Why is a great customer experience important?
The difference between two similar products can be subtle. In order to win over potential customers, it’s essential for your business to highlight the qualities that sets it apart from your competitors.
Creating an outstanding customer experience is the one of the key components of cultivating a loyal customer base. Retaining customers over longer periods isn’t just financially advantageous, but also strategically important. As much as 80% of B2B customers express a willingness to pay a premium of up to 25% if they receive excellent customer service, which is a testament to the real value of having a positive customer interaction.
But not only that, the effect of an unexceptional customer experience is substantial. 75% of customers contemplating a change in suppliers say that a negative customer experience is the one of the main reasons for their decision. These statistics shows the relationship between customer satisfaction and high brand loyalty.
Further reinforcing this, more than half of customers who recommend businesses do so not based on pricing, product features, or any other factor, but rather on the quality of their overall customer experience. This insight comes from a comprehensive survey conducted by B2B Internationals, showcasing the importance customer interactions play in shaping the success of businesses.
Start from the customer’s perspective
A common mistake is creating your business strategy from an internal standpoint, with the primary focus on the products you sell. It’s easy to overlook the fact that customers should be the central focus of every business operation, in everything from how logistics are handled to the selection of products offered.
Your logistics chain must be designed to make sure the customer delivery experience is as seamless as possible, and the choice of products should be rooted in the needs of your customers. By understanding your customers and what’s significance to them, you can not only tailor your offerings to align with their requirements but also proactively identify and address their needs before they recognise them themselves.
This customer-centric perspective isn’t just a “nice to have”; it is one of the core parts of creating an exceptional customer experience. This kind of customer focused perspective creates the foundation for customer loyalty by consistently placing the customer at the centre of all the decisions you make.
7 steps to create an unbeatable customer experience
1. Enhance your offering with a complete customer support
Expand your customer interaction beyond just the transaction by offering extra services or extensions to your products. This kind of approach transforms your role from just being a supplier to becoming a strategic partner instead, which helps in creating a deeper connection with your customers. Not only does this approach enrich the customer experience, but it can also help with increasing your profitability throughout your products life cycle.
Consider adding services like:
- Transport and logistics
- Assembly and installation
- User training
- Staff hire
- Warranty, service & support
- Online shop
All of these are options that will enhance your offering beyond just selling a product.
2. Switch from being reactive to proactive instead
Anticipate your customer needs, instead of only responding to their requests, by leveraging customer data to gain insights into their preferences and behavior. With access to the right kind of data you can analyse their purchase history to predict when they might need to reorder items or identify upcoming service agreement expirations. Being proactive with your sales like this enables your business to stay one step ahead of your customers, positioning you business as a trusted advisor invested in your customers’ success, instead of just being a supplier.
3. Tailor your offering to fit the customer
Create longer lasting relationships with your customers by personalising your offerings based on their purchase history. Use this valuable information to customise for instance marketing campaigns or recommend products on your online shop. This will make the customers feel seen and understood.
4. Have high quality product information
Clear and well-written product information makes it easier for the customer to compare suppliers and make purchasing decisions. However, compiling and updating product information as your product offering grows, can be challenging and time-consuming. That’s why it’s important to have established effective communication channels with your suppliers, so you can stay up-to-date with your product information. Ask your suppliers to inform you when any changes happens to the product information and make sure all of this information is readily available to your customers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions.
5. Optimise for mobile accessibility
More and more B2B customers are using their mobile phones to search for information and keeping in touch with their suppliers. In an era where mobile devices dominates our information access, making sure your digital channels are seamlessly accessible from both mobiles and computers are of importance. Create a user-friendly experience across all your platforms to contribute significantly to an overall positive customer experience.
6. Foster collaboration between departments
Break down internal silos by promoting collaboration and effective communication across all your departments. Whether your customer is talking with sales, support, or after-sales, having a unified customer experience requires quick and consistent responses from all departments. Without collaboration between departments, you can’t have a unified customer experience. Work on dissolving barriers between your departments to create a seamless, interconnected customer journey.
7. Actively seek customer feedback
One of the biggest challenges most businesses face is getting feedback from their customers about their product or their service. That’s why it’s important to establish closer relationships with your customers, regardless of their engagement level, and continuously ask for feedback on potential improvements that can be made. By allowing them to share their point of view, you gain valuable insight into their customer experience from your business. Your goal should always be to create satisfied customers, and their feedback in invaluable in achieving that goal.
Do you want to improve the customer experience of your business? Let us show you how Lime CRM can help!
