by Sonnhalter | Dec 12, 2017 | Tradesmen Insights, Uncategorized
Today we have a guest post from Russ Hill, Founder of Ultimate Lead Systems.
I recently lunched with some long-time friends and sales and marketing professionals. The topic turned to the importance of Customer Service in the face of the plethora of CRM and Marketing Automation software available today. The conversation raised more questions than it answered.
We agreed on the following definitions for the purpose of the discussion:
Customer Service – The interaction with a customer or prospect that traditionally revolves around resolving a problem and producing a positive outcome. This could be in person or via phone or email.
CRM – It’s not software but a strategic process designed to cultivate and enhance the relationship with customers. The goal is to maximize retention rates and capitalize on the life-time value of the customer.
Something else we agreed upon was that companies seem to be racing to dramatically reduce their costs of engaging customers. Those costs are typically associated with people on payroll, and management too often views automated systems as a means of delivering customer engagement AND customer service at reduced cost. We also agreed that Customer Service is all about NOW and all other engagements are about future opportunities.
We’ve all experienced agonizingly long waits in Customer Service phone queues that assure us our “call is important” only to get transferred to a voicemail box that is full and not taking messages. Programs like Hubspot, Marketo, Eloqua and Exact Target can help deliver content that may be of value to customers they already know. What about new customer and prospects? Websites without phone numbers that force the customer to do all of the work to find solutions to their own needs do not make it easy for customers to buy or remain customers. How many take their business elsewhere because Customer Service is self-serve or non-existent…and the vendor neither knows nor cares?
Dimensional Research found that Customer Service was the #1 factor impacting vendor trust, and:
- 62% of B2B customers purchase more after a good Customer Service experience.
- 66% of B2B customers stopped buying after a BAD Customer Service experience.
- 88% of B2B customers were influenced by online customer service reviews when making purchasing decisions.
Customer Service clearly can be the difference between winning, keeping and losing business, and that can mean significant lifetime value won or lost. As for me, we experienced business service from AT&T that has been nothing but a nightmare. I’ll spare you the details, but we will never do business with them again. Does AT&T care? They don’t appear to.We have other vendors who do stellar jobs that we couldn’t live without. I’ll bet you do too.
In the end, we were all able to agree that people have relationships with people, that customers have “experiences” with companies, and that people do business with people they know, like and trust. It begged the question, do your customers have a relationship with you, or just have an “experience” with your company? It makes a difference.
This post originally appeared on the Ultimate Lead blog and is reposted with permission.
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 30, 2014 | Marketing Tips
My grandkids went back to school last month, and after having a very active summer, I asked them if they were looking forward to going back to school. They both agreed that they were, and when I asked why, some of the answers surprised me.
I expected to hear that they were looking forward to seeing old friends that they had not stayed in touch with over the summer. They were a bit apprehensive about meeting their new teachers and what the next grade had in store for them. But at the same time they were looking forward to learning something new.
I thought that their insights could be useful for all of us in business as teachable moments.
- Going back to see old friends – When was the last time you called up a long-standing customer you haven’t talked to for some time to see how they are doing and thank them for their business?
- Apprehension on meeting new people – What are your new challenges? Is it calling on some new key potentials or joining a professional group that would help improve your job skills?
- New challenges – What are your goals to learn something new? Get active in a LinkedIn group, take an online course or go to a seminar that will help you do your job better.
I guess the key, to me, is we should never stop learning.
I know with all the things in both our personal, as well as professional lives, it’s sometimes hard, but I think we need to step back occasionally and re-evaluate what we’re doing.
What are you doing to challenge yourself?
by tradesmeninsights | May 28, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
As manufacturers, we have to serve two masters, the distribution network we sell through and the ultimate end-user. Sometimes we can take these relationships for granted. Remember, they have other options. Here are a few thoughts on how to nurture the relationships:
Distributors
- Distributors do have a choice in what they carry. Chances are they have your product as well as several competitors on their shelves. So let’s assume for the sake of this exercise that product performance is comparable.
- What makes their counter guys and sales force sell more of one brand over the other? Yes, you can offer SPIFs, but that at best is a short-term solution to increase sales.
- I’d say things like ease of ordering and timely delivery might be helpful.
- What about knowledgeable factory people available for product training and troubleshooting?
- How about making end-user calls with their sales force?
Here’s a unique thought – thank them for their business instead of hammering them to help you make your numbers this month.
Most distributor/manufacturer relationships have a long history. Don’t take them for granted. Sales will come, but distributors are looking for more than a quality product at a competitive price.
My grandmother used to tell me you’d catch more bees with honey than vinegar.
Contractors
Many of the same tactics work at the contractor level. But here’s a place where you can make a brand difference:
- If you have their back and they know they can count on you for product/technical support, you’ll make a friend for life.
- Contractors-like elephants-have long memories, and if you drop the ball too many times, they will find alternative products. Trust me, I’ve seen it.
- Contractors want to be recognized for the trade professionals they are. Something as simple as sending them an email for example, on National Plumber’s Day, recognizing how hard they work. Wouldn’t you think that would have a positive brand experience?
You know, this stuff isn’t rocket science, it’s more common sense. And it doesn’t have to cost more money, just use good business practices.
My golden rule is to treat people the way you expect to be treated. It works and it makes life a whole lot simpler.
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 16, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
Depending on what industry you’re in, the rule of thumb is that it takes anywhere from 5-9 times more effort to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. So why don’t we spend more time nurturing the ones we have?
We’re all guilty of taking customers for granted sometimes. I read an article on marketingprofs.com, The 7 Ps of Customer Retention that I thought was appropriate. Here are some highlights:
- People – It’s about building relationships. Treat your customer as a person.
- Product – Make sure your product is up to what you promised it would be.
- Place – How does a customer communicate with you? Make it easy.
- Price – You need to take care and give them a good price. They expect you to take care of them.
- Promotions – Since they are already your customers, you know what they are buying and can make suggestions for other potential products/services they may be interested in.
- Processes – Customer surveys, social media monitoring and customer engagement tools to understand how each customer is engaging with you.
- Positioning – Know who you are and clearly communicate that to your customers. Keep the message simple and to the point.
Those are some suggestions on how to keep your current customers happy.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 17, 2010 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
Online marketers usually focus on three key major objectives: Customer Retention, Brand Awareness and Lead Generation. Not surprising given the state of the economy, lead generation is getting more attention according to a recent study by AMR International.
AMR International interviewed 1000 marketers and here are highlights of their findings:
• Annual growth in US B2B online marketing spend is forecast at 8% in 2010 and is set to reach 14% by 2012
• B2B advertising spend on social media and lead generation sites is forecast to grow at an annualized rate of 21% and 17% respectively to 2013
• Online accounted for 7% of the B2B marketing mix in 2008. This is set to reach 12% by 2013
• Two thirds of B2B marketers believe that online must be complemented by traditional marketing activities
• Only 50% of B2B marketers formally analyze metrics to judge ROI – but those that do find online marketing more effective
What’s the focus of your online marketing program for 2010?
