“Sustainability is no longer optional. Companies that fail to adopt such practices will perish. They will not only lose cost basis: they will also suffer in recruiting employees as well as attracting customers.” – John Replogle
Despite rise in prices, an unstable economy, and several other factors affecting the market, people continue to buy what they need and want. Therefore, failing to attract customers is most probably a failure on the part of companies – a clear sign of weakness in their overall business strategy or maybe even the absence of it. The fact is that if some companies are getting customer attention, others can too and if they are unable to attract customers there would be an urgent need to revamp policies and strategies, and strengthen their marketing and customer service processes. Blaming something or others for the failure to attract customers will not work.
Failing to attract customers is obviously an extremely scary and problematic situation for any company, and the only way to change this would be to understand first what a company is probably doing wrong. Is your company failing to attract customers as well? What is your company doing to rectify this situation such that customers come back and stay? There could be several reasons for failing to attract customers. The most obvious would be incorrect pricing. As mentioned, customers shop / buy for a variety of reasons, many of these being emotional. Hence, if the prices are too high and customers do not perceive value equivalent to the price, they will not buy. Conversely, if a company prices the products too low, customers perceive the products and or services as being of inferior quality. Customers are looking for value and benefits, not, the cheapest options. If your company is failing to attract customers, it is probably because there is a lack of understanding of the customer base, market synergies, and competitors. In order to put in place optimum pricing to attract customers and gain profits, effort would be required to gain understanding of the areas mentioned.
Rising competition is obviously a challenge for all companies today. If a company was able to get customer attention in the past, but suddenly notices its inability to attract customers, it could be because a competitor’s products and or services may be far superior and serve the needs of the customer base better. However, before completely revamping the product line, or bringing in new offerings, a company must conduct a thorough research of the market in order to understand what would work and why their current offerings are failing to attract customers. Thinking innovatively and viewing offerings from the customer perspective would help a company to regain customer attention.
Most companies today operate both online and offline, because this is what customers want. However, with more business shifting to online transactions, companies seem to be neglecting their offline retail premises. Poorly maintained, shabby, obsolete, cramped, poorly lit, bad location and unkempt staff would be some of the reasons for failing to attract customers to the physical stores, thereby decreasing sales and profits for the company. It would be prudent to look at revamping the look of the store, sprucing up the staff, and if location also is an issue, then maybe moving to a better one could help to get customers back.
One of the main areas of focus for any company should be its workforce. A strong energized workforce would provide great experiences and service to the customers. Conversely, if a company does not invest resources to train and guide its employees, low morale and poor skills would lead to shoddy customer service – failing to attract customers would not be that tough then! It is good business sense to invest resources in the care of employees, provide opportunities for them to upgrade their skills, and manage their overall professional and personal development. Happy employees make for happy loyal customers – hire for attitude and train for skills is the formula.
One of the main reasons for failing to attract customers could be the overall marketing strategy of the company. Poorly done marketing, and skimping on the budget would not only prevent a company from attracting customers, existing customers could also turn away. If people do not know that a company exists, or that the company has certain products or services to sell, customers would obviously buy elsewhere. A company must ensure that its promotional and marketing activities reach not just the target customer base, but also a much wider audience. The good news is there are so many channels through which a company can advertise and promote its products and services – the failure occurs due to the inadequate use or neglect of these channels. The key is to ascertain what would work best for a company, and then use it to its optimum capacity. One of the surest method to gain more customers is to ensure that existing customers are taken care of well, such that they become loyal and vocal brand advocates. An increasing number of people have begun to trust the verdict and opinions of existing users and customers before making a buying decision. If your company is failing to attract customers, it could be because the existing customers are not working to promote the company and its offerings. No referrals and testimonials is one of the top ways to block business.
One of the toughest reasons for failing to attract customers, and one that your company could probably not do much about, is that the company’s products and or services are no longer useful to the customers. We know that customer needs and wants change at a rapid pace, and most companies are unable to keep up. Since customers will not wait and because they have several options to choose from, a company’s offerings could soon become obsolete. Without a market and customer base to sell to, a business would have to shut down. The remedy is to stay ahead of customer expectations, anticipate what they could need, and provide for those needs even before they ask. In addition, if your company is failing to attract customers it could be because possibly one customer received shoddy treatment by way of rude and disrespectful behaviour, and spread the word about the experience to others. Such bad news spreads fast given that it would take one comment and a click of a button, making it visible to a very large audience. Customers do not want to deal with a company that makes them feel unimportant.
The fact is that customers are willing to pay even incremental costs for the products or services they need and want. However, they would go to companies that seek them – actively make the effort to show them that their business is important and wanted. Companies must take the time to highlight the benefits and features of their products, aligning them with how they can solve problems for the customers. Very often customers may not even know that they need a certain product or service, and unless a company shows the customers, why they would benefit from using the offerings, it would fail to attract customers.
Failing to attract customers could happen due to many more reasons. In order to ‘protect’ your company from customer inattention, it would be prudent to remain proactive. Take time to prove the company’s expertise in the area of its operation, provide customers with engaging and interesting content, organize events for them, offer great deals and discounts, and overall ensure a consistently high level of customer service. As mentioned, sometimes the best efforts do not work, and a company could still be failing to attract customers. However, it makes sense not to give up and continue to evaluate the business, relook at policies and processes, seek help from subject matter experts, and remain convinced that what the company has to offer would be beneficial to all.