Redefining Customer Expectations
The Amazon effect has dramatically reshaped expectations in the online shopping sphere, and its influence extends well beyond B2C. Today, B2B customers anticipate the same level of service they enjoy as individual consumers. The rise of membership models like Amazon Prime, with its blend of convenience and competitive pricing, has set new benchmarks in customer experience (CX) that B2B companies cannot afford to ignore.
While there are distinct differences between strategizing for B2C and B2B, most notably tracking a single customer’s journey versus a team of stakeholders and the typically shorter sales cycle of B2C, we can extrapolate and apply key strategizes from our B2C learnings through a customized approach.
Transforming B2B with B2C Strategies
The competitive B2C landscape, where giants like Walmart and Bed Bath and Beyond emulate Amazon’s model, serves as a roadmap for B2B companies seeking to enhance customer experience. Recognizing that business clients demand similar digital CX efficiencies, B2B organizations are increasingly adopting B2C strategies to foster customer loyalty.
Three Key Focus Areas for B2B CX Improvement:
- Seamless Digital Buying Experience: The pandemic has expedited the shift towards digital platforms. For B2B companies, this means investing in self-service capabilities that not only meet buyer expectations for convenience but also streamline internal resources. As Steven Van Belleghem notes, digital convenience is no longer optional – it’s a necessity for survival in the modern marketplace.
- Personalized Customer Interactions: Leveraging customer data for tailored interactions is now easier and more essential than ever. Effective CRM tools are critical for advancing personalization, transforming every B2B interaction into a unique, customer-centric experience.
- Customer-Centric Feedback and Mapping: Direct customer feedback is invaluable. Methodical collection and analysis of customer insights, especially when visualized through customer journey mapping, can reveal critical pain points and areas for CX enhancement. This approach ensures that improvements are not just theoretical but are based on actual customer needs and preferences.
RELATED: How to Create a Customer Journey Map (with Templates)
Embracing Customer Feedback for Enhanced CX
B2B companies must be ready to act on customer feedback to truly elevate their CX. If buying is cumbersome or customers feel undervalued, it’s time for a CX overhaul. By adopting a proactive stance towards customer engagement and being prepared to implement changes based on their feedback, B2B organizations can significantly close the CX gap with their B2C counterparts.
Key Takeaways for B2B Customer Management:
- Adopting B2C strategies like seamless digital interfaces can significantly improve B2B customer
- Personalizing customer interactions and leveraging CRM tools effectively can increase customer lifetime value.
- Gathering feedback from B2B customers is crucial for understanding how to measure and enhance their experience.
- B2B companies can benefit from adopting a B2C mindset, focusing on ease, personalization, and customer-centricity.
Learn more about Fisher’s Customer Experience solutions – including tools to map the customer journey, personalizing customer interactions, and leveraging CRM effectively.
Learn How Fisher Can Help Improve Your B2B Customer Experience
About Kelley Reymann
Kelley is a marketing leader who understands the “big picture” dynamic between her expertise and the mission of the organization. At the same time, she excels at working through details to achieve progress and growth. Kelley’s ability to produce high quality work in complex situations is a result of her meticulous organization and creative problem-solving.
While at American Greetings and Scotts Miracle-Gro, she experienced proven success in product commercialization, data analysis, process improvement, and project management. Whether working with major retailers like Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s, or diving head-first into the details of a project plan, Kelley loves big challenges and the methodical journey to tackle them for her clients.
You can reach Kelley at kelley.reymann@fishermp.com.