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May 201
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EDA Office of Foreign Trade • Riverside County, California • USA •
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Turning Customers into Profits
trade’s long distance relationship
challenges and cultural differences.
Today’s technology can help to
overcome some of the distance issues.
Using pc based teleconferencing (ex.
Skype) and text messaging can help you
cost effectively keep in touch with your
international customers and deepen
your relationships. Communication
challenges will also impact your ability
to solicit and truly understand customer
expectations and their perception of
your performance. If you are not fluent
in your customer’s native language, the
translation process may impact your
expectations understanding and your
ability to satisfy expectations. Make
sure you confirm your understanding
of expectations with your customer
to avoid misunderstandings.
Start early in the customer lifecycle
to protect your customer investment.
Remember that customer expectations
change over the customer lifecycle,
delivery performance changes and
customer perceptions change. When
the customer’s perception of your
performance meets expectations, you
have a satisfied customer creating
a strong customer relationship that
can’t be replicated by a competitor.
You create a sustainable competitive
advantage that generates profits.
Protect your investment in
your customer by building a
strong relationship and watch
your profits increase.
Joanna Olsen is the Managing Partner
of Olsen Global Consulting, LLC working
with clients to achieve their business
goals by developing comprehensive
innovative solutions that improve profits.
She is a retired Accenture Partner with
25
+ years of experience working with
clients in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Increase your profits by focusing on
your relationship with your customer.
The cost of a new customer can be 5
to 10 times more when compared to
retention of an existing customer. These
costs can be even higher for foreign
trade. Keeping satisfied customers
extends the customer lifecycle increasing
customer lifetime value and profitability.
Are your customers satisfied? Many
years ago I was taught that the sale is
never completed until the customer
is satisfied and has paid the bill. Now
I would amend that to say that the
sale is never completed until the
satisfied customer has paid the bill and
would do business with you again.
To satisfy your customers ask them
what they expect and check their
perception of your performance. This
is a deceptively simple concept that
is difficult to execute consistently.
Communication is the key. This is
particularly important with foreign
Joanna Olsen Managing Partner of Olsen
Global Consulting, LLC
