2 min read
Think for a moment about your product or service. How exclusive is it? Does the price reflect that exclusivity? Do your sales arguments make your target audience sit up and listen?
In today’s competitive marketplace, the people – or sales opportunities – you want to move down your sales funnel are completely informed about what they want, what the market is offering, and where they can find the best value-for-money product.
In light of this reality, the report by Customers 2020, The future of B-to-B customer experience, predicts that in little more than 5 years, customer experience will be the key differentiating factor for each brand, overtaking price and the product or service itself.
As a business you need to be proactive and define how you want the target customer to feel when they interact with your brand. We recommend conducting a simple customer satisfaction survey every three months to identify areas for improvement. This type of self-evaluation is a way of aiming for – and delivering – excellence. If you’re looking to sell, focus on both personalization and creativity.
If you need any more convincing, check out this fact: 70% of purchase experiences are based on how the customer feels he or she is being treated[1].Those companies who practice what they preach are the ones that compete successfully – and sell.
Finding and buying a brand that offers this value comes at a price. According to Forbes, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. And yet only 1% of customers consider that salespeople meet their expectations. Something can – and should – be done to improve this figure. Now’s the time to provide the consumer with an unforgettable experience that meets (or exceeds) their expectations, and is reflected in the price they are paying. More than anything, this is a huge business opportunity.
In his book To Sell Is Human, David Pink claims that the first condition for selling is harmony. In other words, understanding the other person’s point of view. This means facilitating interactions and only offering accurate, quality information to your customers.. It also means making sure company voicemails don’t become the main source of “interaction”, and replying rapidly to calls and emails. Make every effort to find out what your target customer needs and go beyond meeting them. Surprise your customer with a tailored offering before they tell you what they need – this service is invaluable.
The Net Promoter Score (NPS)
To know whether you’ve done your work successfully you need to apply one infallible metric. On a scale from 1 to 10:
“How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?”
The Net Promoter Score(NPS) is that simple, and provides an exact snapshot of customer satisfaction levels and company growth and profitability.
To calculate your company’s NPS you subtract the percentage of detractors (customers who have marked you between 0 and 6) from the percentage of promoters (those who marked you with a 9 or 10). Those who gave you a 7 or 8 are known as ‘neutral passives’ and aren’t taken into account. For the detractors you need to take urgent measures to get them to change their opinion of you, and eventually become promoters.
The better your NPS, the higher your sales and the perception of value in the eyes of new customers. It may be a simple tool, but it’s key for maintaining profitability. Based on responses you can establish priorities to improve the metric, and regularly test the effect of these changes. The result should be an improvement in customer loyalty and an increase in the conversion rate of your company’s customer evangelists.
If you haven’t yet included the NPS in your business plan, we recommend you do so. It will significantly improve the coordination, operation and communication of your sales department. You’ll reduce customer loss while the number of client recommendations will continue to grow. And the last link in this chain of good news? You’ll also reduce costs.
For more tips on the subject, check out our blog .
[1] We treat every customer as if they’re our only customer, Laurie Parish, Adlib Software.
[2]2013 Global Contact Center Survey, Results and key insights, Deloitte.
