It's all about sales
EDITORIAL
Stabroek News
June 25, 2004
It was Peter Drucker, considered to be the most important contemporary intellectual influence in business, who noted that the sole justification for a business' existence is to serve or create a customer. (It is not about creating employment, being the engine of growth or 'generating valuable foreign exchange.')
That may sound obvious, but many businessmen spend an inordinate amount of time on activities that have little to do with that sole purpose. These distractions are partly the result of the general difficulty of doing business in Guyana.
But attitudes to marketing, whether for the domestic market or overseas are also pretty rudimentary. Local retailers tend to compete on price while ignoring service and quality, key components of cultivating customer loyalty. Many smaller, non-traditional exporters with quality products have had great difficulty in penetrating and sustaining overseas markets.
One observer has noticed that many Guyanese businessmen are quite content to sit by their phones and wait for customers to call. But a product that is unseen is like the proverbial tree that falls in the forest: It might as well not exist. You can have the best product in the world but it has no value until you begin to sell it. Getting your product or service into the market place is the be-all and end-all of business.
This requires a proactive approach that means not sitting by the phone but getting on it and calling up existing customers and prospective ones. It also means that when you do get an inquiry you respond promptly to it. Too many times phone calls are returned too late or samples are not sent to clients. And then when an order is actually placed it is vital you fill it on time. There have been instances where exporters have failed to live up to their commitments and this also hurts Guyana's overall image of a country whose companies are reliable. Part of the problem here is that supplies, particularly in the areas of timber and produce, are simply not sufficient for larger markets and that is why the Caribbean is seen as a better fit. Another aspect is after-sales follow-up. How hard is it to call a customer and ask how his sales are going and whether there were any problems with the delivery? Such calls help you to understand how you can better fill a client's needs.
Some of the work by the USAID Geo Project has been in these areas. They have conducted market research on the North American market for agricultural produce and wood products and done such basic marketing activities as designing brochures for exporters. The series of trade shows, including those in Barbados, Trinidad and most recently Canada organised by Go-Invest, have helped businessmen get exposure to these potentially lucrative overseas markets but it is important they pursue their contacts and also actively seek out new markets elsewhere. That is where the internet is a valuable resource. It is a perfect place to get information on competitors, market conditions and regulations and to make initial contacts.
There are many approaches to getting new customers but in the end it comes down to attitude. It is about waking up every morning and asking how you are going to promote your product today and always staying hungry for the sales that are the lifeblood of every business.