The Sunday Mail
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
SUSTAINABLE entrepreneurship is customer-centric.
Whichever way you want to define it, you will have to zero in on customers.
You innovate around customer needs.
Business is all about meeting and, at most, delighting customers.
Without customers, there is no enterprisingness.
If customers are key in business, they should be regarded as such. Failure to handle this resource well will lead to total collapse of the whole system.
Every thriving business today is doing so because of customers’ goodwill.
Businesspeople have discovered the most important variable in the entrepreneurship equation – customers.
Customers’ needs and preferences change. The organisation should, therefore, innovate around those areas in a bid to win them.
You can only supply them with a product or service they want.
Organisations exist because there is a product or service that customers want to be provided.
Promptness
Time is usually of the essence.
Customers ask pertinent questions that demand prompt responses.
Among these are prices of products or services and availability of certain goods.
An enquiry is a near sale.
Your next business depends on how you respond to the enquiry.
Those who respond quickly to customer needs are ranked high and are always top performers.
Learn to respect customers’ time.
Be prompt in your product or service delivery.
The race is for those who are swift and accurate.
A sale is a successful conversion of an enquiry. No wonder an enquiry goes before a sale.
Do not underestimate an enquiry because it gives birth to the much-needed sale when handled professionally.
Inasmuch as we know that there are, indeed, some who just come to compare prices, treat customers well because you never know all of your clients’ intentions.
Do not overpromise
Some say a promise is a credit. You are obligated to pay it.
Rather under-promise and over-deliver than to over-promise and under-deliver.
That will affect your reliability and overall performance. When you tell your customer that you will phone them in 30 minutes and update them on something, make sure you do exactly that. They will appreciate your response and take you seriously.
Do what you say you will.
Be visible
Your presence in the market tells a big story in the customer’s mind.
In marketing, this is what they call physical evidence.
It depends on the industry you find yourself in. Customers need to know that you exist and are actively involved in what you do.
Mind you, customers have many options.
How can you sustain your name in their minds? This is an important question that you need to ask yourself daily.
Depending on the type of industry you are in, try to make use of every opportunity that comes your way to make your organisation visible in customers’ minds.
Delight them at every contact point
Customer satisfaction is everyone’s endeavour these days. People have now learnt that clients need to be satisfied in order for them to come back.
That being the case, how are you going to retain your customers?
Maximise on every contact moment you have with your customer — be it on the phone, email or in the shop when they visit you.
Be at your best in everything.
By this, you are guaranteed of their vote.
Did you know that customers vote with their feet and money? Always greet your customer with an unquestionable smile.
Show those teeth. Obviously, these should be well-brushed teeth.
There is a Chinese proverb that says a man without a smiling face must not open a shop.
Politeness is paramount in serving your customers. You also need to go the extra mile by suggesting some other products or services that they might not have initially come for.
A delighted customer is a well-recruited salesperson for your organisation.
The founder of J.C. Penney Stores, James Cash Penney, once said: “Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.”
To get extraordinary results, go that extra mile in your customer service.
Go beyond communication
The simplest definition of communication is exchanging information through speech, writing or signs.
However, with customers, go beyond communication to connecting with your clients.
Your communication with customers should seek to cement lasting relationships with them.
Establish a strong connection that lasts.
This kind of connection breeds loyalty.
Connect at a higher level with your customers such that they become part of your business.
Such customers are naturally turned into vocal ambassadors for your organisation.
Every organisation exists to solve customers’ problems, and that must be at the core of every organisation’s thinking and strategy.
Treat them well and they will, in turn, take care of you.
Every customer deserves royal treatment.
◆ Dr Kudzanai Vere is the CEO of Kudfort Zimbabwe, an accounting firm that has assisted over 5 000 companies formalise their operations and comply with statutory requirements. Feedback: [email protected] or +263719592232
