Recently, I had a billing issue that needed to be resolved with our health insurance provider. I put off making the phone call for days, and waited until one of those rare mornings where I had enough free time that I felt I could add this to my to-do list. I fully expected that I would have to invest quite a bit of time to sort out the issue. Enter James. Simply put, James made my day. As I started to explain my issue, he quickly (within less than a minute), identified the problem and resolved it for me in their billing system. That was enough to make my day, but James went several steps further. He called our doctor’s office to proactively communicate the resolution to their billing department. He also gave me his name and direct extension so I could contact him directly with any further concerns I had. Finally, two days after my call, he left me a message just to check in and make sure everything was resolved to my satisfaction.
What is so great about this example? James made it very easy for me to accomplish a task. He removed any obstacles in my path by being a good listener, knowledgeable, and proactive. As consumers, these are basic expectations that companies all too often fall short of meeting. These expectations are not just found in consumer interactions, but are also requirements in the B-to-B space as well.
Relationships and interactions in the B-to-B setting are fundamentally more complex, making it much harder for companies to make it easy for their customers to accomplish everyday tasks. Making it even more difficult, customer expectations for easy and simplicity have only been amplified by slick and easy interactions with companies like Amazon.
Walker recently published a study on the “ease of doing business” in the B-to-B space and identified two main areas where B-to-B companies can make a difference with customers: more effective self-service and more effective personal interactions. To learn more about Walker’s findings and the report The Value of Making it Easy,” join us for an upcoming webcast. Click here to register!
