Listen to customers
When one potential customer came to Regus and said he needed an office for his own business, Rotman didn’t let him sign on the dotted line just yet. Instead he asked questions. He asked about his needs and where his company was at currently and where he envisioned it going.
After learning that the man worked out of a home office, he suggested that instead of getting an office in the city, he needed a virtual office, which would allow him to stay working at home but to have a number that’s answered by a Regus receptionist and provides him with access to the center’s meeting rooms when he needs them and gives him the address in this great location in the city. He went on to say that when his business grows and he has more customers or needs more employees, then he can upgrade to an office.
That customer listened and agreed that he didn’t need the office yet and signed up for the virtual office instead.
“It’s all about understanding their needs,” Rotman says. “He said, ‘Wow, thank you.’ He’s maybe paying one-third of what he was planning to pay, but we know he’s happy, and he’s going to stay with us, and when he’s ready, he’s going to come and upgrade that virtual office to a full office because he trusts us. It’s all about being a consultant and understanding needs.”
But you can’t just understand customers’ needs when you’re trying to lock them into a contract. It’s an ongoing process.
“Make sure that in every step of the customer journey that they’re happy, and if they’re not, I want to know why,” he says.
He surveys his customers every four months, using a brief form that takes no more than five minutes to complete and is done electronically.
He also expects face-to-face communication, as well. The area directors will talk to clients after the move into their office space to see how they’re doing and how Regus is doing. This keeps the communication open so if they have a problem in the future, they’re not shy about talking to the company.
“Understand in every step of the relationship how you’re doing,” Rotman says. “Many times, we don’t listen to our clients. We just assume that the clients are coming here because they want an office. We need to understand why — what are their plans? How are they going to use the office? We can come up with a different solution. I want my people to be more of a consultant to our clients than selling to our clients because if we provide the right solution to them with the right value, then they’ll stay.
“My advice is always understand your client. Listen to them. And that will make a difference in the relationship. It seems trivial, but our experience has been that even when we emphasize and train people, people are eager to make their own assumptions of what the clients want and start trying to push for a sale when actually they have not really understood what the client needs.”
How to reach: The Regus Group Americas, (800) 633-4237 or www.regus.com
