Tuesday, August 26, 2008
"How 2 B a good customer?" John Quelch
Prologue : You must have read a lot on ' How to be a super salesman' but rarely do we come across some Guru, telling us, ' How to be a good customer?' !! Contrary to conventional wisdom,
(a) being a good customer is NOT about being a ruthless customer. (b) NOT about being a great negotiator and equally , (c) NOT ( only) about getting the Best Deal / Highest Value at the Lowest cost or about extracting MOST from a vendor, while paying the least !! Most of of sell, in profession and earn money and then, we are CUSTOMERS most of the time, when we are spending it. IN 99 % of occasions in life, we are CUSTOMERS first , and then, sales people !! Hence, this small piece assumes a great importance !! Lastly, those of you married men, please forward this to your wife or take a print out, as , it's the Queen Bee which makes most of the domestic purchases. Also, share it with at least ONE sales person you know. Being good customers first, makes better at sales ! cvr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " How to be a good customer " by John Anthony Quelch ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " We all know that, not all customers are treated equal ! "Big customers get better treatment than small ones. Frequent customers get better treatment than occasional customers. Most of us recognise, and accept, such discrimination. But how can you punch over above your weight as a customer to get better treatment than your importance to the seller, deserves ? You can, by doing the following : (1) BE DEMANDING : Make sure, the vendor knows, you have the other options. That, you are going to seek out, more than ONE BID. (2) BE RESPECTFUL : If you want your vendor to do a good job, DON'T be haughty. Be on time. Ask his / her opinion ! Spell out your need, in detail. (3) BE RELIABLE : Do - what you say you will do. Pay on time. Do't try to ' Nickel and Dime' the seller ! Don't ask for the free, value-added services, that WERE NOT THE PART OF THE ORIGINAL deal. This is most important, often neglected, part of buying. (4) BE SURPRISING !!! : Reward a job well done ! How ? You can, (a) leave a tip (b)Pay - ' a little over' the contracted price, if the seller's costs clearly exceed the expectations. (c)Promise to refer the supplier to a friend and keep up the promise. Give him / her a new customer. (5) BE ENGAGING : Differentiate yourself as a customer, by engaging in a friendly conversation. Treat your vendor as EQUAL, not as a mere supplier or order-taker. Obviously, when demand exceeds supply, customers know - they are going to have to get in line, perhaps , pay more than the list price or wait longer than usual , for service. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXERCISE : ------------ Did you like this ? If you did, do the following : (1) SOUL SEARCHING : OF the 5 things mentioned above, how many you thing you do normally ? How often ? What are the things ( among the 5 above) you do not do ? Resolve to do - what you normally don't do !! (2) Share this with at least one married woman ( I am sharing with my wife first), who does all the household purchase. (3) Share it with at least ONE sales man / woman you know. Tell them, they must become BETTER CUSTOMERS first, so that, they can be super sales-persons !! (4) Share it with at least one person - who works in a purchase dept / in-charge of procurement. cvr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BIO: ohn A. Quelch is Senior Associate Dean and Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Between 1998 and 2001 he was Dean of London Business School. Prior to 1998, he was the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing and Co-Chair of the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School. Professor Quelch is well-known for his teaching materials and innovations in pedagogy.
Book review of ' Greater good', his book.
http://www.amazon.com/Greater-Good-Marketing-Better-Democracy/dp/1422117359/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219815124&sr=1-1
