Last
updated January 24, 2006
Give
Your Customers A Voice
The
sound of silence can be deafening when it muffles valuable
customer feedback. To breakthrough the silence of mediocrity,
companies need to hear about the good, the bad and the
ugly from customers.
According
to research firm, TARP, for every person that complains,
there are 26 additional customers who don’t share
their experiences with your business. Even the smallest
unheard criticism can fester into lost clients and negative
word of mouth about your company. Honest feedback is priceless
in the race to success.
Quick
customer feedback tips:
Ask
all customers for their feedback (both negative and positive).
Maintain
honest and respectful communications with all customer
interactions.
Resolve
issues quickly; make improvements based on feedback.
Make
it easy and comfortable for customers to share their
perceptions.
Utilize
a variety of methods to seek customer feedback. Examples
include personal interaction, point of purchase receipts
or invoices, customer feedback phone number, e-mail,
small focus groups, or 24 hour Web surveys.
Seek
customer feedback daily. Consider asking, "What
one thing could we do to improve our service or product?"
Be
brave! Ask former customers for their feedback. If it’s
uncomfortable for sales to seek feedback, other company
representatives can contact former clients. Ask, "What
could XYZ do or change to get the opportunity to work
with you in the future?"
Thank
every customer (no matter how large or small) for their
feedback.
Don’t
take criticism personally or blame others.
Respond
to customers; let them know that you’ve received
their input and will be making improvements.
Share
customer feedback with employees.
What
is it like to be a customer of your business? Find out
what your customers experience when doing business with
your company.
An
Age-Old Question…
What Generation Is Your Target
Market?
For successful marketing, it is essential to know your target market(s). Many
times a target market can be defined by demographic information such as sex,
income, age or other common pieces of information. Specifically, generational
marketing is an important way to address your target market. A person’s
generation can impact their buying decisions since generational values are
most likely to help overall lifestyle and social values.
Every
age group or generation has a common set of experiences
from growing up during a specific period of time. An
age group’s common experiences (such as in politics,
schools, churches, countries, economics, entertainment
and so on) create similar characteristics for their generation
that many marketers and societies recognize.
The
four popular generational categories include:
1. Millennial
or Generation 2001ers: people born after 1980.
2. Baby
Busters or Generation Xers: people born between 1965
and 1980.
3. Baby
Boomers: people born between 1946 and 1964.
4. Mature
Citizens: people born between 1909 and 1945.
To
market to a certain generation successfully, it is important
to honor the language, images and values that properly
reflect their generation. Ultimately, the most important
challenge is to customize your message to motivate consumers
to buy.
When
companies make connections to consumers it can be because
they successfully communicate their target market’s
generational values in advertising and marketing flights
(ultimately values can be the big motivator to make a
purchase).
You
may want to include generational marketing in your marketing
and public relations planning…it could be the key
to unlocking even greater success!
