Customer care for business success

Business comment “I don’t know if this style of doing business will ever change,” said a client in one of the popular pubs in Remera while watching a match between Russia and Spain. He had waited over 30 minutes to be served. Another white man next to him looked unhappy: his glass was empty and no one was serving him. In today’s volatile and competitive marketplace, such customer service is not simply poor but a disaster for the survival of any business. Customers are the reason why any business exists and the strength of the business is measured by the kind of relationships it develops with its customers. Research has it that a satisfied customer will tell only two people about your business while unsatisfied client will tell ten people about your business. The business must strive to create and retain customers by delivering the best service. Even if you have the best product and are the market leader, you will still lose customers if you fail to implement a good customer retention strategy. And as more businesses are likely to be registered in Rwanda in the next few years when the country joins the EAC common market, allowing free movement of capital, labour, goods and services within the region, it will even become difficult for businesses that don’t value customers to cope with the competition. Besides offering quality products to your clients or customers, the way the product is served speaks a lot about one’s business. It requires recruitment, management, training, and development of competent employees who work effectively for the organisation and can create customer loyalty. To create customer loyalty and increase sales, one needs to really get customers involved in business by allowing them to participate and contribute by asking questions, or by sharing their experiences and providing validation of their efforts. Involving customers in business means telling them about your vision, mission, goals and objectives thereby making them feel they are part of the business. They can always give feed back relating to your products and service delivery. This calls for continuous effective communication, managing the customer encounter, handling complaints and conflicts. And it must be realised that a customer is always right. When customers are truly thrilled about their experience with your product or service, they can become outspoken “evangelists” for your business. This group of satisfied believers can be converted into a potent marketing force to grow your universe of customers. As we fully integrate into the East African Community (EAC), there is everything to suggest that Rwanda has started to benefit from this. Already the Commissioner General, for Rwanda Revenue Authority, Mary Baine has stated that tax revenues have steadily grown since the country was admitted into the EAC. But without improved customer service especially in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) some businesses will be kicked out by competition. gahamanyi1@gmail.com