Getting close to the customer is worth the effort
Published on 02/17/2003 under Ad Management
One of my New Year’s resolutions every year is to do whatever it takes to get closer to my client’s customers. Not so I can directly effect sales closings or anything like that, but rather to help me better understand how the customer’s thought process works and the obstacles we have to overcome.
I learned my lesson the hard way regarding sales closings many years ago when, as a green account executive, I was invited to join two veteran sales reps on an afternoon sales trip. Instead of concentrating on what their customers were saying, I found myself thinking about all the key (I thought) points they were leaving out of the pitch. Having just finished a brochure on the product they were touting, I had good, authoritative sources (the home office marketing and engineering brain trust) for the primary features and benefits that should have been emphasized. I was horrified they weren’t following The Script.
Between calls, I guess they could sense my frustration coming from the back seat. Finally, one of the reps turned and said, “Well Bob, how do you think that meeting went?” I couldn’t wait to blurt out all my helpful suggestions—in a friendly way, of course.
That evening, at a regional sales meeting dinner, the president of the client company came striding over to me, his face three shades of red with anger. “Since when do inexperienced, wet-behind-the-ears advertising people know more about how to sell our products than we do?” he shouted in my face. I didn’t really have much of an answer, but none was necessary.
By the time I got back to the office two days later, I was “off the account” and almost out of the agency, because I had embarrassed agency management and jeopardized our relationship with that client.
Lesson learned. I wasn’t invited on the sales trip to improve selling techniques. I was invited to learn from them and their customers. Needless to say, I never made that mistake again. But I have to admit, the opportunity to go on actual sales calls with honest-to-goodness salespeople doesn’t come up very often for marketing communications people.
So how do we get customer exposure? Well, trade shows are an excellent venue. Many marketing communications managers go to trade shows to set up the booth, make sure the promotional materials are unpacked and properly displayed, and then lay low until the show is over and the process is reversed.
Oh, sure, they scout competitive booths during the show so they’ll have plenty of justification to ask for more money next year. Not exactly what you’d call the ultimate learning experience though. How about helping man the booth? Undoubtedly, customers and prospects will ask questions that go over your head. But you’ll also develop a pretty good idea what’s important to these people. And you’ll have a first-class opportunity to see how the sales force deals with those concerns.
Sometimes I think a debriefing dinner after a major show is over is worth its weight in gold, if you can keep the conversation on two questions: What were the things our customers are most interested in? And, how are we responding to those needs?
This kind of information is infinitely more valuable than focus groups because the input is deeper and richer, and the conclusions are more likely to be accepted and acted upon by the sales force. But there are other ways to get close to the minds of your customers.
One of my favorites is on-site photo sessions. I used to think it was smart to send someone else to shepherd the photographer and buff up the product. But then, probably by accident, I discovered you can actually learn things on these trips. It helps if you make the arrangements yourself and tell the client that not only will you be attending personally, but that you would really appreciate the opportunity to meet him and perhaps get a quick tour of the facilities.
Somewhere in the midst of all this, you’ll have the chance to ask a few leading questions about what factors are most important in the selection of (product type) and how his company came to select (your product). After Mr. Big leaves, you can find out even more by talking to the equipment operators who actually work with the stuff everyday.
Another opportunity for marketing communications people to get closer to our customers is by producing case history collateral materials. Again, when I was younger (and more naďve), I thought it was somebody else’s responsibility to gather information for these bulletins. I also learned it took way too long for other people to get around to doing this.
So somewhere along the way, I started asking for contact names and phone numbers and offering to coax the info out of them myself. It was an epiphany, because I discovered many customers actually enjoy talking about your products and they’re flattered you took the time to call them. If you need pictures, and I strongly urge you to include application photos in every case history-type document, then you get to schedule a photo trip--see how it works?
Newsletters are another marketing communications activity that can bring you closer to your customers. I once worked for a chemical company and was involved in producing a quarterly newsletter that was distributed to internal and external contacts. I remember one story I was developing was so sketchy that I was unclear on the purpose of the article. So I got permission to call the customer and obtain a little more information.
The sales manager on this product, however, was protective and insisted that I prepare a list of questions in advance. Then he edited my list to support his theory about why our chemical product was best for the customer’s needs. Imagine his surprise when I reported some different motivations altogether.
It never hurts to get closer to people who make the real buying decisions. If you hang around long enough, they’ll tell you what you need to know to do your job better.