Monday, February 20, 2012

Know Your Customer for Higher Growth

The customer is the key entity that drives the market. If a company is able to understand the various dimensions of its customers including social, functional or emotional factors, it would be equipped to design a better product for it. Customers expect excellent products at optimum prices and are also willing to pay as per the product or service. For example, for a hypermarket chain, the behavior of its staff, the pace of its service, maximum discounts on the prices, availability of variety of products will determine its success amongst the users. With a tough competitive market, the SME with a better understanding of its users would have a better chance to outstand others. 

The success of an SME is identified by its grasp of the market, which is in turn driven by the needs of the customers. Thus, knowing the customer becomes imperative for any SME. Every company must develop its own program to understand their customers. The company, the nature of its users and the type of products or services it has to offer are some of the important considerations while planning the program. 

How Well Do You Know Your Customer?
A customer knowledge program should make the SME aware of customer emotions and experience about their products and goods. It should also educate them about the customers’ needs and expectations and also present the market perspective for their products. For example, a company selling shoes should realize factors such as material preferences, designs, looks, climate conditions and average shoe sizes of the population, before even manufacturing any product.

Communicate with the Customer

Communication is the key word in a Know Your Customer (KYC) program and it should consist of interactive surveys, information feedback forms from the customers to know their needs from time to time, et al. Customers need to be visualized as the best brand ambassadors of any company's products/services. Their problems need to be assessed in a regular manner and for every purchase. They need to be offered more for being loyal to the brand. For example, a paints company could provide customers with a sample booklet for choosing colors and in return, request them to fill out a form regarding their preferences in colors, materials from that particular company. This way, both agencies are benefited from the mutual exchange. Presently, the world wide web provides the SME to have a better connect with users directly.

Through the KYC program, the customer also needs to be assured that his inputs are considered for developing the existing products into better ones. Many companies conduct product surveys and often reward the customer for participating in it. These programs also help SMEs enter into a new market or launch a new product in an existing one. They also save a potential company from causing itself any damage through a new service or product.

Key Objectives of KYC

Some of the key objectives of a KYC program include verifying the needs of the customers, monitoring changes in their preferences, manage risks regarding new initiatives, etc. In short, the existence of a stable KYC program contributes to the growth and success of an SME. So, when are you improving a KYC program?

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