Perspective Client → Client → Loyal Client

15/ 10/ 2017

Author: Victoria Yesualenko, Marketing Director, Asters Law Firm, certified business trainer, speaker TEDx Women 2016 Each of us has its own definition of customer focus. For someone, it is the use of CRM-systems, for others - additional services and SMS-congratulations on holidays, for advanced marketers - this is a marketing strategy that allows you to increase the number of loyal customers and increase profits; and for very many people - just a flattering treatment of any potential buyer or customer. Whatever is your point of view, you should always remember that client focus is a characteristic of business, reflecting the aspiration and ability of a business to build mutually beneficial relations with its clients, both external and internal. Is it possible to tell that a restaurant is client focused, where a guest has to specifically request for a menu? Is it possible to name a lawyer client focused if after receiving his invoice payment he becomes totally ignorant of any affairs of the client? Do customers need a bank that flushes them messages 20 times a day, forcing poor people blocking communication channels? If you take care conveniently and pleasantly for the clients to have business with you, and their experience of interactions with you is positive then you really succeed and then you are client focused. In fact building client focused communication that is where everything starts and, unfortunately, anything can end. Therefore, you must first start with yourself and your team. What difference does the complexity of the CRM system you use if the secretary can not help with the basic requests or can not answer a foreigner inn English? What is the difference of your marketing professionalism, if a client needs to remind you several times about their request or about the deadlines? What is the difference what dresses you are designing if you forget about the meetings, late for in the fittings, and instead of apologizing put forward excuses and counter-allegations? Separately, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that staff is the key factor that influences client-orientation. Its employees who are behind each of your projects, and they interact with all your customers - externally and internally. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance that they share the value of the idea of client orientation with the rest of the company and know what can and should be done in relation to the client, how to react to certain situations, what can not be done ever and under no circumstances. Customer-centricity implies attention not to imaginary, but to existing and emerging customer expectations. If the company is far-sighted and ready for additional investments, critical rethinking and restructuring of its work with customers, it has all chances to get high marks from them on client focus. We live in the world in which services, goods and products of good quality are more than enough. The only thing we really can really impress our clients with is to take care of them. We can correctly understand how to properly care for them, only by building the right communication with them. These two whales are the basis for client focus - communication and care, and without them no one in business and no business can survive.

Author: Victoria Yesualenko, Marketing Director, Asters Law Firm, certified business trainer, speaker TEDx Women 2016

Each of us has its own definition of customer focus. For someone, it is the use of CRM-systems, for others – additional services and SMS-congratulations on holidays, for advanced marketers – this is a marketing strategy that allows you to increase the number of loyal customers and increase profits; and for very many people – just a flattering treatment of any potential buyer or customer.

Whatever is your point of view, you should always remember that client focus is a characteristic of business, reflecting the aspiration and ability of a business to build mutually beneficial relations with its clients, both external and internal.

Is it possible to tell that a restaurant is client focused, where a guest has to specifically request for a menu? Is it possible to name a lawyer client focused if after receiving his invoice payment he becomes totally ignorant of any affairs of the client? Do customers need a bank that flushes them messages 20 times a day, forcing poor people blocking communication channels? If you take care conveniently and pleasantly for the clients to have business with you, and their experience of interactions with you is positive then you really succeed and then you are client focused.

In fact building client focused communication that is where everything starts and, unfortunately, anything can end. Therefore, you must first start with yourself and your team. What difference does the complexity of the CRM system you use if the secretary can not help with the basic requests or can not answer a foreigner inn English? What is the difference of your marketing professionalism, if a client needs to remind you several times about their request or about the deadlines? What is the difference what dresses you are designing if you forget about the meetings, late for in the fittings, and instead of apologizing put forward excuses and counter-allegations?

Separately, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that staff is the key factor that influences client-orientation. It’s employees who are behind each of your projects, and they interact with all your customers – externally and internally. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance that they share the value of the idea of client orientation with the rest of the company and know what can and should be done in relation to the client, how to react to certain situations, what can not be done ever and under no circumstances.

Customer-centricity implies attention not to imaginary, but to existing and emerging customer expectations. If the company is far-sighted and ready for additional investments, critical rethinking and restructuring of its work with customers, it has all chances to get high marks from them on client focus.

We live in the world in which services, goods and products of good quality are more than enough. The only thing we really can really impress our clients with is to take care of them. We can correctly understand how to properly care for them, only by building the right communication with them. These two whales are the basis for client focus – communication and care, and without them no one in business and no business can survive.