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?
Rightlaunch Customer Innovations 