One of the most significant sayings about sales is: "you can learn from your mistakes". During my sales processes, I often made mistakes to understand that each customer is unique, with specific buying behaviours, habits, and shopping routines.
When I started selling products, my biggest concern was about the product's technical specification, profit and convincing the customers my products were all they needed. Still, over time I realised that my financial return or sales were getting worse. My customers were dissatisfied, few returned to make new purchases and through other people I heard that my customers felt "forgotten" by my company or me.
After losing many customers (and money), I got to the point where I decided to close my business. Still, as an entrepreneur, I felt compelled to understand the reason for my lack of success in my business. I then decided to open my CRM, select 20 customers, and call everyone to understand the reasons for their dissatisfaction and low return purchases.
The main reasons were:
- Another brand or company offered a better quality of service/customer service (pre-and post-sales)
- My company did not understand the customer's problem
- I wasn't offering the ideal product or solution
- People forgot my brand after a few weeks
With all this information, I went back to my customer list (CRM) and person by person, I wrote down the data collected and tried to understand the needs of each one and found that the customer is not looking for a product or service, but an "experience" and purchase customisation. Customers want to feel important and understood before making the purchase.
Now how do I focus on experience and personalisation using my data?
- Prepare a specific sale understanding customer needs
- Understanding customer issues
- Offering the ideal solution without "pushing the sale"
- Consultative negotiation (Now that you've figured out precisely what the client needs, you make the ideal proposal)
Following these steps, it was possible to have a more effective sale with repeat purchases.
An essential tip that will help in acquiring and retaining the customer is: "Write down every detail of the customer in the CRM, personal information, sales details. Data always can be generated through interactions on social networks, forms filled out on the website, in person, etc.
The moment I started using the information in my favour allowed me to have direct contact with my client in an informal and more personal way, as I knew who I was negotiating with and what I would need to close the deal.
A good example of personalisation that tends to be well received by users or customers is Netflix. The digital giant offers personalised products based on the user's search history, making the consumer's journey more enjoyable and exciting.
In an increasingly computerised world, data is a true gold mine and once it gives the company a return on its results and the perception that the consumer has of the services.
In conclusion, data in relationship marketing is a strategy that helps you talk to your audience at the right time, showing the right products or services supporting loyalty. This strategy goes beyond action to get more customers: it involves brand building, customer loyalty, and the creation of authority in the market.
