CRM and Simplicity: What Do Our Customers Really Want?

Have you stopped to think about what it is that our customers really want? Aside from wanting a great product or service at a great price, customers want a positive customer experience. What exactly constitutes an overall positive experience for our customers? I truly believe that simplicity should be the word of the day when we are engaged in CRM. It goes beyond the ease of placing orders; how easy is it for customers to contact us or interact with our company?

It is worth the effort to find out how our customers prefer to contact us and how they prefer to be contacted. Some customers prefer the whole e-commerce realm, while others may not mind e-mail, but much prefer using the phone. Whatever their preference, part of a positive customer experience is helping to make whatever choice of contact as simple as possible. Instead of the main phone number for your company, why not give your customers your direct line? Customers will appreciate direct access to you rather than going through the maze of electronic options found in so many companies today.

Another key to simplicity is to ensure that your company website is current and easy to navigate. If a customer's first impression of our company is an outdated and user-unfriendly website, we may lose the sale before we even realize it.

Finally, for a really simple CRM guideline, ask your customers how you are doing. Find out from your customers what they think of your company, and ask them for ways their experience can be improved. The simple question of "How Are We Doing?" will go a long way in solidifying your customer relationships and showing the customer that they really matter and their opinions are highly valued.

The simple approach to CRM will indeed yield invaluable benefits for your customers and the organization.

"A vocabulary of truth and simplicity will be of service throughout your life." – Winston Churchill

Common sense and Other Sales Tactics

When you think about it, at the core of our customer relationships, it is really all about common sense. We need to approach our customers in the way we would like to be approached. Let's face it; we never really turn down an opportunity to talk about ourselves, and our customers are no exception. We need to be willing to really listen and encourage our customers to talk. Discussing their company's history, their industry, corporate climate, and plans for the future will all help us to learn about their needs and how we can provide value to them and their business.

Common sense also dictates that we treat our customers as we wish to be treated. That goes without saying, but perhaps the most important common sense approach we need to keep in mind is to be ourselves. The business world is ripe with catch phrases these days, and I think it is very important to not turn into a walking lexicon of business-ese. How often do we actually use the terms "paradigm shift" or "take it to the next level" in our normal conversations? We need to just be ourselves; be authentic, and I am betting our customers will be much more apt to feel more at ease and be willing to discuss their situation.

According to Webster's dictionary, common sense is "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts". Sound, wise in handling practical matters, and simple. Those are vital keys we need to keep in mind whenever we interact with our customers.

"Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done." C.E. Stowe