Customers need to know that it is worth their while to write out comments: They need tangible results in a hurry, some sort of reward or assurance that they will not be taken for granted and their suggestions will not be ignored.
Most small companies have only the slimmest of ideas about who their suppliers are, where their raw materials come from, who can supply their items when their regular suppliers run dry, and how accomplished their competitors have become in integrating their suppliers into their own supply chains.
We live in a business climate that is so competitive, so unstable and uncertain that we can easily be blindsided.
Segment customers so that you can meet demands more directly and profitably. Establish the criteria by which customers should be grouped (age, income, credit history, purchases, demographic, etc), then offer products and services tailored to thoses segments.
In many industries where there is little to distinguish one company’s products and services from the competition’s, the customer will come down on the side of quality service – even if it means having to pay more for the item.
Not all customers are created equal, nor do they behave or look the same. And what they need on Monday may differ markedly from what they request on Thursday.
Many say that price is the single most important communicator of what a company wants to say about a product or service. A company can use pricing strategy to solidify its market position and build perceptions of value and quality in the minds of its customers.
We need to understand what attracts our customers to us or to our competitors in the first place and what value we can add to the products and services they buy.