Customer
Catcher™ Tips
Greater Success with "One More Question"
- Part 2
By Martin Wales
September 15, 2003
In the
last Customer
Catcher Tip, we discussed the value of applying
the power of questions in the quest for increased productivity
and profit. We specifically looked at your Ultimate Strategic
Positioning (USP) and direct mail. Now, let's explore other
avenues to ask your way to greater achievement.
Web
Site
The
most unasked question about web site development and use
is, "What is the objective?" Assuming you feel
you have to be online to stay competitive, how do you move
beyond having just a "brochure" site? Investigate
ways to use the site to increase productivity. Is the site
used as a staff training tool? Ask questions directed towards
minimization to identify unnecessary elements on the web
site. How can information be conveyed to inspire corporate
confidence? What can be done to prevent prospects from concluding
that they have enough information to make a decision without
contacting the company? How many different ways can people
connect with the company, whether they are customers or
prospects?
Customer
Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM
is emerging as a critical corporate process. Whether your
CRM strategy is paper-based or utilizing the latest software,
relationships only improve with a company-wide commitment
to quality communications. Ask yourself and clients the
right questions to plan and implement an effective CRM strategy.
CRM
implementations fail for numerous reasons – a lack
of appropriate preliminary questions is a factor. There
are software solutions with so many optional features and
reports, that the choices can be overwhelming. It is important
to establish which features are the most important. For
example, what do prospects want from your web site? Perhaps
they want instant information and immediate contact. Using
automated processes like web imports and e-mail rules, clients
can receive instant feedback while saving up to 90 percent
of the time it used to take to follow up manually. Ask what
you can do to meet customers' needs, while simultaneously
producing a corporate benefit. Ask one more question every
time you meet a customer, and you'll have the data for developing
your CRM strategy.
Trade
Show Attendance
Not enough questions are asked about trade shows. Usually
its just considering what trade shows to attend, who's going
and is it affordable. Be sure to also find out how the show
is being marketed. How can you market to prospects, clients
and show attendees prior to the actual trade show, and during
it, to help ensure your success at the event? Are you fully
participating with your suppliers' booth representative
and taking advantage of presentation opportunities?
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