Ignorance is bliss – or is it?

I was delighted to be invited to speak to an audience of business owners from start-ups to mature businesses.  Around a hundred people attended, which is a great opportunity for me to gather information as well as share experiences.

One of the many questions I asked was about customers – it seems straight forward enough.

 

Q: How many of you ask your clients why they buy off you?

The response startled me; not one hand was lifted in the room!  When I asked why, a few people said that maybe the client may say something you don’t want to hear – in other words we are frightened to ask.

 

Lost opportunity

You may be one of the more enlightened ones or you may be thinking; yes that’s me too.  Either way please don’t miss a great opportunity.  By understanding why your clients are buying from you it is possible to build your business faster; stronger and more profitably, whilst at the same time protecting your business from your competitors!

 

  • Approach your top 10% of clients (they spend more and have been with you for a while)
  • Ask why they use your product/service
  • If they buy from competitors too; ask them why and what they buy
  • Ask them how you can improve or sell more of what you do (and what they didn’t know you do)
  • Tell them you are aiming to grow your business and want to involve them in the process

 

Take the information you gather and compare it with the bottom 10% of your clients and ask yourself the question – should you be working with them?  Are they wasting your time and resources for no benefit (to them or to you)?

 

Then consider how you can win more clients that fit the same profile as your top 10%; focus your energies on winning the right kind of business – not just any business.

 

All of this comes from asking a few questions.  Ignorance is not bliss; the folly is not to ask – particularly when the door is probably already open.

 

Philip Dyer is a guest blogger from nxo Strategic Marketing, a national marketing consultancy.  Contact: philip.dyer@nxo.net  0870 754 7755 www.nxo.net