Interactions in real time.
Many companies are certainly finding this to be true. Their customers are more knowledgeable and self-directed, empowered by access to information. More importantly, they’re no longer married to one vendor, and are more open than ever to engaging with new players in the market. And make no mistake; while most of the research centers around B2C interactions, the principles hold true for B2B as well. Customers are looking for fast and easy interactions in real time through their entire experience lifecycle. Customer experience is the place where companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Opportunities abound.
If you keep your eyes open, you’ll see opportunities to differentiate yourself in the areas of service. Not long ago, one of FLEXcon’s sales representatives had such an opportunity. Her customer was experiencing some challenges navigating our website, so she contacted our web developer and put together a quick webinar tailored specifically to her customer’s needs and interests. It was a relatively small effort on our part, but for our customer the experience stood out as an example of FLEXcon’s willingness to go the extra mile for them.
Companies that can find a way to provide optimum customer experiences will enjoy strengthened relationships and customer loyalty, which will ultimately impact their bottom lines for the better. According to McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, customer-experience leaders in B2B settings have on average higher margins than their competitors. In addition, companies that engage in transforming their customer experience processes can expect to enjoy higher client-satisfaction scores, reductions in cost to serve, revenue growth, and increased employee satisfaction. In nutshell, an excellent experience = loyalty/engagement = higher sales.