Tracking marketing success Tracking customer relationships Tracking customer demographic Tracking customers who have responded to promotional material. Tracking the success of your marketing activities
For example, consider if you own a baking company. A woman comes to order a wedding cake for her daughter’s wedding. As a baker, you could suggest an appropriate wedding topper or serving knife to go with her order. By anticipating the woman’s future actions, you may be able to promote additional sales.
“What do I want for my customers?” “What sort of customers do I want to attract?” ”Why does my business exist?” ”How can I present this vision my employees, stakeholders, customers?”
Accountability happens as soon as the customer walks through your door. Greet your customers at the door to show that you have a personal interest in their well-being. Be accountable for any mistakes. Whether it is a damaged product, or a mislabeled price, it is your responsibility to work with the customer. Offer a free replacement or reduced price. Offer the customer to purchase the product at the advertised price. This will show integrity as well as accountability.
Do not lie to a customer about a product or project in hopes for a better sale. This will not cultivate a good relationship for the future. When you are anticipating future business, think about what would happen if the offended party would find out the truth.
Be aware of your surroundings – Pay attention to whom you are speaking. Be aware of their body language and what is appropriate given the situation. Be aware of your limitations – Do you not over-extend yourself of what you are capable of doing or promising. Put others first – This could be your clients or employees. This will help you maintain respect and make future difficult decisions easier to manage. [6] X Research source
Face your audience and maintain eye contact. Stay alert, but not overbearingly so. You do not want to intimidate your audience. Relax your body language, but stay alert by maintaining eye contact and nodding your head when appropriate. Keep an open mind. If you already have decided on an answer or solution, you will be more likely to not actively listen to your audience. Try and listen to all solutions presented before drawing conclusions. Do not interrupt the speaker. This may confuse the speaker or distract her. Even if you are feeling a strong emotional response to what is being said, wait until the speaker is finished before responding. Try and picture what is being said. This will help understand and listen more effectively. Ask questions. Asking questions by repeating what the speaker said is an excellent way to make sure you have fully understood what she has said. Say something like: “I hear you talking about [x]; what do you mean by that?” Or, try using what she has said as a way to establish your own point: “I hear you are concerned about the price of this item; let me tell you how this special, handcrafted item is made. ” This will help you audience know that you really have listened to them.
Avoid making assumptions about your customers. Assumptions may lead to sloppy research and unfounded conclusions. Ask experienced employees or coworkers about the type of customers they encounter. Have them give you detailed descriptions including gender, appearance, and behavior. For example, perhaps an employee at a grocery store might say something like: “I was the cashier to a young woman in her 20s. She was dressed in running shoes, biking shorts, and a tank top. She looked athletic and was purchasing healthy fruits and vegetables. ” This scenario will help garner information about your clientele. Observe your customers first hand. Just by being on the floor and watching your customers, you will observe specific traits and patterns of the people around you.
Allow customers (with some monitoring) to post on your business’s social media page. Encourage customers to write reviews of your business. Try and improve your business practices and anticipate customer’s needs based on reviews and comments.
For example, if you are a photograph, practice a shoot on a friend. Your friend will most likely be more honest with you on your actions. Or, have a fellow photographer perform a shoot on you. Identify how you feel about certain aspects of this practice. Would you change any of the experience for a customer?
For example, if you know your market is a small town in the Midwestern, United States, you can already predict what their beliefs may be toward a local sports team. You can use this knowledge to anticipate how well an item may sell.
