What do today’s fastest-growing companies all have in common? They’re obsessed with the customer experience.
And more B2B brands are catching on. According to the 2015 Digital Trends Briefing, 78% of companies will be trying to differentiate themselves through the customer experience in the coming year.
However, most B2B companies don’t know how to enhance the customer experience across their organization. A 2014 SiriusDecisions Summit poll found that 75% of attendees said their customer experience improvement efforts were not coordinated.
Creating an awesome experience for your customers doesn’t happen by accident. It requires a deliberate strategy in which every part of the organization plays an important role—whether you have the word “customer” in your job title or not.
That’s why Influitive is hitting the road this summer with our B2B Customer Engagement Leadership Series. We’re bringing industry-leading experts to Atlanta on July 16th, and to New York on July 28th, to share how they improve the customer experience across their organization. (Register for our free Atlanta event now!) You’ll learn how aligning your marketing, sales, customer success, product and leadership teams around customer engagement can reduce churn, generate new revenue and grow your business.
Below, we’re sharing the best customer experience and engagement insights from some of our speakers. (To see a full list of speakers, visit our event page.)
1. Ask your customers for feedback—and it could bring you more customers
The key to attracting new customers is to have your best customers create social proof for your product. After all, word of mouth influences 92% of all B2B purchases, and a Google study found that 60 percent of B2B tech buyers look for reviews during the buying process. That’s why Angela Higgins, Manager of Customer Engagement at Code42, created an advocate marketing program in the hopes of driving more genuine online reviews from the brand’s top users.
The program pointed customers to places online where they could share honest feedback about Code42 and its products. “We wanted raw, honest and unguided comments,” said Angela. “We didn’t give our advocates language or tell them what to talk about.”
By giving their customers the opportunity to share their opinions, Code42 was able to generate more than 60 glowing reviews on Spiceworks, and 42 reviews on G2 Crowd. (Read more about Code42’s advocate marketing program here.)
2. Connecting with customers can be fun and beneficial
Heather Pepe, Sales Enablement Manager for PGi, runs the company’s advocate marketing program, the PGi Insiders. Through the program, Heather has connected with customers on a deeper level—and received more references, referrals, case studies, and testimonials as a result. How? By offering a steady stream of fun and educational challenges and rewards. Heather keeps her best customers engaged by entertaining them, informing them and bringing value to their lives. This has turned them into proud advocates for PGi. (Click here to learn more about PGi Insiders.)
3. Give customers ownership of your brand
Sophie Brown, Customer Marketing Manager at Bomgar, knows the secret to driving real customer engagement is making your advocates feel like they are truly a part of your brand. That’s why Sophie built a community of customers through an advocate marketing program called the Bomgar Insiders. Members were asked to contribute content and share their feedback on the program so they felt like they were an integral part of building the community.
Then, when Sophie needed her advocates to vote for the program to win an award, they were happy to oblige. “They felt a sense of ownership over the Bomgar Insiders.” As a result, Bomgar Insiders was voted the 2013 Advocate Marketing Program of the Year just three months after its launch. (Read the whole story here.)
4. Rethink marketing’s role in the post-sale customer lifecycle
Many brands focus on improving the buying journey but often forget about how to drive retention and advocacy post-sale. This is why Megan Heuer, VP and Group Director for SiriusDecisions, says companies shouldn’t overlook marketing’s role in creating positive customer interactions.
“Once you have an accurate picture of what your customers need from you after they buy, look for gaps that marketing’s toolkit can fill,” she says. “Marketing is generally an untapped resource for customer relationship nurturing. The process map shows you where to focus and make those contributions.” (Download The B2B Marketer’s Field Guide to Customer Engagement to learn more.)
