How Do You Prioritize Customers?

As we climb out of this economic fall, every company will be faced with tough decisions on how to support the customer base they have.  Plenty of businesses will be affected (both positively and negatively) and you will need to react to those realities, which may be different than the ones that you are facing today.

This is no different, however, from the regular cycles that your business, whatever business you’re in, takes normally.  It’s just to the extreme.  So the habits and workflows that you establish now can help you pull through and move forward.  And the habits you have that are sustaining you will also be critical.

How do you prioritize your time? 

In terms of customers, I wonder how you are prioritizing them?  We moved to a model based on a simple business principle a while back that seems to be very effective at moving the needle forward.  Everyone in the business should be responsible to the customer and everyone that should touch a customer account does so regularly.  From our CEO down to our marketing team, everyone has a regular cycle in which to reach out. 

It helps, when you are making a business decision, to know what actual, real-live customers think.  Their input forms the basis of the industry / market analysis that we’ve been talking about.  It’s impossible not to learn more when you reach out and ask live questions of the people that are either current users of your product / service or potential ones. 

Prioritizing customer lists, then, becomes critical.  Have you considered prioritizing not just on revenue (that’s almost too easy) but on measures that are critical to the way you deliver your products and services?  Which customers stay on-track during projects?  Which ones provide referrals?  What customers match the delivery process that you have? 

These questions probe a little deeper into the mechanism around customer usage and retention.  Not every business has a renewable revenue stream, but if you could establish one, every customer who partakes in that model might be at a higher prioritization than those who don’t.  (Think the club model here in the business-to-consumer market.)

Every industry has its own model for questions – they just can’t be the same for all.  Are you ready to explore what yours are?

Tomorrow, we dive into the question model to determine the best areas for your own customer base. 

In 2020, we are rolling out meaningful tools for manufacturers that are affordable, on-target and competitive.  We are also expanding our educational offerings.      

We believe in the critical importance of manufacturing right here in North America and we work hard to keep you working.  Ask us questions; you will find that we are far more reachable than other software providers you may partner with.  We are here to help you find the right tools and use them, whether it's a Google doc, an Excel sheet or a Production Control system.  To learn more about meeting your targets for 2020 or just getting a question answered, visit us at www.cimx.com.