Articles

STRAIGHT TALK -The Customer Journey

Categories: Business Management, Distribution & Supply Chain, ISSA Insights

The majority of ISSA member companies are involved, in some way, in sales.

Building service contractors sell their cleaning services. Wholesalers and distributors sell products through the traditional supply chain. Manufacturers provide products for the cleaning industry, typically selling through the supply chain and some directly to end users. Online selling is flexing its muscles every day.

All of them are on the hunt for new customers, and all of them value those that return, whether that is signing another contract for cleaning services or purchasing more products to be used in a cleaning operation.

Companies enjoy discussing their faithful customers. Really successful companies analyze three main components of the selling cycle and lifetime of their customers.

Why they buy

To me, it’s important to think like a buyer, a consumer, when selling products or services in the cleaning industry. And that should be easy because all of us buy something every day.

Why do your customers buy from you? Because, from day one of your relationship with them, you treated them well, gave them personalized attention, and make them feel good about their choice in doing business with you. And the price was right, obviously.

Why they stay

But from that initial sale or deal you make, you want that relationship to grow. How do you keep them with you? By always remembering how you got them in the first place. Don’t become complacent. They will stay with you as long as they see value in what you offer and you treat them well. The old saying that people do business with those they like and trust fits perfectly in this situation. There are always other options for them if you happen to disappoint them in some way.

Why they leave

Yes, some of them retire, sell their companies, or (sadly) die. You have no control over those occurrences.

But others might leave you for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you are too busy to give them the attention you provided at the beginning of the relationship. Or someone else came along with more to offer. Maybe they found a “better deal” and needed to adjust due to budget concerns. The only way to know for sure why they leave is to somehow get an “exit interview” with them and get an honest appraisal of what happened.

Keep your consumer hat on and always think about what you can provide your customers to keep them as long as possible. There are always other options for them to take advantage of.

Isn’t competition fun?

About the Author.

Jeff Cross is the ISSA media director, with media brands that include ISSA Today, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, and Cleanfax. He can be reached at [email protected] or 740-973-4236.