STUDENTS' CORNER - 236

Customer 

In this session, we shall spend some time on the second quote by Drucker on Customer. The second quote goes like this: The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. See, how simple it sounds; but we know it is not that simple. The experts say face-to-face contact is easily the best way to know somebody, even your customer. But we know it cannot be always effective to our purpose.We have already seen that intimate people quarrel after many years of togetherness; brothers fight among themselves; youcan find endless examples. Understanding is not such an easy affair.

It is common knowledge that we do not see often things as they are but see them as we want them to be.  This is supposed to be one of the major causes for misunderstanding between individuals, groups, so on.

Of course, experts also talk of social events where customers can be invited and have interactions with them personally. All these strategies are very well-known to all entrepreneurs; still, customer-exit has not been eliminated.  This quote has got two major points: external and internal. Customers, logistics – all come under external we can see. Even products too can be brought under external. Quality, Friendliness, Consideration, Fairlness in dealings--- all these facts are obviously internal. The company however much it may try cannot have effective control over the external; but they can have good control over the internal in the sense commitment to quality and efficiency in service.

It must be made clear that the divisions like external and internal are only for our convenience.  In actual living, we find these two merge into one; it is difficult to point out where external ends and internal begins. 

Quality of your product and of your service can be taken as the direct face-to-face contact with the customer. If you do not compromise on quality under any circumstances, you can rest assured that your market share will not face heavy fluctuations.

The second quote directs our attention to the fact that product and/or service must fit the customer.  A customer of your company is attracted to the quality of   the product andefficacy in your service. If quality remains constant, then, as the quote says the product sells itself.  In other words, the aim of marketing is to render marketing superfluous. 

In our next session, we shall move on to other topics in logistics.

So , knowing the customer may be desirable; but knowing the customer cannot replace sustained quality of the product.  If you focus on the internal aspect of the product, namely, quality, it is equivalent to yourself having known the customer.