Wasp Barcode Technologies: The Barcode Solution People

Getting to Know Your Customers

Markets are constantly changing, forcing businesses to adjust their tactics and strategies in order to adapt. However, there are a few fundamental tenets of sales and marketing that never change - chief among them is the notion that a company must know its customers! At a very tactical level, knowing your customer means understanding specifically who will buy your products and services. In B2B that may translate to company size, vertical industry, geography or other considerations, or in B2C, age, gender or other demographics may come into play. But possibly more important than demographics is the ability to truly understand your customers and view their needs from their perspective rather than our normal inclination, which is to view from our own perspective and what we have to offer. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the B2B technology space, where vendors hail the merits of their products as a collection of speeds and feeds rather than as a means to an end - that of solving a business problem. Let's face it; nobody likes to feel like they are being sold to. Buyers need to be made to feel that the companies they buy from understand their needs and have essentially created a solution for one! In the past, gaining such a perspective was often a costly affair involving focus groups, conducting surveys and other direct means of collecting feedback from customers and prospective buyers. Fortunately, for those who choose to take advantage, modern information exchanges like the web and social media afford companies of all sizes the opportunity to enter into a more meaningful dialogue with customers and prospects alike. Alas, while capturing this information is somewhat of a barter system where "I'll give you something of value if you tell me something valuable in return!", suffice it to say that today's marketplace offers the ability to eliminate all barriers to communications so that you have the opportunity to "know your customer" better than ever before.  Sam Damico V.P., Owner Vovéo Marketing Group, Inc.