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By Abigirl Phiri
AS an entrepreneur you should drive to deliver the products or services as per your agreement with your customer base since the customer is the king. Thus, they should be handled with kid gloves with the mandate of satisfying their expectations. This is the defining and differentiating point that many if not most entrepreneurs fail to consider. In this respect, business does not end on just delivering the products or services to the customer. In fact, it goes an extra mile in ensuring that your customers are satisfied and elated.
Undoubtedly, a happy customer will go on to tell ten other people as the marketing adage goes. To this effect, never doubt the power of referrals and word of mouth especially when a customer has been satisfied by the services rendered or products procured. Henceforth, as an entrepreneur if you miss this point then you are headed for disaster. As it is, this is why customer services were brought forth in different business settings.
Indeed, as an entrepreneur there is no difference when it comes to the issue of customer satisfaction. This is because it does apply to every individual running any sort of venture whether it is big or small. The only defining line is that as an entrepreneur you will be doing so on a close and personal note than when it’s a big corporate. For that reason, there is need to ensure good relationship marketing skills.
Remember that forewarned in business is forearmed as such, customer dissatisfaction should be dealt away with because one bad word against your business can cause serious repercussions. Suffice to say that competition is so rife in this cut throat business world. All things being equal, as an entrepreneur you need to conduct your business well by doing the right thing at the right time whilst ensuring that ultimately your customers are getting the value of their money. Adding to that, concepts such as customer retention also do apply to entrepreneurs. Indeed, you should strive to retain your customer base as you grow your individual brand to be a force to be reckoned with. Of course, although it is not a walk in the park still it is attainable if you play your cards rights, connecting the entrepreneurial dots.Similarly, customer loyalty is directly connected to customer satisfaction. This is achievable if only you stay true to your word as an entrepreneur. Having said that, you should ensure that you are reliable, responsive, empathetic, and full of assurance whilst your tangibles are also easy on the eye that is they will be aesthetically pleasing. Accordingly, these are infinitesimal details that might seem as nonentities but they do matter in the business world.
Henceforth, as an entrepreneur you should be on top of your game. Also, you should tick all boxes on these issues for they lead to the quality of the product or service that the customer will finally have.
Actually, brand switching is not completely something new. Worth noting is that any mishap faced by a contemporary customer can lead them to switching to alternative brands that will help one to find value and satisfaction. Notably as an entrepreneur, there is need to keep on improving your business offering so that it stays relevant to these 21st century customers whose tastes and preferences keep changing at the drop of a hat. In the light of World Consumer Rights Day which was celebrated on the 15th of March, customers are entitled to satisfaction thus, it is mandatory for service providers to ensure that customers are happy.
No wonder this year’s theme was “Fair Digital Finance.” The thrust is in satisfying the customers in all things that count when purchasing a good. Without no shadow of doubt, if you have a well satisfied customer base then your sales will sky rocket which is the intention of being in business in the first place. All in all, your products or services should be tailor made to match the needs and wishes of the customers therefore improvement should be the language that every entrepreneur should be talking about. Interestingly, in these current times as an entrepreneur if you do not swim then you will surely sink for you need to be proactive and flexible, moving with the flow.
Gone are the days when life was stagnant, nowadays it is fast changing and dynamic because of technological advancements. A pertinent point to note is that when you have managed to capture your niche market as your target base then the cost of losing one or acquiring another, either way it is very high. Following this same line of thinking, as modern day entrepreneurs you should make it your own business that your entrepreneurial strategies are on point. In other words, your delivery should be top notch and short of impeccable. In the same vein, your communication skills should be timeously so that customers are guaranteed and assured of your capabilities.
Quite frankly speaking, you should strike a balance that customers’ expectations and their perceptions tally and there isn’t much of a dividing line. Likewise, if the customer expectations are met then you would have struck yourself a gold mine for you are guaranteed of repeat purchases, loyalty, testimonials and sharing through the word of mouth. Knowledge is power and every entrepreneur regardless of which line of business you are entailed in should uphold the doctrine of customer satisfaction. Now is the time to ask yourself as an entrepreneur are your customers satisfied? If not, what are you doing about it to rectify such a life-threatening factor?
Reading around these issues is a starter in solving such generic problems. It takes guts to be an entrepreneur and to cap it off, it needs a think tank who has an unquenchable thirst to win in this race. Looking for opportunities to capitalize is the order of the day and if customer satisfaction is part of this, so be it. Lucidly, the nexus between entrepreneurship and customer satisfaction is a must do, executing it in a bid to strike a balance.
