About competitive advantages, or Do not make the customer feel like an idiot

    I wrote most of my previous articles on the part of IT specialists and companies ( How to scare away high-class specialists. Guide for companies , Debriefing: how to describe vacancies , When I spoke ... ), today I want to look at the process of selecting a contractor through the eyes of the customer.

    Did you have to make repairs, for example, order doors to an apartment? It would seem that nothing complicated: I went into the search engine, got acquainted with the assortment, chose the appropriate model, it remains a small task - to choose a company-executor, in which the price / quality / time ratio will be optimal.

    A few movements on the keyboard - and here is a list of potential companies. In the process of collecting and analyzing information about these companies, it suddenly turns out that everyone has the same door price, since they get products from the same manufacturer (the price on the manufacturer’s website is the same). Here you feel discomfort for the first time, because you can’t understand what companies earn and what their competitive advantages are.

    Ok, if there is no difference, we call the first company. Here a second surprise awaits you: the manager asks you to answer a huge number of questions, for example, what are the exact dimensions of the openings, the shape and number of platbands, what accessories to use, whether thresholds are needed, which handles to insert, etc. After you move away from a small shock, they will tell you that you will still have to pay the measurer, carrier, loader, collector, and the final cost will be clear only after you make an advance payment and “preparatory work” is carried out, since “prices may change ”and there are“ external factors that they cannot influence. ”

    Then there follows a period of “refinements”, during which you will be given an educational program on building materials, they will tell you about the history of the tree from which you will make doors, share information on trends in the production of accessories and varnishes, and tell about all the advantages and disadvantages of a particular model , as well as they will offer to come to the office to "make sure yourself of the quality of the doors and the services provided."

    In general, specifically in this place you will surely feel like a complete idiot who cannot even choose the door on his own.

    True, with a deeper dive, you will learn to understand the types of doors, the difficulties of installation and distinguish good German hardware from Chinese by smell. But it takes some time.

    Finally, after the experience gained, you compose an application in which you indicate all the technical specifications (color, form factor, etc.), describe all the wishes and ask for the cost / delivery time of the order, including delivery and installation.

    And here the fun begins.

    Some companies send the cost of the order without specifying deadlines, others send the cost without delivery and installation, some send just a general price list, and some ... do not send anything. In addition, some of the ratings are framed in plain text in an email, and some are in Excel with an interactive calculator.

    So, you got five to ten ratings in different formats, which you need to reduce to a format that you understand, analyze the information received and understand why the cost of completing the same order at the same prices for basic services differs by 15-25% (which may be justified!).

    It is difficult if you are not a pro. But you are not pros, you are an ordinary person who just wants to install these fucking doors !!!

    Do you now understand how a customer feels who wants to find an artist to create a site or mobile application?

    But unlike the door handles, which the customer can feel in the store, he is unlikely to be able to "feel" at the physical level the difference between C # 4.0 and C # 4.5, MonoTouch and Marmelade, HTML4 and HTML5.

    It is clear that software development is a more complex process than manufacturing doors, but only in terms of technology. From the point of view of organizational issues and approaches to working with the customer - everything is the same *.

    * If you think differently, it means that you did not have to act as a customer or you did not deal with people who are more knowledgeable in any issue.

    Thus, executing companies must understand that there are two types of customers: one that does not know anything at all, but has the necessary finances and the desire to order something from you, and one that has already been brainwashed and who is already more or less versed in the issue, which will allow him to critically analyze your ratings and suggestions.

    What type of customer is worse for you? Of course, the second. A person who understands that he is an ignoramus in a certain issue lends himself more easily to the advice and opinions of “experts”. A more advanced person will ask a lot of questions and think for a long time, since he still does not have a critical supply of knowledge for quick decision making, and he has already passed the level of “profane”.

    Therefore, if a customer came to you, then the first thing to do is to find out the level of his “overwork”, and then try to limit him to the maximum in making decisions, leaving for him such simple questions as, for example, “color” and “size”. You have at most one attempt to find out answers to critical questions that can significantly affect the final grade. If, as a result, the customer is not satisfied with the price or other parameters, you can always enter into a constructive conversation with him and defend your opinion. But you do not need to expose him as an idiot, since you can corny remain with your opinion and high FQM, but without a client.

    And yes, if the customer clearly indicates that he needs the cost and terms, then pay the most attention to this, because these are the main criteria for his evaluation, and he will choose an artist according to them, and not according to the generally accepted or familiar to you.

    If at the first request you begin to ask questions, what color the icon on the twenty-fifth screen will be in a particular situation, then you will cause the very “idiot effect” that you implicitly reward the customer. I do not think that many will agree with you to continue cooperation.

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