Summer 2009: by Brent Banda, MBA

Touch Your Customer

When you develop your marketing plan, focus on influencing points of contact that have the greatest impact on your customers. Most business owners simply don't take the time to consider when these crucial moments occur.

Healthy relationships are built upon small actions. The salesperson must also consider points of contact that may not be as pivotal as delivering a quote, but will impact the Office Manager's comfort with the purchase.

A Touch Point is any point of interaction your company has with a customer. These points of interaction are important, because your business lives or dies on the health of its customer relationships, whether you own an engineering firm, a cabinet manufacturing facility or an ice cream parlour.

Influencing your customer Touch Points will impact your business in two positive ways. First, it helps you move the customer closer to the sale. Second, it helps build loyalty which translates to repeat business and referrals.

When our firm prepares a marketing plan for a business, we first examine the process people follow when they make a purchase. This involves identifying steps that are important to customers and the motivation behind their actions. In the world of marketing, this is called Consumer Behaviour. It uses principles of psychology to understand why people make decisions.

As a simple example, consider how a business buys new office furniture. Let's assume that the purchase will be handled by an Office Manager. The key steps in the selling process are some obvious Touch Points, such as the initial phone inquiry to the furniture retailer, a meeting with the salesperson, a review of the quote and signing the contract to purchase.

Look at this situation through the customer's eyes. Healthy relationships are built upon small actions. The salesperson must also consider points of contact that may not be as pivotal as delivering a quote, but will impact the Office Manager's comfort with the purchase.

Here are three often overlooked Touch Points that relate to this example:

1. Use of Customer References
Many businesses use past customers as references in their sales process. What response would the Office Manager receive when calling one of your past customers? If your past customer has been too frequently contacted for a reference, it's possible that person may not do a favourable job of describing your business. Use testimonials sparingly and only when appropriate.

2. Managing pre-delivery
The contract may be signed, but the furniture still has to be ordered from the manufacturer and delivered. Any contact with the customer before delivery is a Touch Point. If you find out the order will arrive a week later than promised, call the customer as soon as possible. You may have bad news but the purpose of your call is to keep the customer in the loop. People obviously appreciate the contact.

3. Sloppy Billing
Salesmen are notorious for sloppy billing. The deal may be done but the relationship is entering a fragile stage. Simply ensuring the charges are correct is not enough. To the customer, receiving a final bill is an important step in the purchase process. As the bill is reviewed, this customer will be checking to ensure everything is in order. Build a level of comfort and confidence by clearly itemizing all charges and providing explanation where necessary. For example, if there was a $100 delivery fee don't just list the charge as an ambiguous description such as 'Other Fees & Charges'.

Marketing is more than advertising. A proper marketing plan involves strategic decisions and is comprehensive in nature. It involves adjusting your internal processes to influence the customer experience before, during and after a sale.

The key is to keep your eye on the ball and make good decisions. Understand the points of influence you have over your customer's experience with your company. Understand which of these points are important, and why. Build your entire marketing and sales effort around these Touch Points. Initial sales, repeat sales and referrals will follow.

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