Why Consumer Relations Are the Key to Success of Any Business in Today’s Consumer Age?

 Friends, Thank you very much for taking out time from your very busy schedule to read my blog(s). Sharing PR knowledge with you with finesse has become my passion now and I really feel encouraged after reading your feedback in the comments column. Today I’m happy to present my 78th blog “Why Consumer Relations Are the Key to Success of Any Business in Today’s Consumer Age?

Friends, one definition of PR that clearly defines PR and Consumer relations is… “Public Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their target publics."

Consumer Relations is defined as the process in which an organization creates and maintains a positive relationship with their consumers. Just like personal relationships good consumer relationships are essential for the success of any business. Hence, it's important to cultivate and nurture consumer relationship. When a business develops excellent relationships with its consumers, it can lead to loyal clients, positive word of mouth and increased sales.

Consumer Relations comprises planned programmes designed to establish, handle and develop appropriate two-way communication channels with consumers of products and services, with consumer groups and associations and with public authorities and bodies whose responsibilities involve consumer protection and information rights.

Consumer relations are corporate or business activity aiming at:

a. matching the corporate and product image as close as possible with that expected by the consumer targets;

b. ensuring the best quality of products and services, to achieve consumer satisfaction;

Consumer relations are significant asset to a business which recognizes consumer protection and information rights as a fundamental principle to be respected and developed in the Company or business managerial practice.

Consumer relations are planned and permanent pro-active and post-active action addressed to consumers as individuals or groups, aiming at improving consumer confidence in the quality of products or services.

According to CERP, a European organization of PR professionals, Consumer Relations are actions taken for "improving consumer confidence in the quality of products and services." Consumer relations are comprised of planned programs and are significant to professional organizations to achieve consumer satisfaction. These programs include such areas as customer service, public relations and even advertising.

Consumer relations are part of the global communication policy of a company or an organisation and belong to the corporate communication level more than heretofore as a key element in the marketing communication area. Consumer relations is only one of the different aspects of the public relations profession and should be geared to specific targets such as individual consumers and their representative organisations,

Presently, the value of corporate and product reputations are considered as basic values necessary to be successful. People, generally speaking, more and more frequently consider corporate behaviour as a key element to identify and qualify the enterprise, but corporate behaviour itself is first and foremost expressed by the quality of the consumer relations.

The methods each company utilizes to handle its communication are manifold and a proper mix is always recommended and appreciated, but the focal point for the quality emanating from enterprise behaviour is based upon the quality of its consumer relations for the sole reason that taking care of consumer expectations and needs is an essential part of the service that an enterprise should offer to a market.

Therefore, consumer relations today are no longer limited to the dissemination of information on products or services and / or the distribution of leaflets or advertising material, but must be geared towards the full satisfaction of consumer needs through a daily evaluation of own performance and, of course, a mutually acceptable solution of every problem that could arise.

To meet consumers growing information needs is a fundamental way to build and achieve consumer confidence and a primary responsibility for Public Relations Manager. Also many directives and regulations to protect consumer interest and rights have already been taken into account within national legislation.

Establishing a foundation for continuing gains in an era when the consumer reigns supreme means that businesses must change their focus to ensure that consumer relationship practices maximize consumer benefit. Business must give each individual customer a reason to keep coming back. To do that, they have to know what consumer’s need and want.

Knowing Your Customers is important…..

When a business knows its customers and targets its communications to their specific interests and shopping behaviors, the result is increased revenue and loyal, long-term customers. This is the power of one-to-one consumer relation.

If the company cannot focus on individual customer transactions, both in the process of segmentation and in the contact strategy, consumer relations strategies will not be successful.

Tracking the transactional details of customer purchases allows you to communicate with them in the most effective way possible. Consumer relations have the capability to maximize the benefit of the commercial relationship with each individual customer.

With practices that have evolved in the retail industry, for example, every business can effectively define a consumer’s needs, without incremental cost or complexity. Using these practices enables an organization to accomplish the following objectives:

a. Achieve more effective merchandise buying and planning, and faster inventory turns;

b. Maximize return on marketing by targeting customers with selected promotions;

c. Minimize the number of transactions at sale prices by creating customized triggers that stimulate buying at full price;

d. Easily attract new customers whose tastes and preferences relate to selected current customers;

e. Design more efficient stores, with designs based on customer cross-shopping behavior;

f. Ensure each customer buys more and remains a customer for life.

Establishing successful customer relationships using proven methods of tracking and analyzing customer behaviour, can increase sales and revenues as well as profitability. Applying the methodologies and technologies available today, can enable any organization to make the change from a product or service-oriented organization to one of being consumer-focused organisation i.e. organisation caring for consumer relations.

BASIS FOR GOOD CONSUMER RELATIONS…..

A well crafted strategy can provide answers to many questions that every organization has about its customers and are basis of good consumer relations:

•         Who are my best customers?

•         How do I attract them?

•         How do I ensure that I’m selling them the products and services that meet their specific needs and still make a profit?

•         How do I keep them coming back i.e. retaining loyal and profitable customers?

•         How do I manage relationships with unhappy customers?

Steps to build consumer relations…..

a. Listen to Your Consumer:

Listening skills are a vital for good consumer relations. Listening to your consumers includes, listening to their requirements, to their expectations and to their complaints. It is important to listen to the consumer needs and to be attentive to their changing requirements. Most importantly, trust your consumers. Listen to them with concern and believe in what they say. Underestimating the words of your consumers will lead the business nowhere, as, distrust in the consumers shall leave them dissatisfied and no business can even imagine to retain dissatisfied consumers.

b. Make Promises that you will keep:

Making big promises and keeping only a few of them is not a good customer practice. Keeping the promises made to your customers is an example of your reliability. To build trust in the minds of your customers, you need to stand by what you say. Moreover, make only those promises that can be kept. Do not make your customers picture the ‘impossible’ and then dishearten them by not following what you had assured. False promises break hearts and customers with broken hearts never return.

c. Build an Efficient Customer Service Team:

For a business to achieve good consumer relations, it is important for the organization to build and maintain an effective customer care unit. An efficient client service team can fetch the business good results in terms of their consumers. A well-trained and well-motivated client service team can fetch good customers and succeed in retaining them for long. Train the customer service executives to be polite and courteous with the customers, to be quick and alert towards customer complaints and motivate them to continue the good work.

d. Communication is the Key:

To assist consumers, you need to express your knowledge in a clear and detailed manner. This is where the importance of excellent communication skills comes into picture. And both verbal and nonverbal communication skills are crucial for customer services. While good listening and oration skills come handy while sorting customer queries, good writing skills are often required for writing emails and letters to customers. In today's world, business communication has gained significant importance. The way you speak, your tone of voice, vocabulary and fluency, all are considered to be finer elements of your oral communication skills.

e. Knowledge is Power:

One of the basis of a good consumer relations is customer service. The salesmen of the store should have knowledge about the products the store is selling. Every organisation while training its customer service representatives ensures that they are well aware of the processes through which the product has gone through and how it has been made to deliver customer requirements. Product knowledge is imparted through training programs of the organisations and it also comes through experience of the sales representative.

f. Getting personal:

Another basis of good consumer relations is by getting personal with them. Several times it happens that the customers use the businessperson as a vent for their grievances. The former has to listen to them and be patient with them. Sometimes, when email responses are set up, a simple thing of just calling up the customer and assuring them that things are progressing smoothly, can create a healthy relation between the businessperson and the customer.

g. Ready to solve problems:

The consumer may face problems like faulty products, delayed delivery, etc. During this time, they only have the company or its executive to whom they can turn to for help. Hence, the business-person should have the ability to solve the problems of the customers.

h. Make Polite Suggestions:

It is important for any business to remember that its customers are its valuable assets. Hurting the customers, being rude to them or disrespecting their opinions can lead to failure in business.

i. Consumer education: 

By educating a consumer we can prepare an individual through skills, concepts and understanding that are required for everyday living to achieve maximum satisfaction and utilization of his resources. It is defined as education given to the consumer about various consumer goods and service, covering price, what the consumer can expect, standard trade practice, etc. from the company.

What are the media of communication with the consumer?

Many options are available to allow you to communicate your message to your audience. Once you determine your target audience, you can select the appropriate medium to deliver the message that would be the medium most popular among your target audience.

   People to People Media        Interactive Media

    Direct mail                          Organisation’s Website

    Brochures                           Internet Advertising

    Tele-marketing                   E-mail

    Community Outreach         E- Commerce

    Special Events                     Social Media Platforms

    Sales Promotions

    Personal selling

    Point of Sale

 

Thank you for reading the blog.

 

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