A trap smaller businesses (and some larger ones) tend to fall into when growing their export operation is focusing too much on themselves and what their objectives are and not enough on what their customers want and how this new customer may differ to their domestic customer.
They think it will be enough to just develop the best product and make it available in exactly the same fashion as has worked for them in the past, the old ‘build it and they will come’ philosophy.
With access to more information, via the web and social networks, consumers are better informed about product specifications, features and benefits than ever before and can make their own comparisons before even making contact with your company.
What is becoming more and more evident is that the product or service itself is not enough. Customers increasingly want customisation of the product, not only from a specification point of view, but from an interaction and relationship point of view, and they want their expectations met. This is even more critical when entering new markets.
It is not unlikely in today’s market to win a job on the back of the ability to deliver the product when the customer needs it to suit their business processes, offer a billing process that is easier to work with than alternatives, or the ability to transact completely online.
Business has even been won because customers get to speak with knowledgeable, local, professional team members in their native language and not with outsourced call centre staff or worse still, an automated system. Some people will even take a lesser grade product if you are easier to do business with.
You can gain competitive advantage in the current landscape when the customer receives exactly what they expect. By putting the customer in the centre of all your endeavours, and engaging with them at all levels, you will be closer to satisfying them in a way your competitors cannot. Ask them how they’d like things, consider how to best communicate with them and ask the question, ‘how will my product benefit the client?’
Customer service is not a one-person or one-department job: this ethos should flow through the entire business and sit at the core of everyone’s job.
In a previous life, I worked for a company who had a philosophy of ‘if you’re not dealing with a customer then you must be dealing with someone who is’. Everyone from the receptionist to the CEO constantly self-checked how their tasks were enhancing the experience the customer was having.
It’s usually the simple things that have the greatest impact on customers, things like not answering the phone or having an international contact number, not a local number.
Advertising is costly, producing or manufacturing the product has taken time and money, warehousing it is an expense, if a phone goes unanswered or they don’t want to ring internationally when making an order or enquiry, everything has been for nothing. It doesn’t matter how great the product or service is, if you fall over in the last three feet success is a pipe dream.
Now call me crazy, but it’s not that hard to ask the simple question of ‘what do my customers want?’
Do yourself a favour: get interested in customers, see them as integral to your success. You’ll be surprised by how open they will be and how close you could be to creating a long-term customer. Your thoughts?
—Nicole Billett is the general manager in Sales & Marketing for Servcorp
