biggest challenges facing any نشاط تجاري are understanding customers and buyers, and helping them keep buying. I’ve selected an article by Paul Shoemaker, a self-made entrepreneur

university professor and author, who discusses 5 challenges facing salesAnd five suggestions for finding out what customers want before they know they want it, in the hope

that you can provide it quickly, so they buy from you, commerce keeps moving, and the seeds of profit bear fruit. Shoemaker began by saying, “The current complaint they keep repeating…”

العصاميون هي: How can I understand my customers better and more accurately?Perhaps the confusion that prevents a clear understanding of what customers are asking for stems from the following:

1- Customers are no longer as loyal as they used to beAnd they no longer trust large companies and brands as they once did, especially companies

that faced crises and came close to bankruptcy in the last global crisis, making them seem fragile and untrustworthy. There are several reasons for this lack of trust,

but what matters here is recognizing that it exists.

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2- Customers have become more powerfulso they now have more influence than ever, aided by product and service price-comparison websites, social

networks, and the ease of finding the best deal. (A real-life example comes to mind: a young Saudi man bought a 50-inch smart TV from Amazon US a month ago, in

a special offer that included free shipping worldwide. The TV cost nearly 2,000 Saudi riyals less than its equivalent in Saudi Arabia!)

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3- Customers are no longer alike in their characteristics، Their differences have grown while their similarities have diminished, making it necessary to create new categories for them—and to gain

a deeper understanding of their actual needs, how to communicate with them, and how to advertise to them.

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4- The volume of statistics and data التي يمكن الحصول عليها عن العملاءwhich increased the noise-to-signal ratio,

making it harder to understand customers and identify their needs.

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5- هناك Uncertainty about the direction of the global economy وهل هو إلى انفراج أم انكماش، ما جعل العملاء راغبين أكثر في حلول مرنة

tailored to their current, uncertain circumstances.

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These problems may or may not have reached the Arab world—or they may be on their way. Those who prepare for a problem are better equipped to face it when it arises. Here, Shoemaker presents five of the

his suggestions for solving the challenge of identifying customers’ needs The customerswhich help you see what your customers see:

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1 – Put yourself in your customers’ shoesForget what you offer. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and imagine their situation. Look at the many options available to them,

and the services they receive from sellers after the purchase. This exercise will deepen your understanding of your competitors’ efforts and help you anticipate their next move.

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2 – Monitor how your customer’s purchase requests are handled في شركتك. ضع a ranking of your most important customers Then monitor how they are treated at your company when

Their request to buy your product or service. Some hospitals have new doctors visit as patients seeking treatment and then share their experience

and impressions. Other companies have managers listen in on customer calls without either party knowing. You need a complete picture of everything that happens with customers

when they buy from you.

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3 – Make customer service everyone’s responsibility. IBM sends employees from different departments to customers who use its devices and products

so they can better understand customers’ needs firsthand. Some banks include employees from different departments in the customer service team. ليفهموا

working directly with customers and listening to them, helping employees understand customer needs more clearly and accurately.

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4 – Learn with Customers. General Electric invites its major customers and their employees in China to attend training courses and seminars on best practices in management,

innovation, and thinking. General Electric employees attend these courses as well, helping them see and understand how Chinese people think, and also helping them

understand their needs and preferences so they can serve them in the most suitable way.

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5 – Anticipate Customers’ Next Need. This is the most important point: once you understand your customers well and know how they think, you need to anticipate and imagine what they will need

and ask for tomorrow (Steve Jobs excelled at this). You should also map out several possible scenarios for how customers’ needs and preferences may evolve in the near future,

then develop plans to respond to these needs as soon as signs of them emerge.

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Your product may be a miraculous invention that solves humanity’s problems, but customers simply may not want it right now—or may want some changes before buying it. You won’t

know any of this unless you listen carefully to your customers. Don’t listen to just anyone, or to people who only think they want something; listen first and foremost to actual customers. When you understand your customer

Great—if you’re making decisions that actually increase sales, you’re on the right track.