Every business has one goal in common and that is to make their customers happy. And nothing would make a customer happier than driving growth to their bottom lines.
The following aren’t just tips like “invite your customers to dinner” and “send holiday and thank you gifts”. While those things may temporarily please your customers, they really don’t drive revenue, which is the only thing that matters at the end of the day.
So here is some practical advice on helping your customers to grow their businesses and their bottom lines:
1. Tell them something they don’t know. Customers like partners who provide value. So, you telling them what they already know does not set you apart. You make the effort to do market and competitive research on your prospects before they become customers, so why not do that after they are a customer as well? Using something like our OneSource platform, you can easily do some comparative analysis for your customer on a periodic basis and give them some insights they may not otherwise know that may impact their business decisions.
2. Call before they know they need you. Example: You just got a business trigger alert that one of your customers lost their CMO or just opened a new office. Your customer didn’t share this information with you, probably because they are still figuring out how it’s going to impact their business. Now is your chance to offer value in a time when that customer doesn’t have time to think about the big picture.
3. Keep your finger on the pulse of their business. You should be monitoring your customers at all times. What news is coming out around the company? What are their competitors doing? Is the company expanding? Are they going through legal trouble? Knowing exactly what is going on with each customer will better prepare you to make recommendations on how your solution can best help their business, no matter what changes are happening at the time.
4. Provide training. If you are not providing training for your customers, I can almost guarantee they are not getting the most out of your product. There is no way your customers know EVERY facet of your software and, what’s more, they probably don’t know exactly how it fits in with their business. By doing periodic trainings, you not only make sure your customers are getting the most value from their relationship with you, you are also finding out what things are important to that particular customer based on their questions and feedback during the training.
5. Track usage. Encourage your customers to track usage of your product. Some vendors may be scared to offer this thinking, “If they find out no one is using the product, they won’t renew!” But the converse is, if no one is using the product and you don’t find out until renewal time, you don’t have a chance to coursecorrect. By understanding how your product is used, you can guide your customers to make sure they are making the most of their investment with you.
By employing these 5 tactics not only will your solution become stickier with your customers, but you will also have a firm hand in influencing their bottom line- something they will not soon forget.
Finally, I’d like to thank all of our customers who partner with us in their business journeys. Whether we are helping them to identify new market opportunities, giving them insights into their prospects, providing the data foundation for their account-based marketing programs, or helping them really make data a strategic asset for their company, our goal is always to impact company growth in a way that surpasses even their highest expectations.
Thank you also to all our customers who have taken the time to review our products and services. Your honest feedback and partnerships are what have made our solutions what they are today.
Now go, make some customers happy.
Devin Golden, Senior Vice President/GM- Small and Medium Sized Business at Avention OneSource Solutions
Image Credit: NakoPhotography / Shutterstock