Why B2B Firms Should Become More Customer-Focused

Why building strong relationships with B2B customers is important

B2B consumers drive retention: According to research by B2B International, most companies lose 45 to 50 percent of their customers every five years, and winning new customers can be up to 20 times more expensive than retaining existing customers. Moreover, just a five percent reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits by 25 to 85 percent, depending on the industry.

These figures can be disastrous for B2B companies, because they handle licenses, contracts and subscriptions worth thousands of dollars, as opposed to the small subscription fees or one-time payments business-to-consumer (B2C) organizations deal with. If a customer leaves, a significant chunk of the business' revenue disappears.

Therefore, it’s crucial for B2B organizations to make customer service their number one priority in order to increase retention and reduce churn. This ensures a stable source of income for the companies and increases their market share.

B2B clients believe in word of mouth: Customers, whether B2B or B2C, will talk about a product or service that is above and beyond their expectations. At the same time, they won’t hesitate to give a negative review if they’re dissatisfied. In a way, this can be a good thing, because it tells businesses how they are performing and shows them what they need to do to increase customer satisfaction and retention.

Therefore, companies should always try to interact with customers who never make contact, because even though they aren't speaking up, they might have something to say or are dissatisfied. They might also be engaging in conversations with other dissatisfied customers or even looking into the competition.

How B2B companies can improve customer experiences

Make customers feel valued: The most important step in achieving customer experience excellence is to be committed to satisfying — and when possible, exciting — clients. All employees across the board must share a common goal of customer centricity for a total commitment to the customer experience.

Organizations that are committed to customer experience excellence must be passionate about their consumers to the point that the latter recognize the former’s efforts in going the extra mile. These efforts usually have a low cost to implement, and yet drive differentiation.

Also, in a way, satisfied customers also lead to employee satisfaction. Companies that are successful at delivering excellent customer experiences also understand what motivates and satisfies their staff members. And these organizations are typically the ones that reward their team members for their

Understand and deliver on customer needs: This is extremely vital to customer satisfaction, because customer demands are often diverse. Despite that, many B2B firms believe that price and quality are all that matter. This oversimplification is usually the result of short-term sales targets and sales teams that are focused on price-based selling (as opposed to value-based).

Successful fulfilment of customer needs also requires an understanding of what the customers truly need (and not just what they want). This helps companies innovate and differentiate their product and/or service — and hopefully, exceed customer expectations.

Provide expedited response, delivery and resolution: In today’s digital age, consumers are used to receiving answers within seconds. Therefore, prompt response, fast delivery and speedy problem resolution have become the need of the hour. Businesses that can provide responsiveness faster than their competitors — and even before the customer expects them to — are likely to deliver a superior and unforgettable customer experience.

Resolve issues before consumers complain: Proactive customer care teams can anticipate customer needs and wants, and strive to resolve issues before the customers even have the chance to notice — or complain.

Being proactive doesn’t require new product or service offerings. It could be something as simple as offering a quick step-by-step tutorial for, say, the installation of an existing product over email, instead of having customers call for lengthy instructions via telephone. This proactive approach could mean less effort for the customers, and ultimately, a better, seamless and hassle-free experience for them.

Continually seek improvements to the B2B customer experience: Customer needs, behaviors and attitudes are forever changing, just like competitive threats and outside factors including legislation and technology. Therefore, under no circumstances can businesses that wish to deliver an excellent customer experience become complacent. Customer-centric organizations are aware of the fact that improvements need to be made on a regular basis. They are more receptive to evolution and are willing to reinvent how their clients interact with them in order to transform the customer journey.

Authors

Neha De

Neha De is a writer and editor with more than 13 years of experience. She has worked on a variety of genres and platforms, including books, magazine articles, blog posts and website copy. She is passionate about producing clear and concise content that is engaging and informative. In her spare time, Neha enjoys dancing, running and spending time with her family.

Previous Post

Newer Post