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Customer Centricity Illustrated
Current customers are a valuable source of information. They entered the market for a solution like yours, made a decision to purchase your solution and now use it on a regular basis. Their feedback should be highly valued by the marketing and product management teams.
Like current customers, churned customers bought from you but they ended the partnership. They may be even more valuable sources than current customers. Their rationale for ending the partnership can provide valuable insight into mistakes that were made or gaps in service.
Lost deals are prospects who evaluated you, but elected not to do business with you. The decision must be respected, but it’s important to understand the reasons why. After an opportunity closes, request a win/loss call to better understand the research and decision-making rationale.
Evaluators are a tough group to speak with for obvious reasons: they’re still evaluating you. It’s not easy to convince a sales rep that you want to interrupt their opportunity for research purposes. But observing prospects as they evaluate is like watching Laird Hamilton size up a wave as he gets towed into it—there’s no substitute for seeing it live. Act like a fly on the wall and listen to the discussion. You’ll get real-time feedback on what prospects and your sales reps say.
The toughest population to talk with may be your addressable targets that aren’t even in the market for a solution yet. Their feedback is important because they’re likely to be your next set of evaluators. The best place to start is by asking your sales team for their cold leads, those silent companies that rarely respond to marketing programs. They’re the ones that attend trade show sessions but won’t set foot in your booth. To open them up, try saying “I’m not trying to sell you anything and couldn’t even if I wanted to.” Who knows? Your cold lead might even warm up a bit.
The same ingredients that make a good surfer—patience, persistence and humility—are also critical to marketing success. Your market is bigger and stronger than you are. Although you can’t control it, you can learn about it by interacting with the market‘s constituents: those who have bought from you, those who are considering buying from you and those who haven’t bought from you yet.
Even though your customers are happy with your product and service, you can still go the extra mile if you’re willing.
Delighting your customers will help you build stronger relationships, turning your average customers into actively engaged promoters of your business. They’re the ones who not only sing your praises, but they’re also shouting your name from rooftops to the world. And it’s not difficult to transform your customers into brand advocates at all.
Your parents probably told you first impressions were pretty important – and they were right! You always want to put your best foot forward when customers come knocking, which is why you should make it ridiculously easy for them to get in touch with you. That way, they’ll be able to reach out and get started.
Once you’ve unlocked that achievement, start thinking about what makes your company stand out.
Make sure you’re not only communicating these features of your business, but living them out every day. When you do, it’ll encourage more of your customers to leave positive reviews online, which might sway new people to engage with your business as well.
Another way to make a great first impression is by connecting with your audience on social media. Get involved in the conversation your customers are having. When you’re more invested, they will be, too.
Creating a remarkable experience for your customers may seem difficult at first, but providing a small gift might help get the ball rolling. Could an eBook or coupon code help sweeten the pot? Absolutely. Your customers will be more likely to sign up if they’re getting something extra in return. The pinnacle is a great affiliate program that shares the revenue. How about 50% of your ad revenue like Markethive does? Awesome!
Provide incentives for your prospective customer when they sign up. You’ll be surprised how far a small gift can go.
Swag is also a great way to acknowledge your awesome customers and make them feel valued. If a customer can’t stop talking about how great you are, whether it’s through social media or referrals, say thank you.
Here at Markethive, we’re are all about the swag. If a particular interaction really knocks our socks off, you can be sure that something fun is on the.
Always remember that your customers made a choice, and they chose you! So, consider the ways you can go above and beyond for them and reward their loyalty. Not only will they feel appreciated, they’ll be reminded of why they picked you in the first place. A simple thank you message can go a long way towards letting your customers know you appreciate their business.
And of course, commit to providing remarkable support so they can get help whenever they need it. Just remember, keep it simple, timely and concise, and you’ll do fine.
If you find that a certain customer is really going the extra mile (think rooftop shouting), consider ways you can thank them for it. Try spotlighting a current customer on your blog (these stories are great customer testimonials!), or giving them a shoutout on Facebook or Twitter. Just remember to ask before sharing their stories – some people might not want the public acknowledgement.
So how can you tell if you’re delighting your customers? If you’re doing a stellar job across the board, you’ll notice it in business growth.
But, if you’d like something a bit more concrete, many businesses will measure their Net Promoter Score (NPS). This metric is tracked by asking your customers one simple question:
How likely are you to recommend [your business name here] to a friend or colleague?
Your customers are then broken down into three groups: promoters (someone who actively promotes your business), neutrals (someone who uses or engages with your business, but doesn’t promote you) and detractors (someone who actively speaks out against your business).
This kind of information is super handy, as it provides concrete information that can help you gauge how your customers really feel about you. You can look for patterns as you peruse their replies, and focus on ways to improve on anything that stands out. If your detractors repeatedly complain about an issue they’re having with one of your products, you’d definitely want to look into ways to change it.
Your customers are the people who stand behind your business. As Bette Midler says, they are “the wind beneath your wings,” so be sure to give them the remarkable experience they deserve.
