There was a time when if you were in the right market at the right time with the right product, you would be successful. The overall customer experience was secondary to how well you satisfied the need. But increasing competition, commoditization and automation is forcing change. Yet, most B2B companies remain strongly product focused.
The emerging battle has become centered on how to combine off-line and online communication with the customer while keeping the messaging perfectly coherent. Add to that the additional complexity of combining digital (A.I.) interactions with human ones and you see how complex B2B business relations can become.
84% B2B transactions start with a reference
Unsurprisingly in this context, references are of utmost importance. This is because of factors that are specific to B2B:
- The relationship is a longer one
- The risks are greater
- Decisions are made by committee
The Wow factor has limited importance in B2B. That’s not to say emotions don’t run high. They do in fact because there is a lot of money and manpower involved in a transaction. And, in B2B, sometimes losing just one customer can be downright catastrophic.
Focusing on the customer experience alleviates the risks
The more your company is customer focused, the more unique and memorable the experience will be for the customer. You must aim to satisfy, create loyalty and inspire confidence in all people involved in the transaction.
It is widely known that it is more cost effective to retain a customer than to create one. According to the Harvard Business Review a new customer can be anywhere between 5 to 25 times more expensive than a retained one!
Moreover, a loyal customer will not only spend more, they are likely to stimulate your employee engagement as well!
What is your customer experience like right now?
Diligently meeting customer needs increases loyalty. Of course, to be able to increase your customer centricity, you need to have a frank look at how you are currently treating them, and more importantly, why you are treating them that way. Here are the areas you should be looking at:
- Points of contact, which could be talking to a salesperson, browsing your website, checking on an order or speaking to your product support team.
- “Moments of truth”, the moments where the prospect or customer is interacting with your brand, product or service and has the opportunity to form an impression about your organization.
Be systematic. Consider each of these areas:
- Static elements: promotional material, technical guides, brochures etc
- Digital elements: Website, webinars, vidéos, e-commerce site
- Human elements: Receptionist, employees from all departments, after-sales service people technicians
Customer experience improvement is worth it
Find the pain points in dealing with your company. If done honestly, it is an exercise in humility, but also has a potentially big return. A McKinsey study took into account the opinions and observations of over 1000 B2B decision makers. The study revealed that in the category of “pain points”, interaction with providers was cited twice as often as price.
And, according to Act On, 86% of buyers are ready to pay more for an improved customer experience.
In my next blog post I’ll talk about actions you can take to improve the customer experience. If you’d like to find out more now, download our recent presentation on the subject.
