Trying to understand why customers are still cautious about their purchases?

The vast majority of small to mid-size business know by now that consumers are still extremely careful with every purchase they make. Sure the the auto industry is doing well, as they continue to essentially give cars away And of course people are making other essential purchases they put off until they brought down their debt. But this doesn’t help most businesses who are not in the major corporation category.

All we really know is it continues to be a challenge unless you are selling smart phones or other mobile devices as these are the impulse purchases that are evident all around us.

If your business is still experiences a lack of growth there is one critical issue that may be at the core of your sales and marketing efforts; lack of smart use of social media tools which help you better understand “buyer” behavior prior to a decision to purchase from you.

It’s not enough to simply reach back to the same old sales and marketing practices that were effective prior to the crash of 2008. If business owners have not taken the time to learn how to improve and upgrade their customer retention and acquisition methods they will not survive for much longer.

Customers expect you to understand their needs. They do not simply convert from a old customer or new prospect to a buyer because you put up a new tag line or have brought in the social media so called experts without an investment in learning the “new rules of customer engagement”. If you and your team have not changes your behavior during each interaction with the customer prior to a sale you will not gain their trust or continued loyalty.

We all see and hear both on television and radio that every business now has several mediums in which the consumer can chose to interact with companies. With the Internet at their finger tips they want immediate answers to their questions about you and your products. How are you any different then the dozen of other “me too” businesses that provide the same product or services. It’s no secret each one of us who must buy a product or service will not continue to accept a one direction conversation with any business. We are no longer spending our money with businesses just because five years we purchased a product from them.

Even worse if your business is one that sends out unsolicited mail, messages or emails with the “sales pitch” in the first sentence you will get deleted immediately. Consumers are overwhelmed with this old and tired marketing behavior. It’s disruptive and only make them angry. Customers will never buy from these marketers and the companies they represent. There is a confluence of reasons why many consumers have not continued to maintain a relationships with businesses. This is one in particular that really offends consumers.

As author Dov Siedman conveys in his recent book “HOW: Why We Do Anything Means Everything” consumers are changing their outlook concerning the buyer-seller relationship. Whether companies understand this or not it’s “game on”.

For years I have been writing about the need for all business to listen to their customers. Everyone know without a sustainable approach to maintaining a laser focus on each customer and their specific needs it will not be possible to continue to stay in business. This is fundamental to your bottom line. You and your employees need to have one thing on you mind everyday you come to work “how do I ensure each prospect and customer that I have their best interest in mind. Every interaction needs to be a learning experience. If you lose a customer or do not win the business of a qualified customer what are you doing that is not in “their best interest”?

Businesses can no longer maintain or create a relationship without a significant understanding of their target customer and their needs. The customer is the cornerstone of every business. Continuous improvement in customer service and customer care is tantamount to your success.

It doesn’t manner whether you are providing a product or service you will not be in business if you do not change the way you communicate with customers. Your overall business objective needs to be “listen and converse”.

In the end people do business with people they trust. This has always been at the heart of a successful enterprise. However, it has taken on greater importance as we all struggle with everyday purchases in an economy that is still unstable.

The making of the “social customer”

Like many business owners today you may be at a loss regarding the recent shift in buyer behavior. Particularly buyers who seek counsel on social networks with respect to your products or services. This shift in buying behavior is unquestionably the number one reason sales are not moving up or in many cases even keeping even year over year.

We all know that buying something is an “emotional” experience.  But there is more to this that must be understood.  Consider our economic life over the past five years.

Our economy has encountered an unprecedented period of contraction.  With a real unemployment rate of 22% (when you count the workers who gave up and are living on their savings). A majority of the productive workers are now on the sidelines off the court and unable to get back in the game.

This has led to a full stop in our consumerism culture. Now every purchase must be justified through research, discussion with others via social networking and real income.

People are freighted when they have to pull out their wallet to make a purchase. There has never been a more challenging time to establish and maintain customer relationship.

Subsequently, the question is how does a business owner get past this fear or trepidation?

Unfortunately the answer is not a simple one. But, there is an answer. Are you and your organization truly ready to rise to the occasion? This issue must be addressed. What are the fundamental interpersonal skills required today to open communications between you and your customer. Are you trained in the art of acknowledging their perceptions, what they feel and believe about you, your company, your produces and services?

The path to understanding the need to gain intimate trust with each and every customer you have or acquire is a significant one.  To engage and secure a customer’s business and loyalty you and whoever represents your business must be perceived as trustworthy and want to provide them with a product or service that they “really need”.

The skills necessary to acquire and retain the so-called “social customer” are not any different then working with a customer face to face. You either have them or you must be open to learning. The bottom line is if they don’t “feel” you genuinely care about their needs and want to serve them they will not enter into a transaction with you or your company.

Remember in good times a sale is an emotional experience but in bad times those emotions are overwhelmed by group think mentality or worse sheer panic.  The question becomes are you and your team up to the task because nothing happens without a sale. How are you going to transact a sale with people who are impervious to anything you say.

The answer, don’t say anything! Ask them questions. Every opportunity to talk with your customer via the Internet or face to face you should be listening to them articulate their needs.

Find the best company employee who customers seek out because they are the honored ones, to be trusted always. They have never led a customer to a purchasing decision that was not appropriate for them.

People in your company who have that level of interpersonal skill need to step up and teach others the same. Everyone has to shift the way in which they interact each and every day with potential clients and existing customers. This is the only path to success in this new age of transactional relationships.

The question is are you up to the task?

Virtual Customer Relations Master Counsel

Engaging in the virtual conversations. How consumers, clients and buyers are changing the rules of purchasing via social networking communities, dialogues and partnerships. The intent of this advisory is to help you socialize your business and teach your organization how to interact and transact from the perspective of the “customer’s voice”.

This is not a new concept but one that has been understood by the technology corporations for the past decade. It is time that all verticals and small to mid-size business incorporate this culture into their day to day operations. We are headed for an extremely difficult business environment. Company owners would be wise to either learn this new concept or get the experts to help you turn the company on this new course.