Peady’s Selling Engagement
Customer service is an important part of the sales cycle – in fact some say that it’s more than important, its vital!
Author of The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard said: ‘Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough…. you have to create raving fans’.
How about you, what’s your customer service like?
Welcome to this week’s post on sales and selling success
A personal experience
I’d like to share two personal customer service examples. How to do it right and then be let down by support staff and how to do it to gain immediate kudos.
I recently changed to the NBN and had a call from my telco suggesting that while I didn’t need one, a new modem would be provided (one with mobile back up). Normally they sell for $220 but was told because of my loyalty it would be provided free. Result? One very impressed customer (btw it’s the first time I’d ever heard the word ‘loyalty’ used by my telco, so that was a bonus too).
Then the bill arrived. Guess what? I had been charged for the modem. All the positives from the original customer service interaction and loyalty conversation quickly evaporated!
The second example comes from a roofing contractor. Due to storm damage a new roof was needed for my home, and the insurer sent Rhys the roofer and his team to carry out the work. He was sensational, really polite and strong on communication. Calling to set up work times, delivery of equipment dates, checking the planned colours, asking how he could help, were we happy, even coming back on a Sunday to finish the work (yep, tradies working on a Sunday). Nothing seemed to be too much trouble. Result. A raving fan and 5-star feedback!
Sure, both these examples are B2C however you can transfer these lessons to B2B as well.
B2B raving fans
Do you have raving fans just like Rhys the Roofer? Or are you in the Telco space, promising things that aren’t delivered and followed up?
Fantastic customer service is not a buzzword it’s an action. If your customers are raving fans, they’ll spread the good news – they become ‘brand ambassadors’. Think Airbnb, Uber and Tesla.
Raving fans are contagious in the best possible way. Customers who appreciate what you do and enjoy working with you will rarely churn, often grow their spend and have stronger ‘lifetime value’.
But how do you get raving fans? Consider these 9 ways:
- In the B2B space there is no such thing a ‘one size fits all’. Every customer you work with is uniquely different. Uncover those differences. Is it ROI? Innovation? Value? Improving brand recognition? Find the importance and deliver.
- Stop selling every time you meet, instead focus on the changing needs. Fulfilling those needs then becomes easier (and they are bespoke).
- Deeply understand the customer’s business and industry. Knowing the needs plus a strong understanding of these two areas is a powerful combination.
- Work on value-add opportunities that you know will resonate with the decision maker(s).
- Seek feedback on a regular basis. Formal and informal feedback keeps the relationship on track. Early identification of problems makes them easier to fix.
- Use metrics. Yes, a relationship is critical but so are the numbers. Numbers aren’t subjective, they provide the true insights into the business relationship and create actionable data.
- Remember above all that you are dealing with humans. The emotional connection helps turbo-charge a business relationship. People buy from people!
- It’s all about doing what is promised. And if others inside your organisation are part of that delivery process, it’s still your responsibility to make it happen.
- Finally, great customer service drives referrals (research) from Texas Tech University shows that 83% of ‘happy’ customers will provide a referral if asked).
I challenge you to put customer service and creating raving fans on this week’s sales meeting agenda. Discuss with the rest of the team how to go the ‘extra mile’. What works, what doesn’t.
Fact: In a highly competitive world great customer service is a major differentiator.
Until next week, good selling!
About the author
Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.
He can be contacted at [email protected]