Acquiring New Customers

Introspection - a look before you leap

While a majority of efforts and time are spent on marketing and selling to potential customers, the success of those efforts is rooted in a company's customer acquisition philosophy. Congruent to a corporate philosophy, this philosophy is the cornerstone for how a company will compete for customers in the marketplace.

Possibly the most interesting book on the subject, In Search of Excellence by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr., defines three ways you can compete to gain customers: operational excellence, product excellence, or customer intimacy. The book makes the point to choose one and let that lead your company. Another choice may be a secondary goal, but you can't pursue all three. For example, if you're Home Depot, you compete with the lowest price based on operational excellence; if you're Neiman Marcus, you compete with the best service. If you're Intel, you compete with the best technology.

At Firstwave, we focus on customer intimacy (best service). That means that we focus on companies that are searching for a business partner to provide a comprehensive solution to help them solve specific problems and develop customized applications. It means that we have to say we don't just provide out-of-the-box applications; we provide integrated solutions. Not that technology can't be shrink-wrapped, but people who want an out-of-the-box application only don't want to buy from a vendor who is focused on delivering a solution. It affects your pricing, marketing, delivery model, and everything else.

After laying the foundation for your competitive strategy, the most important step to developing a solid customer relationship is to establish credibility as someone who cares about that relationship. Essentially, you are not only a salesperson, but a truly effective partner in solving a business problem. The customer has to know that you have integrity and you will be blatantly honest about your abilities. Based on that honesty, you will seek those opportunities where you fit best. Before you make a proposal for business, you have to earn the right to do so. If you gain the confidence of the customer based on personal integrity, you develop a valuable relationship. If you develop a relationship, it means the customer finds you valuable to their company.

Personal integrity requires an introspective analysis of your company, namely your employees.

Every employee must focus on customer retention and customer satisfaction - this is priority number one. Furthermore, you must instill a sense of ownership and pride with your employees, so that if they misrepresent anything about the product or fail to gain the customer's confidence, then they know it will reflect upon them personally and professionally. This keeps everyone honest, and customers will be confident that you are a true partner. For your product or company to be successful, there must be people confident in your integrity, whether that is because of your product, your competitors, your price, your service, or a combination of all those things. It's a matter of honestly focusing and aligning goals.

One of the problems in the software industry is that for years the focus was on new account selling. Those companies that focused solely on reaching for the next new deal are experiencing the consequences of their actions. This focus does not add value to any relationship because it compromises both credibility and integrity. If you don't believe in your product or service, if you don't focus on long-term retention, if you just want a quick sale with the cheapest service and cheapest product out there, it is not possible to have a relationship. You have to inspire the sales staff through compensating a job that is not only done, but one that creates a valued relationship that outlasts compensation.

Laying the foundation for a long-lasting partnership

There are three steps to begin a long-lasting relationship with a customer. It starts by identifying their core problem. It is a listening mode. We meet with them to help us understand why they called us, find out their perceived problem and what efforts they've already made to address the problem. The bottom line is people like to open up - and this establishes confidence. Even more important, it establishes a partnership approach to solving the customer's problem.

So, step one is to listen so that you truly understand the requirements. The second step is to repeat the requirements so they are confident that you understand them, and step three is to talk about your solution in light of their requirements. That begins to develop a relationship and starts to separate you from other companies who don't really care who the customer is or where their problem stands, just the available budget. There are too many people out there who do that. But, of course, that's the opportunity for the rest of us.

Here at Firstwave, we prefer to have partnerships with our customers. To do that, we rely on the three steps above to open the lines of communication, honestly set expectations, and communicate our value to the customer's organization. Customers expect Firstwave to solve a problem. We listen to their problem, understand how they feel, and then provide the solution. That's what we do and it is what they expect from us.

Firstwave routinely goes through a process called a gap analysis as a part of each sale. We enumerate the customer's requirements and needs, and have a working session. We get the users involved, because they usually know more of the details than the people on the screening committee. We then can say here is how we understand your requirement, and here's your solution. Determining the gap between what they want and what we offer is a very detailed, step-by-step process. The gap analysis is also a key part of establishing appropriate customer expectations.

All that we expect from the customer is honesty in the relationship. It's important that they give us the proper feedback and fully participate in the partnership. If they're not happy with our service, I would ask them to say so and allow us to address it. A customer is generally unhappy because you didn't set the right expectations going in. Perceived value is truly the heart of the matter—if people are unhappy with your price, maybe you're in the wrong business. But assuming you're not in the wrong business, you have most likely not communicated your value proposition that justifies your price.

Referrals - Testimony to Walking the Walk

One of the best ways Firstwave has been able to sell its vision is through our customers. We've had several sales where a person came to us because they were impressed with our sales support system being used by a company that was trying to sell them their product. Their impression of our solution was so positive that they wanted to buy that system for their own organization. It's being the best example of what you do, walking the walk. We use our CRM solutions internally, which instills internal confidence and experience in your company's product. This is vital to gaining the confidence of your customers.

A referral, such as the example just described, is the best beginning to a new relationship. A customer or partner referral allows you to have initial meetings on a higher-level than you would otherwise because you're not being screened. Instead, you're being perceived as a company of value that can help, and you're being invited in to help discover their requirements and how your product can meet their needs. In essence, without even having made the sale (which will most likely happen), you have become a partner.

At Firstwave, if we acquire a customer correctly, we realize a greater success factor. We expand with their business as they expand, and we expand to other divisions in their company. More importantly, when they go to one of their tradeshows or seminars, they may be talking over a cup of coffee with someone who is looking for a similar system, and they suggest to that person that they should try their vendor-partner. That is the right way to do business.