Waymore Tools
Today's Insights: Customers Need More Than Just a Supplier
Just now, I received a reply from a customer. This customer is in the process of negotiation, so the email cannot be sent. I have asked many companies from China, but problems have arisen. The configurations of each company are very different, and the prices are also very different. This confused him, but what was even more confusing was that there were several companies with the same parameters but very different outputs. The parameters are the same, but the prices are very different! The customer said, please help me choose the most correct and professional solution. I don’t care if you are a manufacturer or a trader, what I need are SOLUTION PROVIDERS. SOLUTION PROVIDERS, solution providers!
The development of national trade today has become more than just simple price competition, especially for some complex products. The most important thing is the competition of professionalism, quality, and service. The final specification is the competition of solutions!
Two Types of Suppliers
From this aspect, suppliers can be roughly divided into two categories:
- No SOLUTION will be provided. Customers are required to solve all problems clearly and only the final answer will be provided!
- Provide comprehensive SOLUTION, understand customer problems clearly, proactively seek solutions for customers, and provide corresponding solutions!
The first type of supplier is the common one who has to ask the customer for all the details before giving a quotation! I know that many customers are middlemen, and they may not have obtained detailed information. Even if you ask them, they won’t know; and some are new to the industry. They think this industry is good and want to invest, but they don’t know what kind of equipment can be placed in their factory. If you ask them, they will not be able to answer you at all!
Facing this kind of customers, the second type of supplier is very dominant. Based on our experience, we recommend a set of equipment to the customers. We tell them the price, size, output, various operating conditions, and then note that we also have low configuration and low price products. There are also products with high configuration and high price. We ask them how much output they want or their approximate budget and factory area, so our professional engineers can tailor it for them!
Providing Solutions
This is providing a solution. Many people have said that when we ask about production volume, we provide a solution based on that. What I want to say is that output, which seems to be a simple parameter, may be an unknown quantity to customers. When we ask them about production, we are throwing the question back to them, but they must know how much they produce. How big is the money? These are known conditions. According to their known conditions and our experience, we can solve their doubts. This is the solution!
Taking a step back, maybe the customer is very rich but doesn’t know how much money to invest. They also have a factory but don’t know how much space to allocate to this new investment. Asking about the budget can create problems, so we recommend a set of relatively ordinary equipment. The price is ordinary, the output is ordinary, and the quality is ordinary. This helps customers understand the investment amount and ask questions, making communication smooth and without obstacles!
Just like the customer I mentioned at the beginning, they received numerous quotations and configuration orders. Their own understanding can no longer solve this problem. In other words, they want to accept low prices but are afraid of poor quality. If they are subject to a high price and cannot find a good reason, then we need to give them a solution. A clearer, more specific and complete quotation supports our prices and demonstrates our expertise!
During the negotiation process, I like to "look for trouble." I like to turn the client's problems into my own. Customers have a feeling that I am not selling equipment but overall solutions! Just like decoration, many people like to design it themselves, then find a construction team to make it according to their ideas. However, many others simply don’t know what style they want or don’t have the strength or energy to design it themselves. So they hand it over to the decoration company, tell them the general budget, imagine vaguely, make design drawings, constantly adjust and modify, and improve until construction. This is the solution!
After Cooperation
Including the later stage, after cooperation, I am also willing to turn the customer's problems into my own. I will try my best to give customers ideas for all possible problems that may occur during the process and make plans. Of course, these plans cannot bring me additional results. If there is really a cost issue, I will negotiate with the customer and let them decide! This way, if problems arise again, I can say without guilt that this really has nothing to do with me!
There are also some sayings, for example, every compromise we make to our customers will become the standard for the next cooperation. I would like to say, are you dead? Are there some things you can’t say? When you compromise, you won’t tell your customers that this really is a special case? Wouldn't we tell our customers that we really tried our best and mobilized all the conditions to achieve it? Won't we tell customers that we treat them as VIPs and are happy to provide solutions, but it is really difficult? Isn't this a routine matter? We have mouths not just for food!
Energy and Advantages
Taking another ten thousand steps back, you don’t know how much energy you have unless the customer forces you. For example, delivery time is always set at 50 days, but if the customer forces you, and you find that 30 days or even 20 days is enough, this becomes our advantage in the future!
Therefore, as exporters, we must always remember that we are solution providers, not just sellers or suppliers. Since we are solution providers, we should not avoid trouble just to save trouble.
The stickiness of customers requires not only being able to talk but also having real skills. Many times, the result of compromise is some special benefits that others can’t do, and you can get long-term customers at a small cost. Are you still hesitating?
