Last Week, Chuks, one of the Top Motorbike Dealers Lost $4M Deal: This Was What Happened
It’s common knowledge that not listening to your customers is one of the biggest mistakes you can possibly make as a company. But it takes more than just listening to what customers are saying for a business to be successful in the long term. There’s an enormous difference between knowing that you should listen to your customers and actually doing something about it. I’ll explain some ways Chuks might have listened, but instead of actually listening.
Chuks had always wanted to become an entrepreneur, ever since he was young and watching his mother sell brooms on the streets of Lagos. It hadn’t been easy starting his own business though, the learning curve was steep and before long he was worried that he might not be cut out for business after all.
A few months ago, he was in the middle of a conversation with a business owner who wanted to try out my his motor bikes distribution. It is not Harley Davidson brand but his partners in China coupled the best motobike brand that is widely used in major cities in Nigeria, including Lagos, so, he was often sought after by a good number middle class distributors. This prospect, however was least expected, not only was he a man of taste who sold only luxury transport goods, he was equally a big influencer, his visit to Chuks’ shop alone could sell off his next 200,000 orders. When he requested for a presentation of Chuks latest brand, which was yet to be unveiled. The only idea people had was just a one-liner tweet he dropped weeks ago. This prospect, who we should call, Adigun, did his homework and wanted the first set of delivery, but that would not happen without him being fully convinced.
Chuks was really nervous. He had a lot riding on this product demo; his next investment round was dependent on a solid showing this time around. Chuks never really liked technology stuff and it showed as he shuffled through his notes and presentation slides. Chief Adigun, who seemed fairly engaged at the start of the meeting, was now picking at his nails and fidgeting in his chair; Chuks’s nervousness had completely turned off the man. This was bad news for Chucks, but good news for us — because we get to tell the story (as if we were there) about how this could have been avoided.
Chuks knew that he had to impress Chief, his new prospect. It was likely if they hit it off, the big man might be in a position to hook Chuks up with an order for at least 200 units. And even if he didn’t, there was still a chance that he might become a reference for Chuks, which would be invaluable in a new territory. But something didn’t feel right. Chuks sensed it before and it came back now. What should have been this huge deal suddenly became a sour prospect and the deal didn’t look good anymore. He wasn’t sure what caused this turnaround, but he did know one thing for sure: the only way the meeting would end well was by impressing his prospect with his first impression — which meant he needed to get his presentation ready quicker than usual.
Prior to the presentation, he browsed the internet to find out what people were saying about his business. They were mostly half-hearted reviews, and from very few customers. This was a business that served over 500 customers monthly.
What’s worse than a bad business idea? A business with negative customer feedback. In today’s time and age, the internet has become a way for people to share their thoughts and experiences about services or products they’ve used. When it comes to Chuks’ business, people were saying how horrible his website was and how his products were low quality. Looking at these comments was like getting slaps to the face.
Before reading this blog post you wouldn’t have been able to tell that Chuk’s company was making any mistakes with its customers. And as we reveal the mistakes Chuk’s company was making, you’ll also be shown how you can avoid the same pitfalls. None of this is particularly difficult, and there’s an example at the end of the blog to help ensure you don’t make the same mistakes Chuk’s company made.
There was a time in Chuk’s retail business when he didn’t give feedback much thought at all. Every now and then, someone would leave a review on one of his company’s products…but other than that, he didn’t make much of it. He just figured that if you weren’t happy with the product you bought from him, you could always return it for another product or your money back. Chief Adigun, just like every other careful customer actually did a digging on the spot and showed him, he had not done well in his customer service and brand reputation management. He was clear on his partnership decision, he wont go into business with Chuks.
Chuks had been rejected countless times before, but this time his proposal was completely ignored. It turned out that he’d even prepared a presentation with an overview of his past successes, but this only backfired on him when it became apparent that the prospect wouldn’t be buying what Chuks was selling anymore because he failed to place premium on what his customers thought and said about him.
After the incident, Chuks felt pretty bummed out — he knew that if only his company had used review management effectively, they wouldn’t have lost a potential client.
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