How a streamlined sales process can boost your customers’ business success – and yours
From a customer’s first encounter with your company to the time they make a purchase, you want their journey to be as simple as possible. Your B2B customers will also enjoy faster, better service across the sales cycle, making them more likely to succeed in their own business – and more likely to continue the relationship with your company.
Wanting your B2B customers to succeed is not the same as offering good customer service. Once upon a time organisations were able to hand over goods or services for a fee, provide service with a smile, then wave goodbye. Deal done. But the rapid evolution of digital and cloud capability means customers now demand more.
They want your full attention, before, during and after a transaction. They want efficient processes. And the new ease of finding alternative providers means they can and will go elsewhere to get it. In fact, research shows that 82% of business buyers say technology has made it easier than ever to take their business elsewhere.
What worked then won’t work now
A key part of any business’ success is a streamlined journey from quote through to contracting, fulfilment, billing, collection, and setting the stage for a long-term relationship.
Not long ago, the end-to-end process required the input of many people and departments, including sales, legal, finance and management functions. This resulted in disparate silos of information and processes. And when all the moving parts aren’t connected seamlessly, there’s a risk to cash flow, overall revenue and your customer’s business success.
How better sales processes can deliver customer success
An efficient cloud-based sales tool connects your customer’s intent to purchase a product or service to revenue realisation. It lets you see the progress of every deal across the organisation, lessens the amount of time the sales cycle takes, and allows you to close more deals.
The additional benefit is that your customer’s experience is more streamlined and they, in turn, enjoy greater business success (there’s that word again).
For example, when Simplus implemented a sales system with Citrix, the company achieved a 10% increase in customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, a 20% increase in total customer lifetime value, a 30-second decrease in average call time, and a weekly saving of 5,000 minutes of customer service.
Customers are ready to embrace digital processes
With better, smarter automation and AI, customers expect faster service – from anywhere, at any time. And almost two-thirds are more open to digital processes than ever.
In fact, according to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer 2019 report, 75% of customers expect companies to use new technologies to create better experiences. And 62% of customers are open to the use of AI to improve their experiences – up from 59% in 2018.
This represents a huge opportunity for companies to implement a digitised sales process for a customer audience that has never been more receptive.
Great results build customer trust
Fifty-four per cent of surveyed customers said it was harder than ever for a company to earn their trust.
It’s yet another reason why great sales systems are so pivotal. They allow you to identify any ‘pinch points’ in the sales cycle, then do something about it. It makes your life easier and helps your customer.
When you do that, you build trust, retain business, word of mouth spreads, and you win more customers.
Giving client management the data they need to excel
Measuring actual numbers and value of what your product is doing for your customer is critical. The data from digitised sales processes can be easily captured, documented and codified.
Consider using that data to show your customer the value you are offering them. In the B2B space, that’s most often revenue or cost savings.
This helps your customer’s management team to quantify the value they are driving inside their own company. It also helps with upsells, price realisation and landing new accounts.
With a solid cloud-based sales system, you’ll also have more time to concentrate on building customer relationships and cementing an even brighter future for your business.
Find out more
For more information on how to make your (and your customers’) business more efficient and profitable, contact Simplus today.
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