Customer is .... (not always!) the king....
Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote : A customer is the most important visitor on our premises; He is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him. He is not an interruption on our work, he is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider on our business, he is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him, he is doing us a favor, by giving us an opportunity to do so.
It is the day of consumers. Consumerism has increased several folds in the recent years. That is because of the larger (ever-increasing) population, which has got a lot of disposable income. Even the people in the low-income group have the financial capability to afford house-hold items (white goods) which were once thought to be fit to be in rich homes only. The recently coined adage says, 'supply creates demand'. You make things available (abundantly) in the market and the people grab them (irrespective of whether they have a real need or not!). A coconut shell (which is thrown away, after using the kernel) is sold at Rs. 1,300 on-line. What a joke!
To the extent the market has expanded exponentially, the presence of sellers has also increased tremendously, making the competition very fierce. Not to speak of on-line marketing houses! You name it, they sell it! One has to adopt to 'niche marketing' which does not exist, but has to be created. Marketing and advertisement professionals innovate unheard of marketing tools to achieve their goal.
In the present competitive market, it is not easy to pull customers and more so to retain them (even though there are many buyers). Complaints (about the sellers or their products) if any, will spread in the customers' circle like wild fire. Since it is better to retain the loyal customers than to attract new customers, the business managers have to see to it that regular customers are retained (at a higher cost even!).
There is a funny story to show how to retain the customers. A man who attended the mass in the local church had an awkward situation when his mobile phone rang loudly in the middle of the priest's sermon. Every one stared at him, the priest had a few harsh words and not to speak of the deadly stare of his wife. He never attended the church after that day. He went to the local bar that evening and in his agitated state of mind spilled the liquor all over. The lady bar manager came along, comforted him, saying 'it is alright; it happens some times and not to worry'. She served him another pint, on the house and gave a big hug! No wonder, he visited the bar more frequently thereafter.
My wife once bought some groceries from a nearby supermarket. She carried the items in the carry bag provided by the supermarket. Unfortunately, the bag had some big hole and one or two items fell through on the way home. She noticed it only after reaching home. She retraced the path to find the fallen goods. Could not find them. She informed the supermarket salesman about this. He did not respond properly. She visited another supermarket in a slightly distant area. It so happened that her dress pulled up some stacked eggs (which fell on the ground), unknowingly. The sales person made the house-keeping person clean up the mess. He comforted my wife saying that it was not her fault and the eggs should have been properly placed in the rack. My wife has made it a point to buy all her requirements from that supermarket, though it is a bit longer from our home.
Customer may not be always correct. But, you have to treat them as if they are right all the time. Keep smiling though they throw foul language at you. That is the secret of retaining the loyal customers.
It is the day of consumers. Consumerism has increased several folds in the recent years. That is because of the larger (ever-increasing) population, which has got a lot of disposable income. Even the people in the low-income group have the financial capability to afford house-hold items (white goods) which were once thought to be fit to be in rich homes only. The recently coined adage says, 'supply creates demand'. You make things available (abundantly) in the market and the people grab them (irrespective of whether they have a real need or not!). A coconut shell (which is thrown away, after using the kernel) is sold at Rs. 1,300 on-line. What a joke!
To the extent the market has expanded exponentially, the presence of sellers has also increased tremendously, making the competition very fierce. Not to speak of on-line marketing houses! You name it, they sell it! One has to adopt to 'niche marketing' which does not exist, but has to be created. Marketing and advertisement professionals innovate unheard of marketing tools to achieve their goal.
In the present competitive market, it is not easy to pull customers and more so to retain them (even though there are many buyers). Complaints (about the sellers or their products) if any, will spread in the customers' circle like wild fire. Since it is better to retain the loyal customers than to attract new customers, the business managers have to see to it that regular customers are retained (at a higher cost even!).
There is a funny story to show how to retain the customers. A man who attended the mass in the local church had an awkward situation when his mobile phone rang loudly in the middle of the priest's sermon. Every one stared at him, the priest had a few harsh words and not to speak of the deadly stare of his wife. He never attended the church after that day. He went to the local bar that evening and in his agitated state of mind spilled the liquor all over. The lady bar manager came along, comforted him, saying 'it is alright; it happens some times and not to worry'. She served him another pint, on the house and gave a big hug! No wonder, he visited the bar more frequently thereafter.
My wife once bought some groceries from a nearby supermarket. She carried the items in the carry bag provided by the supermarket. Unfortunately, the bag had some big hole and one or two items fell through on the way home. She noticed it only after reaching home. She retraced the path to find the fallen goods. Could not find them. She informed the supermarket salesman about this. He did not respond properly. She visited another supermarket in a slightly distant area. It so happened that her dress pulled up some stacked eggs (which fell on the ground), unknowingly. The sales person made the house-keeping person clean up the mess. He comforted my wife saying that it was not her fault and the eggs should have been properly placed in the rack. My wife has made it a point to buy all her requirements from that supermarket, though it is a bit longer from our home.
Customer may not be always correct. But, you have to treat them as if they are right all the time. Keep smiling though they throw foul language at you. That is the secret of retaining the loyal customers.
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