Who sewed clothes?
Today it is somehow unseemly not to declare client-their business. This is not just a craze, but rather a condition of survival in the new market conditions. But is this always so clearly understood by all employees of the Company and, most importantly, how they understand their contribution to maintaining relationships with customers, so long as it would be mutually beneficial for both parties?
Why is he gone?
Let’s start with an analysis of reasons for leaving are important consumers for a long time collaborated with the Company to a competitor. Agree that if we do not know these reasons, encourage consumers to use products / services competitor, it is difficult to talk about the success of any marketing strategy because the probability of each time step on the same rake is very high.
Alas, many of the question this way seems completely banal, and answers like they themselves are being drawn. They surely indicate that they should be attributed more competitive prices / discounts, payment terms, assortment, logistics, product quality, etc. Very rarely, someone will point and a higher degree of fulfillment of contractual obligations competes with the consumer. But hardly anyone will think about this, determining a tough competitive factors, such as an incorrect attitude of the staff of various divisions of the Company, and not just service marketing. And it was the comfort of the relationship of consumers with the Company, other things being very close to the conditions of cooperation with it, is increasingly becoming a determining factor for him.
As our experience in conducting since 1997, interviewing and questioning dozens of UK companies of all sizes and fields of activity, the average core customers were lost by the Company for that reason, hesitated on the level of 27-35% of the total number who took part in the polls.
Many colleagues believe that such surveys are not effective simply because consumers are obviously offended by the Company, is unlikely to want to communicate with its representatives. But this will largely depend on how and what exactly you refer to them? If the context of the treatment would be: “Come back – I forgive you”, then it can hardly count on a constructive dialogue. If, however, apply to the consumer as to the former partner with the request to tell what exactly did not suit him in the practice of established relationships with the Company that has a very high probability of establishing further dialogue. In any case, from our practice, it is possible to interview at least 25-30% of the total number of such customers.
So to carry out such a questionnaire and interviewing retired Consumers at least once a year and take measures to eliminate the very causes that motivate them to care for competitors, and not just send them a more attractive proposals for cooperation. As international practice shows, retaining existing customers will cost you much cheaper to find and attract new ones. Besides, do not always understand what they are new, in terms of degree of relevance, will be in the future for the Company.
Hold me, a straw, hold …
Programmes to improve the existing loyalty Consumers are becoming more popular among the leaders of UK companies. But usually, they are limited by various bonus programs, discounts and savings schemes, much less creating the so-called “clubs loyal consumers” and various forms of intangible rewards. In turn, the employees themselves marketing services for the most part believe that this problem can be solved simply by improving their material interest in the outcome of their work.
Without belittling the value factor motivation of sales services, still can not fully agree with them. Customer satisfaction results of cooperation with the Company, in the first place, will be determined by how the product or service is allowed to solve the problem that motivated his appeal to the Company. After all, in creating the product and its sale to a consumer is closely involved and staff from other units, the direct impact on the efficiency of officers who do not have sales. Moreover, far from being rare cases when the criteria for evaluating the performance of the staff of these services are not directly linked to the implementation of market strategies.
To expertly assess the degree of involvement of companies in the implementation of programs to retain consumers, we recommend using our questionnaire: “Diagnostics business organization in the company, essentially a matrix of responsibility departments of the Company in addressing these challenges.
To conduct such a survey is necessary at the same time for three levels of management of the Company: the highest top, the heads of all departments and staff members from the commercial service. Anticipating the questionnaire, you will need to explain to all parties that one problem (process) can not be responsible two, as, respectively, no one responsible. And that, in both cases this will mean that this process – no owner!
However, our experience shows, and it held more than a hundred of these questionnaires, in most cases, this recommendation is rarely taken into account. That, in turn, indicates a lack of clear delineation of areas of responsibility and authority between units of the Company in addressing the challenges.
What else combines the results of all surveys, it is the vision of the role and place units in the process: Fulfill obligations under contracts concluded with consumers. “In the unanimous opinion of respondents (95%), representatives of enterprises of all sizes and activities, participants and / or responsible for this process must be employees of services marketing and / or marketing.
Amazingly, almost did not see themselves as part of this process, staff services, manufacturing, procurement, logistics, quality control and others. Clearly, with this understanding of their role in this key and inclusive process, no programs to improve loyalty Consumers are not achieved results.
Pla tone of my friend, but …
Can the introduction of internal regulations and standards of interaction between departments to increase their level of involvement of employees in the above processes? Yes and no. Yes, because the office staff cause the Company to “live” not so much on notions as to the rules. No, because his work, no matter how says you can do differently. Consequently, by itself, the regulation of business processes without the rigid control over their performance, and measures to encourage staff not produce the desired effect.
Implementation of regulations is desirable to combine with the translation of internal documents from the traditional paper to electronic internal network using, for example, opportunities inherent in the office suites MS Office. This in itself would eliminate the human factor in the process of harmonizing conditions of contracts with consumers.
At the same time it makes sense to introduce laws and exhibiting the internal claims of one unit to another or others for non adopted regulations, resulting in failure of the applicant unit targets, which in turn can affect the performance of their bonuses.
The main thing that must be taken into account by adopting such regulations, so that the public discussion. This means that if, for example, Head of Marketing exposes the claim production workers for violating terms of manufacturing production by the Treaty concluded with consumers, the rightness of his position, he must prove at a meeting in the presence of the heads of all divisions of the Company. And only by proving it openly, as well as bringing to the attention of all participants the possible consequences of such actions and their impact on the future organization of the relationship with the consumer, he can count on the adjustment of its unit targets and some financial compensation in bonuses to his staff.
However, this does not mean that the award to his staff should be assessed in full, as every employee of the Company have material a sense of participation fulfill the obligations of the Company to the consumer. Just totally unacceptable that the amount depremirovaniya offender unit was full of extra bonus victim.
In our experience, the first phase of implementation of these regulations are not excluded acute conflict situations. However, after several such meetings, understanding staff divisions of the Company of their common interests in addressing the challenges of Customer retention becomes more pronounced. The most important thing now from the persistent demands of service marketing for strict enforcement of agreed targets are no longer dismiss as from flies.
But since there is no stick and little carrot, then simultaneously with the internal claims, we recommend that you enter and acts of encouragement, when a division seeks to promote the other for their active assistance in the implementation of any event. For example, the same service market may become the initiator of such an act in relation to the services of engineering and technological and / or marketing for their active assistance in the preparation and holding of exhibitions. Procedure for consideration and adoption by the proposed similar.
Another option would increase the degree of involvement of employees of the Company in retaining customers can be the introduction of an additional lump-sum bonuses to all its employees for the increase in the number of devotees, especially among important for companies, consumers. In fact, this is precisely the 13th salary, which was still widespread in Soviet times. Then she paid to all employees, in case the company annual financial performance. We recommend you pay a premium as a lump sum once a year, but subject to increase financial performance and the number of loyal consumers in the reporting year in relation to planned and / or in the preceding.
This approach to bonus policy will show each employee of the Company, that regardless of what his direct relationship with consumers, its contribution to creating for him a comfortable relationship and, consequently, increasing devotion to his company, it is specific and adequately assess the material.
Let’s start …
Of course, all of the above can not be regarded as a panacea. Moreover, to increase the degree of interaction between service marketing and other divisions of the Company can not and without the introduction of internal rules and rituals of corporate culture. This path is tortuous and long. The main thing is necessary to achieve a result, it is something that any innovation brings you closer to what the question posed by us in the beginning of this article, any member can firmly say – “We!”. And to this we had a completely different context than the one in the famous miniature Raikin.
Tags: analysis, business, client, consumer, customers, maintaining, market, reasons, relationships
