Are you building your customer base?

Time to refocus on your customer base and make sure that the order book is not just full but that customers remain loyal.

By Amanda Gome and Colin Benjamin

Time to refocus on your customer base and make sure that the order book is not just full but that customers remain loyal.

Take our skills check. Score your results and see if your capabilities add up. Answer the 10 questions (where a ranking of three means you strongly agree) and see how you rate.

1. We record the contact names and details of our customers.

 2. We survey our clients and customers to see how happy they are.

3. We have a complaints procedure.

4. Our company is well-tuned to market cycles and continually makes our offer fit the market conditions.

5. We have a benchmarking process in place whereby we compare our performance with others in our industry.

6. Our staff are trained in customer service.

7. We have a forward order plan to make sure we look ahead.

8. We have multilingual staff and are an outward looking, export-oriented focus.

9. We do advertising and local promotions to recruit new customers.

10. We come up with special offers and promotions in off peak times.

How did you rate?

• Below 15: You are struggling to find new customers and no wonder. Time for an overhaul.
• 16-25: Hmmm. You’re doing OK. But times are getting tough. So get active.
• 25-30: Twinkle, twinkle you’re the star.

Read more about building a customer base