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- A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
- A CORPORATE BENCHMARKING TOOL
- A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
- A SALES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
- AN EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TOOL
An account development strategy, selling more goods and services to existing accounts is considered to be nine times easier and cheaper than to find new accounts. Such a strategy requires a
concise customer focus. “Being customer focused one-to-one enterprise is not something that will ever be fully achieved. Being customer focused is not a destination for firm but a direction in which to point the business… competitive success will come from being further along this never-ending path towards managing customer relationships than your rivals.” 1
A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PROGRAM:
InfoQuest generates an in-depth one-to-one account-customer analysis, providing the type of data necessary to set up and maintain strong customer relationships. This closed-loop communication approach leaves you with an implied invitation to come back and meet with key customer decision-makers. You're not only able to gain direct access to the people who make buying decisions, being armed with a detailed account profile, which many customers will be unaware you have, you're in the position of having answers before the questions are asked. This gives sales and field people the ability to present solutions, and to draw more information from customers in a non-confrontational setting. Altogether, it's a powerful, affordable and effective way to strengthen customer relationships and loyalty.
A CORPORATE BENCHMARKING TOOL:
Among the questions that companies typically have difficulty answering is, do we fully, intimately understand how each key client, in each critical market, defines excellence? Are we providing the same level of service, are we meeting the same level of client expectations, in Sacramento and Orlando as we are in Baltimore? Do the folks in Beijing excel to the same degree as those in Berlin?
And, if there are differences, to what degree do they exist, what impact are they having on current and future revenues, and most importantly, what specific actions can we – must we - take to get the entire organization working off of the same seamless sheet of music?
InfoQuest can answer those questions more effectively, more efficiently, and more accurately than any customer survey process on the planet.
A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM:
While InfoQuest meets and exceeds all customer survey requirements under QS 9000, ISO 9000:2000, and all other known quality standards and programs, there is more to Continuous Improvement than just meeting customer feedback requirements.
Especially in manufacturing environments, where business relationships tend to be built on a complex matrix on decision-makers and -influencers, all of whom can and do influence whether an ongoing relationship shall continue or not, account-based feedback from all stakeholders is essential to preserving and building the relationship. So important is high quality customer feedback that the EFQM (European Federation of Quality Management)'s Excellence Model, which is separated into nine business processes, rates Customer Feedback Results as the single most important item.
A SALES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
The Forum Corporation once analyzed the causes of customer migration in 14 major manufacturing and service businesses. They found that:
- 15% migrated because of quality issues
- 15% because of price issues, and
- 70% moved on because 'they didn't like the human side of doing business with the prior provider of the product or service'
- Tom Peters, The Pursuit of Wow.
Studies have consistently shown that a "Totally Satisfied" customer is as much as ten times more likely to keep buying from you than a customer who is merely "Somewhat Satisfied", which is to say that companies which exceed their customer's expectations keep their customers longer, generate more repeat business, and in both cases, can charge more for doing so.
Given that it costs 6-10 times more to gain a new customer than to keep an existing one, clearly one of the most important things any company can do is to make sure that its existing accounts are being taken care of.
AN EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TOOL:
For the executive team, InfoQuest is a way to find out what is happening in remote areas of the company; a way to gain a report card on what sales or support people are doing in the field; a way to gain a clear, concise, unfiltered feedback directly from the source.
Put it all together and InfoQuest can be put to practical use by just about all areas of your company. It will help everyone see your business through your customer's eyes. And, it will give you the strategic tools to improve and grow your business, but customer satisfaction is like everything else you do - if you can't measure it, you can't manage it.
1. "The One to One B2B: Customer Relationship Management Strategies for the Real Economy", Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Doubleday, 2001
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