“Companies should reward their loyal customers. However, many times companies offer a better deal to new customers than they do to existing customers.”
We are entering a new era with 2025. It is clear that this new era, which we are entering amid dozens of question marks, will be challenging for every producer. However, rather than getting stuck on all these issues, entering the new era dynamically and positively within a plan will be in everyone’s interest. In this context, we will shape our writings for the year 2025 on how we can overcome the challenging process together.
The leather sector is among the sectors most rapidly affected by crises. Even if this rapid impact first knocks you down in terms of morale and motivation, staying on your feet and continuing on your way is a harbinger of bright and beautiful days in the future. In this context, looking ahead, continuing investments moderately, and insisting on new collections will be valuable.
The topics we will examine with you this week will be easily understandable ‘pill information’ that can be a lifeline;
- 2025 – Retaining existing customers
- 2025 – To maintain communication and standards in a highly competitive environment
- 2025 – To be able to continue with the right customer groups during downsizing
- 2025 – Recent fair elections
- 2025 – Certification and audits
2025 – RETAINING EXISTING CUSTOMERS
When many manufacturers lose their motivation and become distracted, one of the first mistakes they make is to turn their backs on old customers. Undervaluing them and not taking action against their demands will not solve their problems and will cause your loyal customers to slip away from you.
Companies should reward their loyal customers. However, many times companies offer a better deal to new customers than they do to existing customers.
While you can offer more competitive prices and advantages to new customers to persuade them to abandon their existing suppliers, not creating an advantage for loyal customers who continue to work with you for many years will cost you in the future and may cause you to experience a loss.
New customers are more costly than loyal customers. In this context, the path we will follow is to stay tightly connected to our loyal customers and add new ones if we can. Otherwise, trying to replace a loyal customer with an unknown will pose a great risk.
2025 – TO MAINTAIN COMMUNICATION AND STANDARDS IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
These stagnant processes experienced in the world can be periodic or can continue in the medium term. When things become stagnant, white-collar professionals who are used to working at a high tempo can disconnect from work in the midst of the unknown.
There will be two disruptions experienced in this process; Decrease in Production Quality and Disruptions in Customer Communication.
Managers and technical teams in production may tend to proceed by saying, “The ready-made works are already in decline, it wouldn’t be noticed if we didn’t pay much attention and go into detail. We showed care, but what happened? Work still declined, let it be like that this time too.”
Similarly, the company’s customer representatives and marketers may enter a period of distraction. They may unintentionally or carelessly cause damage to customer communication channels. They may bend the value judgments expected by the customer. Although all of these may be perceived as normal situations in the flowing process, they are the first signs of possible ruptures in the near future.
In this case, the issue that needs to be taken into consideration is to maintain the existing quality standards and to respond to customer demands with the dedication and value perception of the first day.
2025 – TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE WITH THE RIGHT CUSTOMER GROUPS DURING DOWNSIZING
Unfortunately, companies cannot grow without shrinking at certain intervals. This is due to many factors. Sometimes it is insufficient financing, sometimes the supply-demand balance is frequently disrupted, sometimes the company’s existing facilities are inadequate and finally the talented human resources are not increasing at the required pace.
Companies in the downsizing process should be guided correctly by their teams, and instead of making sudden decisions, they should meet frequently and plan to make the right decision one step at a time.
Unfortunately, the proverb “The wet burns next to the dry” is not a conclusion that leads to results in the business world.
Instead, it is necessary to gather at short intervals on the pros and cons of certain customers and make small decisions at a time to move the process more smoothly.
Otherwise, you may make the wrong decision regarding your customers who have been or will be the driving force of your company, instead of you may eliminate your boutique customers.
2025 – RECENT FAIR ELECTIONS
As budgets decrease, companies may turn their backs on fair investments. This is a normal situation, of course. If we were to go to every fair, there would be no time to work, this is obvious.
The point to be considered here is to make sure that the brand identity you have created is not damaged too much, in addition to choosing a fair based solely on the raw material structure you have or your roadmap at that time.
Companies may sometimes fall into the misconception that business is flowing smoothly despite reducing their fair participation. What is overlooked is the effort and marketing investments made until the period when business is flowing smoothly and orders are coming one after another. And this will not carry you for a long time.
Even though companies feel like they have achieved high customer satisfaction, they may experience a loss of 10%-20% of their customers during the year. It is necessary to both replace these lost customers and reassure existing customers with a new collection and a new vision perception.
At this point, the factors we will keep in mind when choosing a fair are related to what the company expects in the coming seasons;
- Protecting brand value
- Acquiring high value-added customers
- Collaborating with high volume customers
- Going to market change
- Desire to be in markets suitable for raw material structure
Factors such as will play a leading role in the fairs you want to attend.
- Premiere Vision Paris
- Lineapelle Milano
- Premiere Vision New York ve Lineapelle New York
- APLF Hong Kong
- ACLE and many fairs in other countries are currently preferred fairs.
2025 – CERTIFICATION AND AUDITS
Wherever hopelessness thrives, there will be carelessness and indifference. We may not examine this sociologically or psychologically, but until your business gets back on track, letting things flow, trivializing, not caring, and rudely letting things go are the most common situations in businesses.
Radical decisions taken in such periods mean ignoring the facts that brought you to this point.
Just like the certificates and audits you have acquired, which are actually valuable but can be ignored.
Each sector is subject to certificates, memberships and 3rd party or customer audits that are valuable and create value in themselves. These are the facts that help you grow with a snowball effect when they come together. Although not giving up on your basic principles and protecting the values your company has may seem like a cost, they are values that do not increase your costs in the medium term, on the contrary, they reduce your costs.
Today, the world’s biggest brands want to see manufacturers with the same scale of value judgments. This includes your company’s physical conditions, your relationship with the environment, your personnel management, certificates that can be a badge of your skills in production and management, and audits that will show that your company is ready in every way.
While trying to save the day, do not lose the year, the next 5-10 years and, in the long term, your future generations.
The future will be beautiful sooner or later and it will take shape in your hands.
