Customer Centricity is a Business Growth Strategy

As we begin the new year 2023, the business news continues to report on the same theme of marketplace slowdown and recessionary clouds. Surely we are not in an expansion as central bankers tighten monetary policy to stem inflation. The key question for business leaders is: “how to grow in a declining marketplace”?    

Many companies say, “the customer is at the center of everything we do”, but many fail to implement the structural changes needed to ensure this is in fact true. My solution is to implement Customer Centricity to increase customer engagement across the Buying Influences.  

Customer Centricity was a popular business initiative about 8 years ago – if you can remember the pre-COVID days. There was a recognition that placing the customer as the focal point of the broader selling organization was critical to earn share and loyalty. The selling organization was defined as everyone that touches a customer Buying Influence. Typically, the sales Key Account Manager leads their cross-functional Customer Team and aligns all function members on specific action plans to assure customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. Interestingly, the job satisfaction of Customer Team members grew significantly as they saw their contributions lead to customer success. 

I was recently working with a client who engages their customers at multiple touchpoints.  Beyond the “Salesperson”, there are technical service and technical support team members. The technical support team helps customers with equipment evaluation and conducts test to confirm fit for use. The technical service team visits user locations to perform preventative maintenance and repair. When I asked if these other “non-sales” team members receive sales training…unfortunately the answer was “no”. This presents a golden opportunity to integrate multiple new customer connections into the selling process! 

A well-trained support team can make the difference between selling and un-selling. My wife was helping my mother set up her new phone – a “simple” phone for my non-tech savvy mother. Unfortunately, the set-up was not an easy process and needed technical support. Over nearly five hours, 10+ calls to different customer support reps, and way too many reboots…we were still holding a paper weight.  Humorously (now), each customer support person told us how helpful they would be and surely will get this right, all in the most friendly tone. Yet, each failed and added to the frustration. Finally, we were escalated to a higher-level support person who solved all the issues in a mere two minutes and one final reboot. The multiple contact points with friendly but ineffective support reps results in their lost Referralfrom us. Have you trained your customer facing team to bring solutions and satisfaction to your customers, or are they ill-equipped and only a friendly voice?

How do you bring Customer Centricity to life?

• Everybody Sells! Design the Customer Team to integrate all cross-functional members that will provide differentiated value to the customer. Typically, the lead salesperson is best equipped to evaluate their customer and build a Relationship Map that covers all the Buying Influences. 
• Train your Customer Team members on the selling skills to effectively engage with your customer – especially Communication Skills, Objection Handling, and Relationship Building. And yes, equip them with the application skills to solve customer problems! 
• Align Joint Business Plans with the customer that formalize connections, track and deliver KPIs, and communicate success.  Co-create the JBP scorecard and conduct regular reviews (including leadership) to sell the benefits of your collaborations!
• Write specific customer-focused responsibilities and measures into the Customer Team member’s Work Plan. Recognize and Reward your cross-functional team members for delivering solutions and growing your business.
• Evaluate your effectiveness with the customer. Go beyond the typical satisfaction surveys and personally solicit feedback from your customer Buyer Influences - each one of them! Ask for a Referral – customers do not give referrals if they are unhappy with their purchase. Invite your customer to meet with your Customer Team and include feedback and evaluation as an agenda topic.

The key Customer Centricity watch-out is Priority Setting. A well-designed program will amplify the results with your most strategic customers while providing room to improve business results across the customer portfolio. We will talk about Customer Segmentation in an upcoming article.

The ultimate outcome of Customer Centricity is satisfied customers that remain loyal and become your greatest advertising campaign - bringing in Referrals that grow your business regardless of the broader marketplace dynamics.

If you would like to learn how you can: 

• Integrate Customer Centricity into your cross functional selling team.
• Drive Referrals from satisfied customers – the ultimate goal of your selling process.
• Build Sales Skills in your non-Sales cross-functional team members.

Feel free to sign up for a no-obligation 30-minute review of your challenges and possible actions we may take to overcome them by pressing the “Get Started” button on LinkedIn or “Let’s Talk!” button on the AscendCommercialSolutions.com website. 

Happy Selling!

George

Ascend Commercial Solutions brings our expertise in Market Development, Sales Management, and Customer Engagement to overcome your barriers to growth. Our structured approach is tailored to your specific company objectives and the challenges you face. The improvements to your business and organization will stand the test of time.