Peter Drucker famously stated that customers rarely buy what a business thinks it sells. Are we providing what’s needed and wanted?
In a newsletter from the Professional Pricing Society on why customers buy, the author stated that all customers go through a lifecycle with a new product or service:
• Intro, where they are trying to figure out everything that this new thing does.
• Use, where they appreciate the value of it, and
• Re-evaluation.
The newsletter concluded that regardless of the value or level of satisfaction during the “use” phase, the customer will eventually re-evaluate whether there is a better or cheaper alternative.
This is supported by a study performed by the Harvard Business Review. The study found that 65 to 85 percent of customers who choose a new supplier said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their former supplier. The study concludes that customer satisfaction is no longer enough. A business must strive to delight its customer.
Michael LeBoeuf supports both the Professional Pricing Society’s and Harvard Business Review’s theories in his book, How to win Customers and Keep Them for Life. He states in the book that customers will exchange their money for only two things; good feelings and solutions to problems. Michael also states that consumers don’t want to be sold things; they want ideals, feelings, self-respect, home life, and happiness. Michael’s perspectives offer an explanation as to why customers would make a change even though the utility provided by the current vendor is satisfactory.
I can draw many conclusions from all of this. The low hanging fruit is a very large percentage of our target market is in re-evaluation mode even though they might be happy with their current relationship. They want us to get in front of them to demonstrate how we can solve problems and provide additional satisfaction and value. This means we have to think even harder about driving greater value, satisfaction, good feelings and happiness with our existing clients.
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Brian Amann can be reached at 303.921.5310 or send an email.
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