May 26 in Customer Relationships
Written by: Heather Rast
After all, aren’t strategies that build interest and demand for a business’s products far more sustainable – and viable for secondary advocacy strategies based on forged trust – than those that pluck weak runners from the back of the herd (if they live long enough, those guys end up feeling resentful anyway)?
Hmm. Same old funnel? What about the new decision journey?
Go on, take a closer look at the secondary copy:
What's wrong with this picture?
With the exception of the word “nurture” in line 2 (which I’d argue they don’t use the same way I’d use “nurture” when thinking about growing customer relationships), these words are cold, clinical, and imply some sort of automated and robotic process for adding new customers to the “done” pile. It’s one-way only. And the very nature of a one-way conversion funnel implies nowhere to go but down (as in, “sold!”). Nothing there implies establishing common ground or mutual interests served through fair and equitable relationships.
Fully recognizing that some B2B channels are very cut-and-dried (and admittedly, I’m not a “sales” person), I maintain that even with purchasing agents and rigorous policies guarding the forward territories, businesses that recognize the value of investing in the growth of deep (and wide) customer relationships will successfully overcome price-minded hurdles in many cases.
How about this approach instead:
- Offer products and services, uniquely positioned to serve the unmet needs of your customer base. Think in terms of a blue ocean.
- Develop rapport, ask questions, give advice, offer assistance. Humanize your brand by being a person first. Yours may not be the best solution; tell them that.
- Affirm the customer’s good decision to buy by continuing high levels of support and value after the sale. Give them reason to continue to feel good about their choices. Let them know it matters.
- Work to help them become vested in that decision to buy. Vested people feel a commitment, an obligation. Vested people make recommendations to peers within their trust networks –>word of mouth. Their success is your success, always.
I’m not out to get B2B Magazine; it’s one I often enjoy reading. I just think they’re off center on this one, and will continue to grow more obsolete as technology fuels competition and satisfaction/service gain weight in decision-making processes. No one wants to be sold to. But some businesses are looking for remedies and will gravitate toward companies that openly offer assistance and support.
What do you think?
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