September 18, 2014- ISSN# 1545-2646
Listening to the Marketplace
What is changing in your marketplace?
What is changing in your customers marketplace?
What are you doing about the changes?
One of the more important actions of the fall is to plan your next calendar year business efforts. Call it business planning, strategic planning or just understanding what your goals and objectives will be for the next 12-18 months. It is about taking time to understand what is happening in the markets you serve and what is impacting your customers in their market they serve.
If your approach is to sell your customer some goods or services, you better understand how that product is going to better their position to their customers. No longer can you sell to your customer and hope they understand how it will pay it forward. In other words, impact their success with their customers.
When was the last time you or your team had an honest conversation with your customers about their business and what was happening with their customers?
What trends are happening just 6% away from your business which will be trends your business needs to be able to support in the next 12-18 months?
I have witnessed companies doing surveys of their customers but the primary objective was only self serving. People have so many things they are doing that another survey is just time they don’t have to give unless they get something real back from their time investment. What about truly understanding your clients customers needs and then bring solutions to the table for your immediate customer to turn into additional growth for both of you.
This week have a few conversations with your team and ask them what is going on in their customers business. Do they really know and understand what that means to your business? Maybe pick up the telephone and call 3 of your top customers and gather some business intelligence on the marketplace outside your business confines.
Once you have some data, then use that data to strategize on how to make it work for your customers and in turn work for growing your business in 2015.
Never really looked at your customers marketplace to gain insights into your business? Give JKL Associates a call at (313) 527-7945
Questions or comments – email us at partners@jklassociates.com or call our Office at (313) 527-7945
Copyright – JKL Associates 2014
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JKL Associates
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