Capturing and updating customer information is a continuous effort that is beneficial to the customer, you, and your company. The more information you have about your customer, the better your relationship may be with that customer. It provides a foundation of information that can be shared across functional groups in your company. This foundation helps during staff transitions and helps grow new relationships with the customer. These relationships can help you understand your customer’s needs so that you can better provide solutions to the customer. Here are a few tips:
Communicate with your customer and often. Communication is a two-way street where the customer talks and you listen, listen, and then listen some more. Initiating communication helps if you have something to say. Sometimes it can just be a quick “hello, how are you doing” call. Customers want to know what is going on, but may or may not need detail overload. The important thing to remember is that you know what your customer wants you to communicate. Customers usually do not complain about too much communication, but rather when there is a lack of communication.
Know your customer’s products and services. Be aware of your customer’s business and products. Read the corporate publications if you have access to them. Visit their web site, read their annual report, and if possible, initiate conversations with other employees within the company. Focus on listening to what they are telling you (see above). Attend product meetings if you are allowed to. Providing good solutions depends on the business problems your customer is trying to solve. Knowing all you can about your customer’s business can help you better understand their business problems.
Understand your customer’s corporate culture. The corporate culture reflects items such as the company’s values, norms, beliefs, policies, and procedures. If permitted, attend corporate meetings, and announcements to understand the corporate mission, goals, and objectives. Understanding the corporate culture is imperative to implementing solutions for your customer. Having an awareness of the company’s policies and procedures is key to operating within their business environment.
More to come….
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