NEWSLINE BIZBEAT SME PROFILE DeNNIs ChAN LeADeRs IN ...

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sme focus marketing Herbert M. Sancianco has over 20 years of experience in advertising, marketing and sales operations. He owns and manages Market Bridges, Phils. Inc., a full marketing services company, with offices at 11-0 Burgundy Corporate Plaza, 252 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City. The author can be reached at mbpidmbc@i-manila.com.ph or at Tel: (63-2) 886-4122 to 23. Customers Deserve Wow by h er b er t m. s a n c ia n c o Winning over and retaining customers pose the greatest challenge for <strong>SME</strong>s. Seasoned marketers know that it costs a business more money to persuade people to try a new brand or product than to keep their customers coming back for more. But, before you even start creating that experience, look into your company’s values statement. Is it written for a customer service-centered philosophy and proposition? If not, a review is in order. A customer service-centered values statement creates the company’s culture where a positive attitude and a great service behavior are communicated to its target market, shareholders, suppliers and most of all among employees – management and baseline staff. Productivity, performance and profitability are strong end results for such company. Points of Contact Make a list of your customer contact points— before, during and after a business encounter. A typical diagram looks something like this: Each contact point could be the start of a great customer moment or a horrific experience. The staff assigned to each of these points should be well trained to handle the tasks that are endemic to each customer encounter. Start the customer encounter with a cheerful greeting such as “How are you today?” or “How may I serve you today?” Many company front-liners and backroom staff fail to observe this basic ethic when there isn’t a formal customer service program in place. And often, the result is a lost opportunity to close a sale or offer their services to customers. What about the company website? Apart from being informative and an attractive sales builder, websites must be userfriendly. The build-up then involves the customer service process from each starting point as each element in the process has a customer engagement condition. Company employees need to appreciate that if any one or several steps in the process fail to create a happy or even satisfying experience, the rest of the steps shall in all likelihood hinder a successful sales transaction. Few customers would bother to complain about a product or service. The majority of unhappy customers simply vote with their feet. They walk out the door and never return, often to the benefit of the competition. If you haven’t created a formal customer service program for your company, it is high time you did. In a retail store environment, a typical customer will go through this process. store entry selling area browsing merchandising selection product pick-up purchase payment store exit In a hotel environment, there are more steps involved. driveway arrival hotel entry front desk check-in and processing walk to assigned room dining area visit visit to other facilities front desk check-out and processing hotel exit Your business might be losing money despite a good brand image or a terrific sales location, among several positive points of the business paradigm. MABUHAY ANG NEGOSYANTE! 10
Based in New York, Adrian Miller is the president of Adrian Miller Direct Marketing, a sales training and consulting company that provides customized, results-driven training programs to companies worldwide. AMDM’s programs focus on the techniques and skills needed for building new business and retaining existing business, resulting in increased ‘ROA’ (Return on attention). She can be reached at amiller@adrianmiller.com. sme focus sales training Winning the War Against Tire-kickers by a d r ia n m i ller You know exactly what I mean. The symptoms: • I’m going to do it but I’ve been so busy. • Can you give more information? (This after explaining the product or service ad nauseum) • I forgot. How do I (fill in whatever it is they say they are going to do)? And on and on. Anyone who has been in business more than 30 days has probably experienced this “tire-kicker” syndrome. It can be frustrating and even a bit infuriating. What causes this phenomenon? 1. Inertia (the most powerful obstacle any salesperson will face) 2. The philosophy that “the devil I know is preferable to the devil I don’t (translated into fear of the unknown) 3. There was no “real” intent to move forward. So how can you win the war against tire-kickers? While there is no hard and fast answer there are a few simple things that can help you to overcome the problem: • Be persistent. You can’t lose what you don’t have so don’t give up. Be tenacious and stay on the grid. • Determine if you really WANT this business and if not, move on. (Actually, you should have done this right at the beginning) • Don’t forget to continue to present value and benefits. The tire-kicker needs to keep hearing about the “improvements” that will be made in their situation if they avail themselves of your product or service. © Martinmark | Dreamstime.com Most importantly, make certain that you have enough prospects in your sales funnel so that one or two tire-kickers won’t destroy your sales numbers. You can’t avoid them but you can make certain that they have as little impact as possible. 11
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