Bond EMEA
What if my customer is an entire company?
Taking care of the individual experience of each customer in order to exceed their expectations and achieve loyalty has long been a priority in companies. But what happens when this customer is not a single person, but a large organization made up of multiple people with their own interests and needs?
To generate trust, it is essential to create lasting relationships between the people inside the companies and emotional bonds that last even after the end of the established contractual relationship.
This ecosystem of relationships is often not taken into account, making it very difficult to create a differential experience.
More specifically we can point out some challenges:
- Consistency and coherence: it is essential that the same level of experience is provided throughout the entire journey, independently of the channels and, what is more difficult, at all interactions between many different departments and people.
- Organizational movements may cut previously established relationships. In some cases, we are no longer referring to labor relations, but to emotional bonds between people.
- Another issue to take into account is the changes in company purchasing policies. Detecting the new needs of our B2B client and anticipating their requirements can offer us a great competitive advantage.
And with all this on the table, how do we deal with the new generations? To interact with them in a B2B environment, we must take into account additional recommendations that involve understanding their preferences, behaviors and, above all, a continually evolving digital environment. New technologies are taken for granted in these relationships, along with sustainability, social responsibility initiatives and a focus on continuous learning through professional networks that encourage networking.
→ Practical tips on how to improve the B2B experience
Addressing all of these challenges requires a strategic approach from the outset of relationships that also involves a clear understanding of customer personas, while fostering closer, emotionally high-trust relationships in a complex ecosystem of interlocutors.
1. Understand the client's needs both as an organization and as an individual and offer personalized solutions according to their needs.
2. Communicate effectively, clearly, constantly and with feedback from both parties when necessary.
3. Provide excellent customer service that solves any type of problem or uncertainty in the shortest possible time and take advantage of possible incidents to positively surprise your customers.
4. Fulfill your commitments and promises.
5. Co-create and collaborate with your customers to develop new joint growth opportunities.
6. Stay updated and share relevant information with them.
7. Be ethical and transparent, especially in the moments that matter.
The challenges that organizations face in B2B relationships have evolved in recent times due to the arrival of new profiles to organizations and the post-pandemic situation. All these challenges and the complex environment we face create a great opportunity for those who know how to work for and with people.
The creation of a customer-centric strategy in B2B organizations as a competitive advantage is a great opportunity as long as it is implemented consistently in day-to-day business.