Customer experience, a term commonly used in the B2C industry, has started to ascend in our day to day language. While we might not always explicitly use the term, we consciously and subconsciously choose the businesses we enter a relationship with based on previous interactions or experiences that have shaped our bond with the brand.
Consumers have begun to expect a level of satisfaction worthy of their investment when exchanging their hard-earned money for goods and services. Today the customer experience economy has taken over every B2C business, creating new winners and losers in the market place and challenging the status quo.
But you may wonder, how does this impact B2B businesses?
Customer experience in B2B: Does it matter?
Traditional business to business relationships at first sight appear to remain static, seemingly feeling less of the pressure consumers have placed on our go-to businesses. However, as with any major period of enlightenment, the understanding of the true impact of customer experience on business growth continues to develop across industries and business models, like the ripple effect of a wave.
While B2B businesses do not answer directly to consumer demands, businesses relationships, as the word “relationship” implies, are, and have always been bound by personal connections and the experience we, as representatives of our business, have in our transaction.
Though we enter the workplace as professionals with the goal to remain objective and to act in the best interest of the business we represent, the inherent emotional nature in us will subconsciously influence our decision-making, and such impact the business.
Emotions rule in the Experience Economy
Any student of history can tell you that despite our attempts to bring forth and utilize objective facts in the interpretation of our environment – whether business or personal – an inherent bias exists within each of us. Accepting and understanding the emotional element in our day to day decision-making and that of our partners and customers will enable us to make the best decision for business.
Not only can it empower you with an understanding of the impact your actions have on business partners and customers, thus showing you how the experience will impact the health of your relationship and pocket book, but it also enables you to make a conscious choice about the vendors you choose to partner with.
The customer experience you receive from your vendor can directly impact your ability to provide a memorable customer experience to your customers. Do your vendors meet your expectations in the delivery of data and products? Do they empower you to provide real-time updates to your customers?
As you ponder the customer experience your vendors and your brand bring to the table, you’ll begin to realize that the B2B business environment is already entangled in a complex web of experience-driven interactions, affecting you and your customers, and thus your profitability.
The Experience Economy already exists in the B2B industry, and is only going to intensify based on our personal experiences with B2C industry disruptors, such as Amazon and Uber.
The path to becoming CX-driven
So how can you prepare your colleagues to understand the experience factor in B2B business relationships and help them act upon it? How can you get a better understanding of your customers and forge a closer connection?
Customer experience-driven businesses require two key elements – a customer experience-driven culture and the tools to act on the latter. Thus, to become competitive in the CX economy, you’ll need the will and determination to delight your customer, the training platform and curriculum to enable customer-focused learning across your organization, and the software for sales and marketing to enable seamless interactions, built on a true understanding of your customer’ needs and desires.
Only by combining software with a customer experience driven culture can you truly elevate your business to new heights.
