Just as important as knowing how to choose and strengthen the sales force is knowing how to optimize the relationship with customers. After all, this is a two-way street, where neither party does anything without the presence of the other.

Tips to improve customer management: the importance of segmentation

What is customer management?

We often come across the term “customer portfolio management” and rarely get to the point. We are not talking about anything other than the process by which we get one-off customers to become loyal customers, who identify with the brand and develop a closer relationship with the company. In fact, our goal should be that they also become ambassadors of our company, capable of attracting new customers.

Types of customers

Based on the path taken by each customer, we are able to establish a scale on which to place each customer, which will help us to identify at what stage of the relationship process with the company our user is at.

• Possible customer. We are talking about a consumer who, for sure, does not know we exist yet. However, as a customer, he has a need that we can alleviate and he is within our area of influence and our market niche.
• Potential customer. It is the one who has all the requirements to acquire our products or services.
• Comprador. Ha realizado una operación puntual de compra.
• Occasional customer. He buys from us occasionally, but he also buys from other competing companies. We are not their main supplier and we have not yet succeeded in establishing loyalty ties.
• Regular customer. Repeat customer, but also buys from other companies.
• Exclusive customer. He only buys from us. He does not buy from competitors in the sector and thus shows his loyalty to the brand.
• Evangelizador. Está rendido a la marca y es un cliente fiel que, no sólo nos compra, también nos recomienda. Convencido de las ventajas de nuestra oferta, transmite a otros consumidores mensajes positivos sobre nuestra empresa. Nos hace propaganda y recomienda nuestro servicio a otros clientes potenciales. Es muy importante cuidarlos, darles información, argumentos y facilitar el que atraigan nuevos usuarios.

How to manage customers

Now that we know what customer management is and also the types of customers that each employee may encounter, let’s see how to improve this commercial management. Not all customers are the same and, therefore, it is essential that the sales representative knows how to recognize what type of customer he is dealing with, in order to be able to personalize the attention he gives them. If this is not the case, we will be hindering an optimal understanding of the needs of each consumer that comes to us. In addition to this, it is very important to segment the clientele by geographic area, whatever type they are, because normally in addition to establishing physical limits, it is useful to anticipate and know what profile tends to transit that area. Evidently this work, which used to be a tedious and arduous task, now and thanks to new software such as Bixpe, allows us to do this segmentation by zones and on a map, thanks to a simple location app. We will be able to access all the data without problems and control each work area of our commercials.

On whom does the commercial strategy depend?

In most companies, it is the commercial director who defines the strategy, with the agents becoming mere executors. For us, defining a sales strategy without the sales force does not make much sense. Since they are the ones who work on the street, we must take into account their experience so that they can contribute improvements that would otherwise be left to their own free will. As we can see, improving sales management will bring us significant benefits, both in terms of the work to be carried out by the sales force and in terms of enabling the company to identify the type of customer it is serving. Image in CC: geralt Sources: http://www.iese.edu/Aplicaciones/upload/DireccionComercial.pdf

http://www.eumed.net/libros-gratis/2009c/600/GESTION%20DE%20CLIENTE.htm

If you are looking for a tool to control your commercials, try Bixpe free for 30 days and start controlling your sales force from day one.