Volume: 2, Issue: 1
INTRODUCTION
Establishing a new relationship is always accompanied with a sense of uncertainty. Right from the start, the mind is constantly answering questions like ''Is it worth the effort?" Wha.t and how will I gain from it?","What are the risks involved?" vis-a-vis the association at hand. The more one works towards building a successful relationship, the greater are the returns. The moment, there is even a little bit of apprehension regarding these questions, the individual consciously or subconsciously draws back a little and becomes weary - the relationship takes a blow. Establishing and sustaining long lasting symbiotic relationships with clients or customers is a fundamental requirement for the success of any business. The buying behaviour today is not solely driven by trying to optimize quality vs. price but rather striving for an optimal quality vs. price vs. effort experience. The company that works towards making the task of the consumer the easiest is the one that eventually attracts the most customers. "The customer is the king" is the ideology that drives every successful business today. In every race there are the leaders and the also-rans, and there are primarily two factors that differentiate one from the other. The first is the ability to understand what is it that the customer actually wants or expects from a transaction. Delivering a high quality product or service that client needs, at the best (possible) price, and doingso with thehighest level of integrity and repetitiveness,will result in a successful corporate branding and customer loyalty. The second is the frequency of the Ah ha! over the Oh ho! Experience. The ability to offer to the customer what he expects and to correctly predict or anticipate what more the customer might want, without expecting him to explicitly ask for results in an Ah ha! experience. Preferential treatment when waiting in line to be attended to at a bank, for example, might constitute this. On the contrary, the Oh ho! Experience occurs when the level of service received fails to match up with the expectations - having to repetitively provide information that has already been given earlier might cause this. The better (and faster) one can perceive (and grasp) the above mentioned, the better are ones chances of rubbing shoulders with theleaders. Accurately identifying the needs of the buyer and modifying your products and services by personalizing them.to suit his requirements will be the key to success in this new millennium.
