Building a Customer-Focused Culture

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What Customer Focus Truly Means

What is customer focus? Customer focus is about building a culture that places the individual customer's needs first. It involves putting yourself in the shoes of your customer and viewing things from the buyer’s or customer’s perspective. It entails immersing in what your customer is feeling, thinking of what the customer is dreaming of and what he/she is aspiring to achieve or become. 5 It is dedicated in developing close relationships with your customer base and being deeply invested in customer success.

Understanding Buying Habits Through a Customer-Focused Mindset

How to Develop a Customer-Focused Mindset Listen to Your Customers Unlock Your Data Be Committed as a Leader Break Down Internal Barriers

Delighting Customers Through Customer-Focused Behaviour

How to Foster Customer-Focused Behaviour Lead by Example Encourage Situational Conversations Ask Relevant Questions Recognize Customer-Focused Behaviour

Having Situational Conversations (rather than making presentations)

In a customer-focused approach, conversations are more powerful than presentations.

In order to be effective, a salesperson must be able to relate his or her offering to the buyer in a way that will allow the buyer to visualize using it to achieve a goal or solve a problem.

Asking Relevant Questions 2 Traditional salespeople tend to offer opinions to buyers, while customer-focused salespeople are inclined to ask relevant questions in order to understand customers better. Asking questions shows respect to the buyer. When buyers come to grips with a series of intelligent questions, they don't feel they are being sold.

Six Customer-Focused Selling Tips to Share with Your Team 5 Be an emphatic listener. Observe the best interviewers. They are totally present as they ask their questions. They fully concentrate on their interviewees’ answers. Rather than thinking ahead to their next question while the interviewee talks, they are able to link parts of the answer to their next question. Be Authentically Curious The more sincere you are in learning as much as possible about your customer, the more honest and reliable their answers. Know Your Stuff Be thoroughly familiar with your offerings, so your solutions can legitimately address their priorities. Be able to differentiate your offering from those of competitors and to succinctly describe the business value from your target customer’s point of view. Be Truthful Remember that you are trying to develop a trusting relationship with a customer whose loyalty you want. Give your customer all the information they need to make an informed decision that is in their best interests. Avoid Being Emotional Most of every sales process involves some customer objections. It's important to react calmly and with understanding. You may well be “sold” on your solution, but your customer may need more time to consider and appreciate it. Treat This as a Beginning Even if you close the deal, do not treat your customer as if this is the end. Remember this is the beginning of a relationship that can be mutually beneficial. Stay in touch with your customer and be ready to help them the next time there’s a need.