1to1 Magazine - November/December 2008 - (Page 25) GLOBAL TRENDS Businesses across the globe are discovering that customer focus is no longer optional— it’s an essential strategy for long-term success. by Jeremy Nedelka Organizations on every continent face business challenges as diverse as the regions they call home, but they all have one thing in common: a reliance on customers for survival. Those customers are demanding a better experience and expect the companies they do business with to understand their needs. Savvy companies around the world are finding ways to profitably deliver on customers’ expectations. In the United States, for example, social media is allowing companies to interact with customers in ways never before possible—delivering insight that is helping to build more profitable relationships. Businesses in Australia and Latin America are focused on successfully implementing customer strategies that meet both customers’ needs and corporate goals. And as technology and infrastructure in developing nations improve commercial opportunities, companies in those areas are increasingly adopting customer strategies that are common today in North America and Europe. From Chile to Nigeria to Qatar to superpowers like India and China, customer relationships are driving growth as emerging economies bring millions from poverty into the mainstream. Meeting customers’ expectations in today’s global marketplace requires understanding cultural diversity, adapting to local customs and expectations, and delivering a consistent experience. Here’s how companies around the world are facing up to those challenges. tastes in the United States.” Becker, who has lived in six Latin American countries, says that retailers especially need to understand how these customers shopped in the past to gain insight into what they need now. “Open-air markets and mom-and-pop stores controlled the retail markets, but they’re giving way to small convenience stores,” he says. “These convenience stores are learning that customers expect them to know the neighborhood if they want to do business there.” Meeting customers’ expectations in today’s global marketplace requires understanding cultural diversity, adapting to local customs and expectations, and delivering a consistent experience. The mom-and-pop stores that are being replaced typically gave customers credit without collateral, and provided a very high level of service, Becker says. Newer, larger stores that don’t have those options available are compensating by offering product mixes that reflect local preferences and passing along discounts to frequent shoppers through loyalty programs. Stores that until recently didn’t even use price scanners are now offering online ordering and connecting with customers via mobile phones as well. “More than two thirds of Latin Americans have mobile phones because the landline networks are so poor,” Becker says. “Even in impoverished areas, you’ll find that one resident owns a phone and it’s rented out to others on a per-minute charge.” As for traditional CRM techniques, Latin American businesses are quickly implementing strategies to gauge customer satisfaction and other metrics. “I see employees doing surveys within stores, mystery shoppers, and a number of stores using loyalty cards,” Becker says. “Especially among large retailers there’s a sense that it costs less to retain a customer than bring in a new one. The adage about a dissatisfied customer telling 10 relatives or friends about a bad experience is especially true in this culture because Latinos are very social.” Latin America: Offering a Local Flavor Latin Americans represent a diverse array of countries, but their economic situations are somewhat similar. Following decades of inflation and economic decline, many Latin American countries are now experiencing record growth and their lower-middle and middle classes are expanding, creating an untapped market of new customers rivaled only by China and India. As businesses grow within and enter these countries, Latin American consumers’ expectations are growing too. “Latinos are, for the most part, intolerant of mediocre customer service,” says Thomas Becker, Ph.D., author of Doing Business in the New Latin America. “They tend to be price conscious, fashion conscious, and very attuned to trends and www.1to1media.com November/December 2008 25 http://www.1to1media.com/view.aspx?ItemID=29293 http://www.1to1media.com
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