Four out of every five jobs created globally come from small medium scale enterprises and about 55 percent of Gross Domestic Product of higher income countries comes from SMEs according to a recent World Bank Report. In Ghana, about 92 percent of all registered businesses according to data available at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) are SMEs; these SMEs in turn contribute 70 percent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and about 85 percent of workers in the manufacturing sector are provided by SMEs data at the Ghana Statistical Service indicates. From the forgoing, it is evident that SMEs play a pivotal role in contributing to the growth and development of every economy in the world.
These SMEs do not do business in isolation; they serve the needs and aspirations of customers for profitability. It is acknowledged widely that customers are the lifeblood of any profitable venture and thus businesses must ensure they give customers unbridled customer service experience to keep them for business profitability and growth. But today’s customers are learned, travelled, sophisticated; technology and innovation have made competing for them very intense. And they hold the key to the business’ survival.
It cost five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. For this reason, businesses will go to great lengths to acquire and keep customers for profitability. Businesses must endeavor to know their customers inside-out and if this is done customers become advocate for the business when their needs and aspirations are met.
Look out for these nuggets to deliver customer service in a highly competitive business environment striving to capture and retain customers for profitability;
1. People matter in customer service delivery; you can use automation but people matter. The face-to-face interactions with customers by your frontline staff and everybody in the company calls for hiring and training of the right people with right attitude for the job. The culture of customer service should be built and adhered to by all in its delivery. You should have a blueprint for achieving this and should be prescriptive enough to ensure it becomes clear enough for the team to follow through living by it. Invest in the systems and structures that help to create and manage good customer service delivery.
2. Give your customers value for money; customers are the lifeblood to every business success and customers pay for their needs and aspirations to be met. The customer and not the competition holds key to a company’s prospects. A customer-focused business gives value in their delivery of good customer service to customers. Every product or service gives customers some benefit, for which they are willing to pay up to some maximum price.
3. Emotionally connect with your customers; have a big ear for customers. They give free feedback which becomes knowledge and data for the business. Knowledge is power; businesses giving ear to their customers will run by this feedback to ensure growth and profitability. There are two ways by which businesses can connect with their customers; relationally or transactional. Relationally connecting with your customers supersedes transactional connection since the latter only seeks the interest of the business in the short-term by not focusing much attention on the customer. For long-term business growth adopt the relational connection with your customers, receive feedbacks, work on them and deliver good customer experience for your customers.
Every business strives to achieve business profitability and growth and the customer is the catalyst for growth. Figure out what it is that you can do for your customers to ensure they value your products and services so highly that they will be with you for life.
Author: Paa Swanzy-Essuman || p.swanzy@ghanatalksbusiness.com
