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

2. GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

3. 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.

4. 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:

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

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