If a salesperson’s customer relationship is based in the purchasing department you have trouble. It is difficult to build a strong relationship with purchasing in that they are incented to cut your margins, shop your competition and demand ever-improving terms.
Clearly you have to have a good relationship with purchasing if your typical sale goes through that department. However, it is high risk to base your customer relationship on that department.
Selling Power offers up an article that discusses the importance of knowing your end customer – the one who actually uses your product or service. Consider this statement:
Once you know your core customer as a person and not as a statistic or market segment, you’ll be able to make decisions that better address the needs of that customer.
I couldn’t agree more. The author continues with a good example from his past:
Consider, for instance, Bloom’s encounter years ago with Stanley Marcus, founder of Neiman Marcus. Bloom, then a young ad rep, met with Marcus to get his approval of a special print ad that, like almost all retail ads, included the store’s address just below its logo. Marcus asked Bloom to remove the address, explaining, “When you are Neiman Marcus, you don’t need an address.” Omitting the address communicated upscale exclusivity and let his core customers feel a bit elitist in matters of taste and style. And Marcus knew how important this was to them. Marcus “was an absolute master in the art of knowing and understanding customers,” recalls Bloom. “He knew what his customers preferred and he understood their aspirations. He built a store environment, created a merchandising philosophy, and cultivated a worldwide reputation with their needs and desires in mind.”
I know you can get caught up in the positioning of Nieman Marcus, but the story has much wisdom in it. Some things are difficult to learn if you are only dealing with purchasing.