Customer expectations are changing and this is urging companies to change their business models accordingly. The demands of the digitally conscious customer have grown over the years and the explosion of the digital medium has given customers a measure of empowerment. As a result, the digitally conscious customer is far more aware of what they buy because they are constantly connected and app-native.
According to customer experience consulting company Walker Information: “The traditional ‘sales pitch’ will be obsolete in 2020. It simply won’t be needed because buyers will do their homework.” To keep customers engaged, your business must embrace digital transformation to deliver an unmatched customer experience.
Companies must be agile enough to change as quickly as the expectations of their customer. Their journey will dictate your strategy – a comprehensive digital strategy that reaches far beyond the marketing department.
What’s expected of you
The B2B environment is becoming more complex. There’s no such thing as impulse buys with them. When considering your business, customers are looking for ways to avoid risk and demonstrate ROI to their superiors. Because of this, customers will expect companies to anticipate their current and future needs. These “empowered” customers will demand a new level of “customer obsession”. To pull this off, you will have to:
- Know your customer’s business inside and out.
- Ensure that all messaging and customer experience is consistent across all channels. Take into consideration that customers will have different preferences and you will need the power to choose their preferred communication channel.
- Communicate insights about customers between departments to help you learn more about the individual interests and personalities of customers. Every department must contribute to the customer experience – from sales, channel management, customer service, order fulfilment, product innovation and HR to finance.
- To help connect these departments, customer intelligence must play a role by providing relevant customer information to sharpen their focus. To ensure that your service meets customer needs and expectations, think in terms of HR. A deeper understanding of your customer should be considered when hiring for client-facing positions. This understanding should also be factored into performance reviews.
- Keep up with the channels that customers are using and will use in future. According to Walker Information, most B2B customers prefer communication platforms such as email, phone and in-person methods to interact. It is predicted that as soon as 2020, customers are more likely to make use of a variety of digital sources.
Our blog has just touched on this topic. Read more on how to digitally transform the customer journey.
