Focus on the customer

Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere

A greater percentage of successful businesses rode on the wave of excellent customer relationship management and strategy.

The effort one puts to attract a single customer into one’s business and how others engaged in the same line of business mess up the same customer leave analysts wondering.

Without customers, there is no business to talk about. As such, great care must be taken when dealing with customers. Customers are the reason for the business’ existence.

It takes years to build a customer base and a few minutes to destroy it. Focusing on the customer allows one to think in the context of what to sell, where to sell it, when to sell it and how to sell it.

What to sell

The worst business mistake people make is giving customers what they think they want. I don’t know who whispered to some people that there is a market for zvihuta.

This prompted people to look for these birds and they started breeding them. Those who were quickly convinced by the idea ended up crying the loudest.

There is a difference between what we think moves and what actually moves in a certain area. Figures were punched on calculators and profits were made on these gadgets.

If you did not consider or focus on customers’ needs and expectations in your business programming, don’t expect any joy or miracle to happen. What sells is what they want, and not what you want.

Where to sell

There are some commodities that sell in certain areas and others that don’t sell in the same areas, no matter how much you try pushing them. Your target market matters in the business matrix.

In as much as an iPhone is a very good mobile gadget, you cannot successfully run an iPhone-selling business in Kazozo, Nyakomba or Katerere in Nyanga, where people are struggling to get a dollar for the grinding mill.

Focusing on the customer allows one to look at tastes and preferences of individuals before they prescribe a product or a service to them.

Cultural background, climatic conditions, levels of income and beliefs have a bearing on what sells where. Take, for instance, those who sell clothes in an area populated by the Johane Marange members. You cannot successfully sell clothes with many colours. They want their plain clothes, in one colour. The same applies to the Mwazha sect members. An informed entrepreneur always thinks in the context of the customer and not what they want to push in a particular market. You will definitely miss the point and end up with piles of stock, with no one buying.

When to sell

There is a term that’s used in marketing called Consumer Buyer Behaviour. Consumer Buyer Behaviour is considered to be an inseparable part of marketing which Kotler and Keller define as the study of the ways of buying and disposing of goods, services, ideas, or experiences by individuals, groups and organisations to satisfy their needs and wants. You’ll realise that the major focus here is on the customer. How does a customer arrive at a buying decision?

There are a number of factors that kicks in before arriving at a final buying decision. As mentioned earlier on, there are goods that can be in season while others can be off-season. You can’t really order woollen jerseys or what’s popularly known as the bomba jackets under these high temperatures. Knowing when to sell is very important as you proceed with your entrepreneurship pursuits.

How to sell

The process of selling is never done anyhow. There is no one size fits all in selling. You have to change your approach and strategy depending on the type of customer or market that you are dealing with.

For the one selling some wares at a bus terminus, they obviously need to raise their voice mentioning the products that they are selling so that customers can hear. There will be a lot of noise by the terminus and your voice must be in a position to attract the attention of people.

We have seen those innovative ones crafting short and exciting stories about what they are selling in a bid to convince the customer to buy.

The strategy changes when you own a boutique shop in an up-market area. The type of customers there demands a quiet and ordered environment without any destruction. Such customers also demand a certain level of customer service.

The world has gone digital and a number of customers are now accessed online though we also have some who are still behind the speed of technology especially those in the rural areas where there are some network and data bundle issues.

There is a need to understand selling methods under digital platforms and how people react and respond to such. Basically how you sell must be informed by the type of customers that you are selling to.

Conclusion

Ideally, to succeed in business, you must be customer-centric in your approach. Think of customers and strategise around their needs. Business is all about providing what customers want when they want it at a fee.

The writer, Dr Kudzanai Vere is the founder and CEO of Kudfort Zimbabwe, a fast growing accounting and business advisory firm that has assisted individuals and organizations start, support, sustain and succeed in their businesses through company registration, establishment of standard operating procedures (SOPS), basic book keeping, accounting, auditing, forensic accounting, PRAZ registration, business health checkups and business advisory services. Dr Vere authored a number of business and personal development books that have transformed minds. /The Doc has recently developed an application called Zimotoka which enables anyone driving to easily and quickly locate a service provider within 50km radius in the event of a breakdown./You can contact Dr. Vere on +263 719 592232 or [email protected]