Customer focus is one of the main principles of business. However, the focus on the consumer should be healthy: when a company begins to cater to its customers, it risks losing face and losing a unique product.
A few years ago, Privilege conducted a survey on the theme “The most beautiful car in the world”: respondents were asked which cars have the most aesthetic hood, headlights, bumper, roof, mirrors. After that, the designers combined all the parts indicated in the answers: the Lamborghini Gallardo profile, Rolls-Royce Phantom doors, the back from the Triumph Spitfire, the front from the Aston Martin DB9, mirrors from the Citroen C4 Picasso, and Mini Cooper optics. T
he result was a real monster, which is unlikely to have success in the market. This story illustrates how harmful it is to go on about consumers.
According to experts, following all the wishes of customers, the company risks losing not only money, but also business. To avoid this, it is necessary to find a balance between what the customer wants and what the organization can offer him. Consider several patterns of consumer behavior and ways that will help an entrepreneur make a profit without catering to customers.
The client does not always know what he wants
The famous car maker Henry Ford once said: “If I asked people what they want, they would ask for a faster horse.” Steve Jobs reasoned even more categorically: he believed that people did not know what they wanted until they were offered something specific. As scientists note, the human brain tends to follow the path of least resistance. you should use the bank transfer td bank routing number This is necessary to save energy and increase life expectancy. However, this evolutionary factor sometimes becomes an obstacle to progress: we are more pleased to perceive something familiar and understandable and wary of the new, seeing this as a threat.
When a client does not know what he wants, he strives to be like everyone else. For example, customers of advertising agencies are often asked to develop a logo “like competitors”. They do not have their own vision of what their company should be, so they are guided by the experience of neighbors in a market niche. In this situation, the agency may take a risk – offer a more revolutionary solution and – in case of failure – lose the client. Either agree with the customer in everything and create a logo that has thousands of copies. In the second case, the agency is more likely to work, but at the same time it will remain a faceless team, unable to offer unique design solutions. Unquestioning agreement with the customer theoretically increases the company’s chances of making a one-time profit, but can negatively affect its reputation in the long term.
Customer expectations are overpriced
Many companies are faced with overstated customer expectations: for example, the customer sets a task that an entrepreneur can fulfill only with financial losses. This situation often arises during the development of digital products: the client asks to create a website and constantly makes changes in the process, delaying the delivery of the project. As a result, the company, taking into account labor costs, begins to work at a loss. At the same time, the agency cannot abandon the project, because it will suffer even greater financial losses, as well as spoil its reputation. The reason for this behavior of the contractor lies in the attempt by any means to keep the client who feels and takes advantage of this weakness.
To prevent overstated expectations from becoming a surprise, experts advise before the start of the project to indicate in the contract all its stages, including the possible number of edits that should always be paid. US bank routing number The customer himself may suffer from this behaviour: trying to please, the agency may reduce the quality of its services. For example, the site will have insufficiently thought out functional part or poor design. When work is done under pressure, the contractor focuses not on quality, but on the desire to satisfy the client’s needs as much as possible. As a result, a poorly executed project causes damage to both sides: the customer receives a site that will soon have to be redone, and the contractor gets negative reviews that can ruin his reputation.
How to work with demanding customers
During negotiations, the client may insist that it is his ideas and proposals that are taken as the basis. For those who do not want to accept these conditions, analysts at geek digital agency recommend the following strategies:
Be open and honest. Do not rudely or condescendingly declare to the client that you do not believe in his idea. In the end, the man came to you for help. Instead, openly share your opinions and, as an argument, bring your experience and that of other companies.
Use statistics and examples. Some customers can only be convinced by solid evidence. For such customers, you can prepare studies, statistics and examples of how their ideas have harmed other companies. The numbers and data will impress them more than unfounded reasoning.
Suggest the best options. If you do not accept the customer’s ideas, offer them your choice – but only those that will help you achieve your goal. Let the client feel that he is a full-fledged participant in the project and controls the entire process. At the same time, delicately help the interlocutor choose the right option – so that he thinks that this is his conscious decision.
Make your idea competitive. Often, customers come up with ideas that are shot in another segment of the business. For this reason, they want to implement them in their company, not taking into account the difference in industries and budgets. To seize the initiative, you must make your offer relevant to the client and prove his market advantage.
