Communicating with customers is a key to their satisfaction and to increasing sales. It is well known that it is almost 5 times easier to sell to existing customers than it is to sell to new customers. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore obtaining new customers. You must continue to add new customers to sustain and grow the business. It means that you need to have a separate focus on each customer set.

In focusing on existing customers, one of the best ways to communicate with, and eventually sell more to them is through the creation of a “Users Group”. Creating a users group enables your customers to communicate their product and service needs, wants and desires directly to you and to other customers. If they are dissatisfied with aspects of the product, you can learn the application and desired solution. This helps build the bond with your customer and strengthens the product by identifying (and hopefully fixing) product gaps. You must be prepared to commit the necessary resources to correct any identified product issues, or this approach will not succeed. 

As with internal business teams, where you listen to and work with all business disciplines to create a cohesive solution, the users group enables you to extend this “teaming” arrangement outward to the customer. Their involvement creates ownership and buy-in on issue identification, prioritization and resolution. Their ownership and buy-in can also eventually lead to additional sales of product expansions and systems as well as references and recommendations to new customers that they should purchase your products as well.

Do not expect immediate sales increases and relationship improvements with the creation of a users group. You must be prepared to deal with any and all relationship and product issues, even those you were unaware of. However, once you get started and demonstrate your commitment to the group and their requests and product needs, they should be won over and both your sales and their satisfaction should increase.