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That’s great! What’s next?
Taking Care of Customers
By Judy A. Jacobs

Just about the time businesses begin to feel good about themselves for a job well done, along comes that all-too-familiar question from the customer, “That’s great, but what’s next?”

Successful companies know this question is coming and are prepared with the answer even before the sale is made or the service is performed. They operate under the well-known premises that keeping customers is far easier than finding new ones and that a satisfied customer is their greatest marketing tool.

So how do they “take care” of their customers and keep them coming back? They realize that their customers don’t see them as being as good as the last sale, but rather judge them on their ability to provide them with the “next one.” To address this, these businesses keep moving down a path predetermined by the wants and needs of their customers and are prepared to adapt to any sudden turns in that road.

Even businesses that do “listen” to customers can sometimes fail to really “take care” of them. It’s not uncommon to hear a business owner or sales manager say, ““We know who are customers are and what they want––we just need more sales.”

While these businesses may perform their due diligence to determine the needs of their customers, usually once the transaction is complete they go right back to business as usual and fail to focus on what comes next. Even if customer service is their highest priority, their focus is only on the task at hand; their conversations are focused on the customers’ needs, but only for a particular moment.
By contrast, look at Apple Computer. Most people think of them as a software and computer company, but even more than that, they are marketing geniuses. Why? Because they collect information from their customers, act on it, and have a product ready before even the customers realize they want it.

Take for example the iPod. As the Internet made digital music downloadable, people wanted a simple way to take “their music” with them. An MP3 player seemed like a great way to avoid having to lug around a case full of CD’s, each of which might have one song you wanted. But when the first MP3 players were introduced, they had many shortcomings and failed to catch on with any significant market traction. It seemed that folks just found it easier to burn a disk of their favorite music.

At least, that was the case until Apple unveiled the iPod. The iPod addressed all the problems of its predecessors. Apple also paired the iPod with iTunes – a standard offering with its Mac operating system – and suddenly downloading music was never easier. When it hit the market, the iPod caught its competition completely flat-footed and now even the name “iPod” is synonymous with MP3 player.

Apple sold 4.4 million iPods in fiscal year 2004, but still it refused to stand on its laurels. Prompted by customer feedback, the iPod already has been through four model revisions, each one easier to use and offering longer battery life than the last.

And now you can accessorize your iPod. If you don’t like the standard white earphones, you can opt for ones that are contoured to your ears. Want to play your iPod through your car stereo? You can purchase an adapter to port it through the tape player or go for an “iPod-ready” stereo that uses either a jack or a dedicated docking port specifically designed for your iPod. Want to play your mixes at home? Just use your iPod to connect wirelessly and play your lists through your home stereo. Want to share your music? One accessory assists in downloading a playlist to a CD while another allows you to print high-resolution jewel case inserts.

And the trimmings go on. It seems that for every possible use of an iPod, there’s an accessory to go with it because that’s what the customers want.

But how does Apple do it? It almost seems as though they’re in the minds of their customers.

That’s because they are.

Granted, understanding the customer is no easy task, but Apple knows that gathering personal data and engaging the individual customer is the focus that should drive development. They never miss an opportunity to find out what else they can do for a customer and they don’t ignore their findings.

This is precisely where other businesses go wrong. They spend so much time on what they’re trying to sell, they fail to focus on what really matters—what customers want to buy. They then fail to follow-through and rather than implement something with real customer appeal, they simply hope whatever they do sticks. But it rarely does.
We hear variations on this theme almost every day. Companies often fail at marketing and sales because they haven’t addressed the core issues: What excites the customer and keeps his or her interest? How do we stay connected with them? How do we solve a customer’s problems?

The answers to these questions lie in three basic tenets:

Never think that you truly know your customers. That’s an assumption that can cost you business. Stay in regular contact with your customers, not to sell them on what you have to offer, but for them to tell you what you should offer. There’s an old adage in the legal profession, “Don’t ask a question, the answer to which you do not already know.” This applies to product and service improvements as well. If you stay in contact with customers and base your decisions on their wants and needs you won’t be met with an unexpectedly unfavorable response.

Don’t just make a sale; establish a relationship. Too many businesses look upon a sale as the end of an effort when it should really be the next step in a continuing relationship. An organized, disciplined follow-up will draw you and your customers closer together. Successful follow-up focuses on the customers’ needs and what you need to do to meet them.

Make sure “new” is an actual improvement. Everybody wants to take on a new challenge, but why? Just being “new and different” isn’t enough. Coca-Cola found this out the hard way when it introduced “New Coke” and quickly found its sales falling flat. Change for change sake is not the answer; change should provide true improvement and address what the customer wants. Today’s customers want choices, but they want them to be relevant to what they need to accomplish. Failure to provide relevant change and improvements will send the customer elsewhere.

The greatest mistakes companies make are that they assume they really know their customers and that the sale is their goal. “Taking care” of your customer requires knowing what is important to them – today, tomorrow and the day after. It is a process that requires constant attention, a good listening ear and continuous, persistent, never-ending follow-up.

Judy Jacobs is sales manager for Mosinee Insurance Agency, Inc.,
a family-owned business that has served the personal and business insurance needs of clients throughout central Wisconsin since 1934. Jacobs’ insurance career covers 25 years. She is a Certified WorkComp Advisor, conducts workshops to teach businesses how
to save money on their Workers’ Compensation insurance and has been recognized as a “Legendary Performer” by West Bend Mutual Insurance. She may be contacted at judyj@mosineeins.com
or 715-693-2100.

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