A company’s business strategy has several key drivers. Some authors have a “product is king” principle, which is still debatable today. Should you, therefore, have a product sales strategy or a customer strategy? Probably both.
Let’s consider that, as starting point, our product strategy is absolutely defined, market study done, competition, pricing, communication plan, all done. So we leave it there. Let’s focus on customer.
Client is king
No product is king if the customer is not king. Hence, we can say that the “client is king”. Today, more than business strategy, we want to talk about customer strategy. This approach is not new, as management teams have long focused on customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention. Hence using Satisfaction questionnaires, customer-journey processes, Net-Promoter-Score (NPS), among other tools.
At the outset, to get there, you got to have data. On the one hand, an accurate definition of the persona and customer needs is required, tailoring messages to the target customer. On the other hand, in today’s customer base, we have to know and differentiate them. Categorizing customers by relative weight in our portfolio is a possible way. Give priority to the core that represents 80% of the result: it will be no more than 20% of the total. Then dedicate new marketing effort to customers with growth potential. If client is king, as a result product is king.
The processes
At the same time, have optimized processes to communicate with customers. Do we have a customer-journey process and analyze friction points? Do we have customer feedback and really use this information? Let’s not forget that there are customers who don’t complain, but that doesn’t mean they are satisfied. We should worry about these. There are studies that say 91% of dissatisfied customers don’t complain. One day they go away and don’t come back.
What to do?
In the age of business strategy 4.0, where we can have omnichannel communication, we must make sure the customer has an open and easy way to communicate. Chatbots, emails, social media, helpdesks, among other channels. We must, however, be concerned about the silent majority (as Bill Price tells us). This is the universe that, regardless of the available channels, does not give us feedback.
It is, therefore, essential that the customer service management team has visibility to the customer. Nothing better than contacting customers in a personalized way. Again, using the Pareto rule (80/20), but starting with all those who never respond to surveys. Or call spontaneously and get live information.
Human touch
In management, the ability to anticipate is a critical element and reduces the need to invest in the future. In the case of business strategy, it must integrate a customer strategy. Beyond the best value proposition, having technology and data to support the provision of service or product, it is essential not to lose the human touch. Start by calling your customers. Client is king.
Learn more about business and customer strategy at https://salesfactory.pt/en/sales-marketing-consulting/