HOW TO PROSPER

Salient advice on customers

BUSINESSES need to spend more time understanding who their customers are and what they want. So said Americanborn independent customer experiences adviser, Julia Ahlfeldt, who will be addressing the Daily Dispatch Customer Innovation Summit on June 21.

“This is pretty obvious, but it is shocking how many don’t do it,” said Ahlfeldt, who has an economics degree from Scripps College in southern California and specialises in profit growth through improved customer service.

Having worked with blue chip American companies, Ahlfeldt moved to Cape Town seven years ago and works with clients from a host of industries, including retail, financial services, petrochemical, telecommunications and insurance to create customised solutions to customer retention.

“A lot of businesses spend a lot of effort attracting customers, but it’s keeping them they have not been as focused on.

“We live in very different times now. It is an age of empowered customers who have access to loads of information online and can make really informed decisions about where and when they spend their money.”

Ahlfeldt said that social media has added a new layer of empowerment to customers who can now get instant feedback and recommendations about products and services.

“In this context businesses no longer have control of their reputation. Consumers have control of their reputation. When businesses don’t deliver or live up to their promises they are dragged over the coals. Before social media they could sweep complaints under the rug, but this has changed now.”

Simply put, the answer to this is understanding the make-up and needs of customers and ensuring they receive the customer experience and service they want and expect.

● The entry fee to the Daily Dispatch Customer Innovation Summit, which is being held in conjunction with SEDA, is R980 per delegate, with snacks and lunch included.

Some keynote speakers will have their books for sale on the day of the event, which takes place on June 21 between 7.30am and 2pm.

For more information and to reserve your space, please go to www.dispatchsummit.biz, or visit Twitter (@DispatchSummit), Facebook (dispatchlive) or www.dispatchlive.co.za As an alternative to online bookings, contact (043) 7022090 or e-mail bookings@dispatch.co.za to reserve your space. —