I have found in practice there so many things which matter to the customers when dealing with the suppliers.

The customers are looking for suppliers who will make them feel contented as far as their supply needs are concerned.

In addition, the customers want to be treated as the most important persons in the organisation.

Overtime I have the found the following 6 things can make your customers very contented with your organisation;

  • Supplier who understand their needs

Customers come to your organisation to have their supply needs attended to. The customers expect the suppliers to understand their supply needs in order to provide products and services that meet their needs. Your products and services should be designed in such a way that they meet the specific needs of the individual customers. It is quite annoying to the customers to be offered products and services that do not meet their needs. The sure way of losing customers is to supply with goods and services that do not meet their needs.  Remember customers are looking for new suppliers that can better understand and meet their needs.

Customers are looking out for suppliers that have a positive attitude culture towards various customers. The customers and other stakeholders of your organisation can only experience the attitude of the organisation through its staff. The staff provide a vital link between the organisation and the customers as they are   the ones who attract, serve and retain customers. Your staff should therefore be friendly with a positive attitude towards various customers they interact with on a daily basis. Remember the customers of the organisation come from different backgrounds with obvious different human behavior. Some customers may be rude, others are not quite knowledge and while others may be proud. At the same time today’s customers are quite demanding and in the process, they end up putting   too much pressure on the staff who serve them. The positive attitude culture will enhance the capacity of the staff to   attract, serve and retain customers from different backgrounds in a friendly way. Staff should always appreciate   that customers come to the organisation in search of quality goods that meet their needs and also to experience excellent customer service. Excellent customer service can only be provided by staff that have a positive attitude towards customers.

  • Timely and reliable delivery

Customers always search for products and services for enabling them to meet the supply requirements of their customers. Therefore the products and services requested by the customers should be delivered to them on timely basis. Goods and services that are delivered late to the customers will not help them to meet the orders of their customers. In addition the products and services should be delivered in accordance with the orders placed by the customers.

  • Communication with customers

The customers are interested in dealing with suppliers who have excellent channels of communication which they use to communicate with them in case needs arise.  IT based channels of communication like internet and social media are preferred by most customers. In addition the customers should receive the latest information on the products and services of the organisation on regular basis. The customers should in addition be invited to attend important functions of the organisation. The effective communication will   ensure that the customers are supplied with the latest information on the various products and services.

  • Quality products

Most customers demand high quality products and services but at the lowest prices. They also expect to receive the best value for money spent. I have found in practice offering quality products and service does not come easy.  It is very difficult to produce quality products and services at the lowest prices when the prices of inputs are on the increase.     This is made worse when some competitors offer low quality and cheap products and services. There is therefore a need to be innovative and creative in order to meet the quality requirements of customers at low prices.

  • After supply services

There are many suppliers on the market offering low quality   products and services without the capacity to offer after sale services. The customers always prefer suppliers who have demonstrated capacity to offer after sale services long after the supply has taken place. Therefore the suppliers should have after sale support team to keep in-touch with customers with the aim of ensuring that the products and services supplied to the organisation are working as intended. The acceptable supplier should therefore have adequate knowledge, skills, and resources to resolve after supply issues that may arise

Author

John Muhaise Bikalemesa

Director: Big Drum Advisory Services Limited

johnmuhaisebikalemesa@yahoo.com