The sales process
The process of purchasing a product or service is made up of five key stages:
- customer interest
- speed and efficiency of service
- The interactions that take place between a business and its customers during the sales process. Some businesses use tools such as social media to connect with customers and maintain customer engagement.
- Service given after a product has been purchased, eg technical support or dealing with complaints.
- customer loyalty
These stages all contribute to customer satisfaction. This makes the sales process a valuable part of providing good customer service.
It is represented as a Going in cycles, returning to where it began. process, as an effective sales process can lead to loyal customers and repeat purchases. However, it is important to remember that while the process usually does follow this cycle, the sequence varies for some products and services.
1. Customer interest
Businesses need to ensure they attract the attention of potential customers, for example by using Language that makes the reader experience a certain emotional response to the writing. language in their advertising.
Examples of this are the Christmas television advertisements released by supermarket chains every year. They often feature themes of friendship and family while using emotive language and images. This encourages customers to associate the happy or inspirational stories in the advertisements with their experience of shopping at a specific supermarket.
Other ways that businesses encourage customer interest are by ensuring employees have good How well staff know the features of all the products they sell and the services they offer. and by using appropriate sales approaches.
Product knowledge
Businesses need to ensure that their employees have good product knowledge. Customers expect a high level of product knowledge and customer service. For example, a supermarket employee should be able to direct a customer to any product that they are looking for. Similarly, an employee working in an electronics store should be able to give details to a customer about the features of a TV they are interested in purchasing.
A high level of product knowledge is a way of adding value. This is especially important during the sales process for technical or highly expensive products or services. For example, an employee in a specialist cycling shop might advise a customer on the correct bike to use for riding on rough terrain versus on the road.
To gain product knowledge, staff are often required to undergo training and refresher courses. Long-serving employees will have a much better understanding of the business and its products and services compared to newer employees.
Sales approaches
There are two types of sales technique that can be used to help develop customer interest:
- Hard approach â This is when sales employees actively seek out customers and advise them about the products or services on offer, trying to encourage them to make a purchase. This can be done face to face or through Making an unsolicited visit or telephone call to someone in an attempt to sell goods or services..
- Soft approach â This is when sales employees simply advise customers that they are available should the customers require any help or information about the products or services on offer. This approach allows customers to look at the products and services on offer in their own time.
2. Speed and efficiency of service
Good customer service can attract customers to use a business and help them feel valued. It is important for a business to deliver products to its customers quickly and in perfect condition. Damaged products, or products lost in transit, should be replaced quickly and efficiently. Customers are usually happy to pay more for a product or service if it is accompanied by good customer service and is good quality and good value for money.
A business that sells goods and services using the internet. must ensure that their website offers an efficient and user-friendly purchasing process. If the process is too complicated or takes too long, customers will not place orders.
Similarly, A store (or person) that sells products directly to customers. with physical stores must ensure their checkout service is quick and efficient. For example, they might introduce ways to reduce queue times or introduce Self-service checkout machines allow customers to process their own purchases by scanning and applying payment for the items themselves..
3. Customer engagement
The term âcustomer engagementâ refers to the interactions that take place between a business and its customers during the sales process. Some products donât require much interaction, eg buying a loaf of bread from a supermarket. However, some products and services require a high level of engagement, eg the sale of a house through an estate agent, or the purchase of a car. In such cases, the salesperson must build a relationship with the customer.
Many businesses use social media to reach their customers. They may ask customers to âA âlikeâ is an action that can be used on Facebook or Instagram to show approval quickly. Clicking the like button is an alternative to writing a comment or sharing a post to show approval.â or âTo follow represents a social media user who wants to see another user's posts on their content feed. Getting people to follow their social media content feed is an objective for businesses.â the business, or to make recommendations or post images of themselves using the businessâ product or service. Businesses sometimes post updates about their products, eg product launches and upcoming events, to keep customers involved and engaged.
Building and maintaining customer engagement can help businesses to create large brands known around the world.
4. Post-sales service
Post-sales service involves providing support for customers who have bought a product or service from a business. For example, a business might provide assistance to a customer who has bought a new computer and needs help using it. Alternatively, post-sales service may involve dealing with complaints efficiently when a product or service is faulty or does not meet customer expectations. Many retailers do this by providing an online service, eg a A live chat function on a business' website that allows customers to communicate with a sales or customer service representative in real time. with customer service personnel, where questions and problems are dealt with quickly.
Businesses can build positive customer relationships by seeking feedback and acting on feedback from customers. Businesses may gather this feedback using traditional methods, eg questionnaires, or newer methods, eg social media. Access to the internet and new technologies means that businesses can receive feedback from customers quickly and can also respond quickly to complaints and other issues.
5. Customer loyalty
When a business provides excellent customer service, customers are more likely to remain loyal and the business may gain repeat customers.
Businesses often find it more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to find new ones through advertising.