The customer is not king, it’s Just an Emotionally Intelligent Statement Companies Use to acquire a Higher Bargaining Power

It’s often said that the customer is king. For many, this phrase rings true within the context with which it is being viewed. For instance, we all know that without the customer, there is no business. The customer is the reason for any product or service and so the customer may exercise this privilege to the extent that he derives satisfaction from whatever he purchases. In essence, the better we make our customers feel, the more likely they will return for more business. Whilst this may be true in many ways I beg to slightly differ.

“It is my strong belief and experience that the customer isn’t king but rather the customers need is king.” This I believe to be logically true to the extent that every customer behaves differently however the need remains the same.

Many a time organizations pay more attention to the customer at the expense of the reason that brought the customer to them in the first place. I once ate at a restaurant where the customer service representatives were superb but the meal was poorly cooked.

Let’s look at this another way, no matter how pissed a customer is with Google, how much of a chance does the customer really have in deciding not to use Google? Reason is simple, it fulfills a much desired need and there isn’t really much of a competitor available. 

 

One thing however is logically true in all these: It is he who holds the higher bargaining power that is king.

You see it’s all about bargaining power. How much bargaining power you have, equals how much attention you get. Why is it that some customers get treated better than others? It’s because business owners recognize that some customers are more critical to the success of their business than others. To this extent I do believe that the customer cannot be said to be king in a monopoly or even a duopoly. This is especially when such customers business does not make up a major percentage of the monopolist profits. How can a customer be king in a situation where the enterprise holds the bargaining power?

Saying that the customer is king is therefore a silly phrase we all use when there are so many people offering the same product/ service and we just want to make the customer feel good about patronizing us. Was the product created because of a particular customer or to suit a particular need?

Practically speaking, there is a vast difference between what you need and what you feel. When push comes to shove on Abraham Maslow’s theory, needs come first. In essence, appeal to the need first before the emotions. Now I am a huge proponent of Emotionalintelligence and I am not saying that how a customer feels isn’t important. It is a known fact that emotions can never really be separated from buying and emotions can affect customers need to buy.

All I am trying to say is this: It is a desired need that drives the necessary emotion to buy. Recognize the real reason why the customer is there to do business with you and fulfill that need 100%. Then use emotional intelligence to make the customer bound to you for life.

Essential Customer Service Skills Every Customer Service Representative Needs to Be the Exceptional

Article By Valentine Okolo

In our everyday dealings with customers, one of three things is bound to happen. We either:

   -fail to meet customer expectations

   -meet customer expectations

   -or exceed customer expectations

Exceeding customer expectations is no mean feat. In today’s business world, customers are increasingly knowledgeable about product choices, service standards and above all consumer rights. And so exceeding customer expectations has become a must do for any business that is serious about gaining market share, loyalty and customer trust.

So what are these essential customer service skills every customer service representative needs to be exceptional?

Work on Your Attitude

Your attitude is a representation of who you are; what you believe and the choices you make. Guard it with your life because it is your life. Attitude is everything. Make a subconscious decision to be excellent at delivering customer service; in fact at everything you do. Resolve to be the best in your office, the best in the industry and enjoy doing it. When you put your mind to it you will begin to notice improvements in your results.

Resolve to control your subconscious. Understand that the subconscious controls the judgments you consciously make. Learn to feed it positively. This is where you begin to take control of your decisions. When you positively manage your decision making process, you will discover that you will be better able to manage your attitude towards customers especially problem customers, your colleagues, your employers and the community.

Exude Integrity at All Times

Integrity is arguably the highest moral standard one can achieve. The word integrity in itself stands for moral excellence, wholeness and in many ways honesty. People should be able to see you as someone who says only what he will do and does what he says. Above all, that which you say you will do should always be morally right.

Customers trust and are loyal to you when they know you maintain a high sense of integrity. This means that you will always treat customer transactions transparently, exclude moral excellence in all deals, keep to commitment and accept full responsibility for your actions. An employee of integrity gains customers’ trust and the trust of his employers over time and when you develop trust you gain loyalty and respect from everyone.

Professionalism

Be the professional they can trust. This means that you must perform your duties quickly and accurately. To be able to do this effectively, you must have excellent product knowledge. Learn the act of patience. You can go beyond basic and expected levels of service to provide your customers with desired and even surprising service interactions. Try to ensure you make your business or service the determinant of the standard for service in your industry, and then go the extra mile by making a way to always go beyond it.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to learn or understand the feelings of others. When translated to service delivery, emotional intelligence becomes the ability to learn or understand the feelings of your customers.

One key characteristic of emotional intelligence is empathy.

Empathy means that you will always try to put yourself in your customers’ shoe. You must understand how your customers’ expectations are rising over time, understand what your customers really want from you and understand what they value and what they believe they are getting (or not getting) from your business.

Do not treat a customer in a manner you would not like if you were placed in their own shoes.

Develop Your Personal Standards

You must have a clear understanding of yourself and the concept behind customer buying. To do this effectively, you must first develop your personal standards. You must equally understand what drives customer behavior.

The word standard means a level of excellence required or specified. The drive to always achieve excellence should form a part of your character. To maintain high personal standards, you need to make quality decisions based on moral strength and principles. You should be able to make compelling commitments and stick by them even when there are no factors enforcing or restricting you to keep them. These areas of standards include growth, honesty, integrity (earlier discussed), relationship, energy and action. All these have been extensively treated in my course on Basic Sales, Marketing andBusiness Development Skills.

Article By Valentine Okolo

 

 

How Emotions Influence your Customers Buying Pattern: The Secret of Emotional Intelligence in Building Customer Loyalty

There are several factors that affect how customers buy. Understanding what drives customers buying patterns is a potent tool to fight off competition. It is also an effective tool for developing a marketing strategy to grow market share.

Humans are emotional beings and our emotions can never really be separated from our behavior. In essence, it is my expert opinion that there is a correlation between how we feel and how we buy. When we buy we are bound to consider how the product or service we buy affects our feelings. For instance we may consider whether the service/product we buy equates to our social standing in society, our financial capabilities, how our loved ones, friends or neighbors feel, our religious beliefs, our technical expectations, individual pleasures or even our affiliations amongst others.

A Customer’s buying behavior relates to how individuals and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods and services to satisfy their needs and wants. Our needs and wants are influenced by several factors which we may either be consciously or unconsciously aware of.

Customer buying behavior/pattern is influenced by 3 factors:

Understanding these factors will enable you tailor your products and services to suit them. When you understand how to take advantage of these factors and apply them to your business, it is my belief that you will experience an exponential growth in your sales.

                                               The Cultural Factor

Culture has been widely described as the way and life of a people. It is a fundamental determinant of a customer’s wants and behavior. It is a fact that the environment we live in plays a large role in influencing our customers way of life and indeed customer buying patterns. Cultures are often defined by geographic locations, nationalities, ethnicity, race, religions, professions, groups, organizations etc. It is therefore no wonder that smart companies design specialized marketing programs, goods and services to meet the demand of sub cultural groups which have grown large enough to form a sizeable portion of the market share. Organizations must therefore redesign their products and services to suit the peculiarities of all markets while taking into consideration differences attached to geographical locations, nationalities and the like. Marketing efforts should also be packed to demonstrate the peculiarities of a product or service to the target markets culture.

                                                    Social Factors

Social factors which affect customer buying patterns include reference groups, family, social roles and status.

Reference Groups: Reference groups may have direct or indirect influence on a customer’s behavior. Groups having a direct influence include family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Relationships with sub groups tend to be informal and continuous. However, groups having an indirect influence on a customer’s behavior include religious groups, professional groups etc.  Interactions with such groups tend to be more formal in nature. Reference groups have the power to influence members to adopt new behaviors, lifestyles and attitudes. Influencing the group’s opinion leaders is a good way to exercise control over members of the group.

Family: Family members are arguably the most influential group on a customer’s behavior. As people are born and they grow, the family they belong to plays an important role in influencing their attitude towards society.

                                                        Personal Factors

Personal factors such as age, color, size, habits, stage in life cycle, occupation, personality, economic circumstances and personal lifestyle affects a customers buying pattern.

Age: As individuals advance in age, the products and services they will require will change. For instance, a female entering the age of puberty will require sanitary towels. In addition, it is arguably true that a customer’s preferences for things such as furniture, clothes etc. will change as they advance in age. Color: Body color and customer preference for color will affect buying decisions such as body creams, cosmetics, etc.

Size: Size will affect buying decisions such as diet choices, the need for recreational activities such as gymnasiums etc.

Personal Lifestyles and Habits: Personality is psychological traits that affect a customer’s lifestyle, habit, self-concept and ultimately the customers buying behavior. These psychological traits form characters consistent with the customer. A customer will most likely choose a brand which is consistent with their character, lifestyle and personal belief.

Occupation and Economic Circumstances: A customer’s occupation will play an important role in influencing their buying pattern. For instance an engineer or foreman will need protective equipment’s such as booths, gloves, helmets etc. while a banker will most likely be dressed in suits, corporate shoes etc. Also a petroleum company is most likely to buy an SUV for its operations on the oil field while a financial company such as a bank will most likely purchase something smaller and classier like a Toyota corolla.