Customers have higher expectations of the people and organizations they do business with today.
Here are four tips that will lead to a better understanding of where customers are coming from:
- Customers are more knowledgeable today. Technology has made them more knowledgeable about what they’re buying and how their decisions relate to their organization needs. Customers are more self-confident and they know how to make use of their knowledge.
- Customers are more analytical. Their buying decisions are more closely linked with key business strategies. They base purchasing decisions on the strengths of the salesperson’s solutions. They expect service that goes beyond on-time deliveries and good communication. Effective customer service today must be equated to knowledge and expertise. Service now means becoming a valuable resource for the customer. If they don’t receive this level of service, they go elsewhere.
- Customers expect salespeople to be a valuable resource for them. Being viewed as a valuable resource produces long-term confidence. Value comes from making a continuing contribution to customer success. The major challenge for salespeople today is to have customers and prospects wanting to do business with them because their knowledge is valued.
- Customers look beyond immediate results. Long-term thinking is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Getting yourself to look down the road is a key to future success. Without such concern, there’s often a failure to recognize that the marketplace is changing, and business disappears as a result.
