SME BUSINESSLINK NETWORKING BREAKFAST The Terrace Restaurant 3rd Floor, Barbours Department Store Harare, Zimbabwe 06/06/2014

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

INTRODUCTION Over the past 20 years I have been in business I have learnt that relationships are important, because clients/customers buy from, The people they KNOW The people they TRUST - The people they LIKE According to Jim Niekamp you can have: Customers for a LIFETIME to buy ALL YOUR PRODUCTS ………. And tell their friends.

According to Jim the four most Customer Desires are: Empathy Know the customer better than they know themselves Responsiveness – immediate access to information. Reliability (Dependability) Does the product perform less than expected Do what you say you are going to do (better yet do more – underpromise and over – deliver. Credibility (expertise) Greater access to knowledge and expertise. Paul Wang of Northwestern University points out that there are in general, two types of customers:

Transaction Buyer – someone who is interested in the price No loyalty Will leave you for a penny’s difference Know all the competitors prices Spend hours on the internet researching before they buy. They can afford to wait They take pride in getting the best deal

Relationship Buyer Look for a supplier they can trust Seeking friendly companies with reliable products. Seeking people who recognise them, remember them, do favours for them – people who build a relationship with them. Once they find such a supplier they tend to give them all their business. They know they can save a buck here and there but they find the process wastes too much time, and emotional energy RELATIONSHIP BUYERS, if properly cultivated will stay with you for a life time

Transaction Buyers give you very little profit, since they only buy discounted items, the margin on their sales is much lower than the margin on relationship buyers’ sales. In-fact, you may find that your relationship buyers are subsidizing the sales to your transaction buyers. JIM Niekamp goes on to say: You must “OWN THE RELATIONSHIP” Remember them, recognise them, Do favour for them Never tell your customer the word “No” Make them “Look Good” in front of people they care most about

Make it fun for them Care more about their success Make it memorable:- Give them customer’s delight THE FOLLOWING TIPS WILL ALSO HELP GROW YOUR BUSINESS Know what you do and what you do not DO Do not try to be all things to all people. STAY FOCUSSED ON THE PRIZE Be strategic to your approach to growth Set 3 year, 4 year, 5 year business Plans and track against the plans And modify when necessary

If you don’t set any goals you have no way of measuring yourself or your business or your team When everyone in the business knows overally the goals of the company it allows everyone to rally together and take pride in successfully accomplishing them. REMEMBER THAT PEOPLE WORK FOR PEOPLE NOT COMPANIES Care about your employees personally and professionally. Ultimate result is long tenured employees and this has a real and direct effect on company growth.

RUNNING A BUSINESS WELL IS DIFFERENT THAN BEING GOOD AT A TRADE OF PROFESSION The fact that someone is good in HR does not mean they will be good at running an HR agency PASSION IS CONTAGIOUS When you love what you do it shows to the people who surround you everyday in the office, factory etc showing excitement and enthusiasm helps in the following Team will work together Team will be more focused Ultimately this brings more success to the business

The opposite is true (unhappy person, leads through The opposite is true (unhappy person, leads through negative motivation, create a challenging work environment or frankly doesn’t love what they do. CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO KEEP ON IMPROVING You need to innovate Have a need to want to get better, this can mean new programs, new thinking or new processes.

FORGET THE “BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME MENTALITY” During a challenging economy many brands look at marketing as an expense and therefore cut it from the budget. There are a lot of good products in the market that lacked traction because of lack of marketing support. Clients are discerning. They like tried and tested products.

Make sure that marketing is completely aligned with product innovation and roll out to ensure that when the product is ready for retail consumption strong consideration has been given on how the product will be marketed. By doing some of these things you will be guaranteed to get “Customers/Clients for a Lifetime, to buy All your Products ….. And tell their friends

C MAKINA Group Chief Executive Officer MOONLIGHT PROVIDENT ASSOCIATES Thank you C MAKINA Group Chief Executive Officer MOONLIGHT PROVIDENT ASSOCIATES 06/06/2014