Achieving success is a result of many factors – customer focus culture being one of them. Customers play a huge role in the business and they are the representation of your business’ greatness or downfall. Without customers, sales revenue suffers and the business plummets down. The goal here is to make them happy and keep them satisfied, but how exactly? By using customer focus as a core value in your business, because customer focus is important.
What is customer focus?
Almost all experienced marketing and sales teams create their strategies around individual customers. In simplest terms, a customer-focused business builds its processes around its customers’ needs. It means putting the customers first and as a result, being able to build a relationship with them, helping them achieve their goals, and improving overall customer satisfaction.
Some of the biggest industry leaders out there employ a customer-focused approach in their businesses – Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, and more. Their products and services are modeled on customer experience. Netflix is focused on its viewers’ viewing history and the platform makes recommendations according to every viewer’s interest. Along with other e-commerce companies, Amazon is focused on providing a quick and efficient delivery system.
Importance of a customer focus culture
Customers are sensitive to their needs. They sense fake enthusiasm and they also sense it when a sales rep is putting in extra effort to understand them to offer the best solution for their needs. When you view the situation from a customer’s perspective, they become more inclined to work with you or buy your products. The honest desire to help customers creates a mutual engagement so their sales journey becomes a mutual project. At the end of the day, your job is more fulfilling, and most importantly, you earn another loyal customer.
Tips on a customer focus strategy
Before you build your strategy, you first need to dissect and fully understand your customers and their needs. This involves collecting data, having a 360-degree view of customer data, analyzing that data, and putting the data in action to offer customers a better experience. Here are some of the tips you can use to create your customer-focused strategy.
Hire well
Every person you hire represents your business and the kind of service you want to project. Take your time and hire only individuals who share your goals and are ready to accept your culture. Don’t settle for somebody who is almost there but not quite. Instead, hire somebody who fits your mold right. Your customers deserve the best of your business and you need a person who represents and emulates that. Find your tribe amongst the throngs of applicants.
Listen to your customers
Communication is the key to any successful relationship, such as in business. Communication is a two-way street, which means you talk and you listen. Listening to them enables you to see your business from new perspectives.
Another way of listening to your customers is by gathering and analyzing data including web analytics, customer feedback, attrition rates, and product use patterns. You can also try social listening or monitoring what people are saying about your brands via online social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn – these are just some of the platforms you can go to.
Listen to your employees
Improve customer focus by allowing everyone in your team to have experience dealing with the customers. Don’t just let the sales and customer service monopolize that step of the sales process. Every team member will have different experiences and methods in dealing with the customers. This allows them to learn how to handle their customers and eventually learn what their needs are.
They have their opinion and ideas so give them the open door policy to express themselves. Listen with the intent of acknowledging or putting their ideas into action if everyone deems it a great way of providing better services for your customers.
Customer focus is integral to a business’ success because, in business, it all comes down to whether customers buy your products/services or not. Beating the rapid changes in modern technology is no easy feat and beating the economy is almost impossible. If you know your customers and you keep them happy, then you are safe. Every day matters so ensure that all your day-to-day activities help you achieve your company’s long-term goals.