Consumer Behaviour
They say that there is nothing new in business or, indeed in life and I’m constantly reminded of this in every training course I run and with every consultancy job that I do. One of the first issues that comes to mind in assessing consumer behaviour.
Heard this one, “The customer is always right!” Of course you have - we have been using it as a mantra for years! We have used it in jest, in frustration, in training and in terms of how we understand the things we do every day at work – selling liquor to people!
So, is the customer always right? The answer is “No, of course not”. Now, that’s easy to say, however the difficulty arises in making our customers think that they are! Right, that is!
So, are we sufficiently tuned in to assessing customer needs and behaviour that we can be effective at what we do? As a general rule, there are many within the industry, as with all other retail and service industries, who have great skills in the area of understanding consumer behaviour and buying patterns. Unfortunately, the majority fail, from only slightly to miserably, due to their own individual inability to ‘read’ other people and through their own ‘self-focus’.
Too often, we are so consumed by how we do something or why an issue shouldn’t have occurred, that we conveniently forget that we are dealing with an individual customer. It is often easier for us to concentrate on the things we have some control over – stock, systems, ordering, rosters, promos – than it is on areas that we have little understanding of – the mind of the person standing in front of us!
Why do we need to understand consumer behaviour? Well, we promote product to them, usually en masse and occasionally individually. We influence their buying decisions when they’re in our store or venue, some more than others. We assess them and may have to refuse service depending on their current ‘state’. And we endeavour to get them to come back and do it all again tomorrow or next week! I have no doubt that when each of us ponder on those issues, the answer to whether or not we should understand consumer behaviour the answer is a resounding Yes!
Here are some key questions then to consider. I’ll make some brief points on each and you can assess your own ability and that of your staff in each area.
DO WE REALLY KNOW HOW CONSUMERS THINK?
The answer is we don’t, unless they tell us and do they really know anyway? There are plenty of situations where the customers themselves are not always sure!
Will they tell us? Often they will and whether it’s a complaint or marketing feedback or simply what product they’re after, that’s usually a good thing. I say usually simply because we often say we want to hear the truth however we don’t always like the package it comes in, i.e. the way its delivered!
Let me put it another way. If every customer knew what he or she wanted, based on everything that we offered and could tell us in a way we wanted to hear, we would all be better off in business!
ARE THERE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR?
The simple fact is we don’t know what everyone thinks or wants and not everyone is going to tell us and we aren’t always listening anyway. Put it like that and it’s amazing anyone is still in business!
However there are some patterns of behaviour, some distinct personality characteristics that we can all read, with everyone, everyday and in all situations. It doesn’t mean that we’ll always be right! In fact, some people are hard to ‘pick’ even when you thought that you knew them!
Those in the on-premise field will know that from an RSA perspective, picking characteristics is an everyday part of assessing intoxication, but there will still be a few individuals who go from ‘everything’s fine’, straight to ‘idiot’!
HOW CAN WE BETTER ASSESS OUR CURRENT AND POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS?
A focus on the individual and a desire to serve and satisfy are the pre-requisites to a better assessment of individuals. That often means less of a focus on us and our systems and procedures and a greater focus on others. Have a think about what that might mean in your business.
I’ll follow these themes through in the next issue. Good luck!
Back
