WHAT MAKES THE CUSTOMER POWERFUL?
Business is a relationship. This type of relationship is between a product owner or service provider and a customer who is buying the product or paying for the service. In most cases, we have a balanced customer-to-business relationship. In others, the equilibrium in customer relationships has shifted.
Businesses are supposed to be customer-centric and this is intended to give the customer a say in the relationship. In most businesses and industries, the customer is not firmly in charge; making them have the upper hand in the relationship. This has given support to the popular saying, "Customers are always right".
In 2005, a US-based auto parts company went bankrupt despite generating $26 billion in annual revenue. How did this happen? You may ask, It is because it served only a few large customers who held so much sway that they could demand price cuts every year.
Customers have found a way to stay in power and this has granted them the opportunity to influence transactions and revenues for businesses.
What could be the source of this power?
The answer is The Internet.
There is a digitalization of the business world as a result of the world stepping up into a global village. Businesses are finding a way to get Online to stay relevant and to be able to compete.
According to a post made by Christine Crandall on Forbes in 2012, she stated that " Buyers took control when information became ubiquitous on the web. No longer dependent upon marketing for information on trends or new ways to solve problems, and equally no longer dependent on sales to navigate the pros and cons of solutions they were considering - buyers threw off the shackles and rewrote the rules."
The weapon of the 21st-century customer is the Internet. The Internet has given the customer a lot of options better or similar to your business. You certainly will not be the only one the customer will be having access to because the internet has opened up the whole wild world for your customer to explore. We now have businesses without physical walls. Businesses now reside on the internet.
Stop focusing on the customers you can see, start looking for the customers you can't see. GO ONLINE.
You need to stay competitive in the same Internet community if you must make sales.
How then do you meet up with the current demand of the internet as a business owner/service provider?
1. Know your competitors.
2. Create a brand.
3. Have a fast and secure internet connection.
4. Stay on top of the competition
5. Create and manage social media platforms daily.
6. Be consistent
7. Learn when to quit when an idea fails.
8. Know who your customers are
9. Practice friendly customer service.
10. Always market yourself online.
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