your product development team, your financial planners and your inventory procedures.

It is a mindset that begins at the the top of an organization. Your top managers must embrace the attitude before anyone else in your company can be expected to.

The customer is not an adversary. Potential clients are not a collection of objections to be overcome with a forceful sales effort. If customers can trust you to look out for them, they will find ways to look out for your business.

This article, written by Forte' Incorporated's Glenn S. Phillips, originally appeared in the Entrepreneur section of the March 15, 2002 Birmingham Business Journal. This article was part of a series of sales and marketing articles presented by the Birmingham Business Journal and Sales and Marketing Executives of Birmingham.