Edwin Dando co-founder Radically

 If you’re one of the many businesses struggling in Auckland after months of lockdown Edwin Dando from Radically has 7 steps to get your business cranking. As Seth Godin says, ”Opportunity is another word for a problem to be solved.”

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes

If you’re in business your job is to create a customer. Too many businesses think about what they need not what do my customer’s experience.

So what is life like for them right now? What are the problems? What can your business do for them to make life a bit easier? Understanding your customer and their real pain points is the first step to unlock opportunities.

Validate what your customer needs

It is easy to think you know what your customer needs, but it’s wise to validate this.

Call people you know. Ask them what similar challenges they have had. Ask your customers the same questions. When they visit your business or you speak with them, use this as an opportunity to find out their challenges. Remember every problem is an opportunity for you to add value.

Engage your team

A common mistake many business owners make is assuming they have to solve all their business problems alone.

This can make running a business very lonely! Don’t forget your team are naturally creative and probably have some good ideas.

Don’t ignore the receptionist who often sees everything but is never asked for their view. Your retail staff probably see some easy wins and just wish someone would listen to their suggestions.

Create a culture of real interest in your customers so that everyone thinks about how to add value to them.

Design solutions

Talk through possible solutions to your customer’s problems with your team. Get creative!

Don’t dismiss any ideas at this stage. Let the ideas flow.  The obvious is put the face of your business online immediately and monitor the phone.

Set up a Facebook page and get active. Don’t forget you are an expert in your area. What do people need during a crisis? A trusted expert. Start sharing your expertise!  Write simple tips and tricks around what you know.

If you’re in food share your photos. If you’re in retail share new stock, trends or specials. Remind people to go for a walk, pop by your shop.

By adding value to your customer you build trust and loyalty, which translates to profits over time.

Could you send out a regular email to customers, summarising information that is relevant for them along with ways you may be able to help them?

Systems such as Campaign Monitor or Constant Contact allow you to see who opens what, what they click on, how often and where in the world they are, allowing you to build up a picture of what people are interested in.

Do you offer contactless delivery? Could your staff do a few delivery runs a day? If your staff can’t do it, could you engage an Uber driver twice per day? 

All these ideas will cost you either some time or a little money (or both), but the opportunity to build long-lasting loyalty with your customers is priceless.

Repeat

Remember, few plans survive contact with reality. Once you get underway you will no doubt discover things you hadn’t expected. Often, there is opportunity in these as they tell you what customers do and don’t value.

Don’t be scared to repeat! This is how smart business discovers customer value. Get your team back together and discuss what you have tried, what has and hasn’t worked and what you have collectively learned.

Brainstorm what you can try next. Be clear on the goal – creating a wonderful customer experience to create long-term loyalty.

Capture customer information

Every touchpoint with your customer is a chance to establish a deeper relationship – that’s what business is all about. Give people a good reason to offer their email to get your regular newsletter.

Create a form on your website for customers to sign-up to your regular email. Or you might ask them to follow you on social media.

Monitor

The business landscape is always changing and so are your customer’s needs. If your team have less work than usual consider creating a profile of your main customers so you can work out whether a monthly phone call or email is how best to stay connected.

Think about your elderly customers – their world is becoming increasingly difficult to be a part of, how can you meet their needs?

Keep on top of what your customers value, why they value it and how you can satisfy it. These are the building blocks of business success.

Every business is different, but where they are all the same is that they need to build a clear picture of customer needs and challenges.