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Marketing is changing, and the role of marketers is changing with it.
Today, marketers measure things they never thought they could measure, and strive to know everything that is happening in the market at all times, whilst operating in a market that is constantly changing. Without this, companies will not be able to drive commercial success forward. The marketer's strategic outlook of marketing efforts has changed, as they aim to establish the Holy Grail of B2B customer experience.
Brew recently hosted a webinar with customer experience and strategy execution expert Lior Arussy to discuss how the B2B customer experience holy grail has changed, where the market is going, and what B2B businesses must keep in mind today when building strategic marketing plans.
To view the entire webinar, click here, or continue reading below to view our top takeaways.
Key Takeaway 1:
Deliver on Your Promises
Marketers focused on lead generation are in the business of providing promises; marketers who want to evolve, capture market share, and grow are more focused on making sure promises are delivered.
Much of marketing is focused on creating expectations and creating awareness, but that is not what generates brand equity or value. What creates brand equity is the customer experience. Everything else may crumble if there is a disconnect between what a company promises and what the customer gets.
Key Takeaway 2:
Customer Experience Needs to be Perceived from the Customer's Perspective.
Marketers often fail to look at the problem from their customers' perspective, missing their key pain points and not understanding their motivation. In the B2B space, many marketers have completely neglected customer experience due to the complex stakeholder structure and the differing needs of decision-makers within a single organization. The result of this was margin erosion, with some companies even reaching 30% margin erosion when it comes to their own revenues.
When companies stop looking for the next customer and start focusing on understanding their customers' perspectives and exceeding their expectations, the result is an increase in satisfaction and profitability.
Key Takeaway 3:
Need a New Way to Engage with Customers That Does Not Increase the Cost of Acquisition
Customer acquisition costs are higher than ever, and there is a limit as to how much a company can spend to acquire a new customer. That is why businesses today need to have a different way of engaging with their customers that does not increase their cost of acquisition.
To get a customer to choose your business time and time again, you need to deliver exceptional experience and deliver on the promises you make to your customer. This is where a company is truly dependent on their employees; it is the employees at the end of the day who engage with customers and are tasked with delivering exceptional performance within each and every interaction with each and every customer.
Key Takeaway 4:
Meeting Customer Expectations Does Not Create Value
There is a shift from value proposition lying within the product and the process to the relationship brands have with their customers. This shift has challenged the notion of what creates brand value.
If a company is focused on meeting customer expectations, it will never create value because value is created when meaningful connections are created and expectations are exceeded. This cannot be done with quick fixes but must be done by listening to customers, understanding their needs, recognizing their core pain, and going the extra mile to alleviate their pains and meet their needs.
In the B2B world, this is where a frictionless meaningful experience is created and where brand value is found.
Key Takeaway 5:
Focus on Accomplishment, not Implementation
When marketers focus on meeting a checklist of goals, they miss the bigger picture. For marketers to deliver on the true needs of their customer, they must make sure their customer is achieving the accomplishment they want, rather than going through the process they think they must go through.
B2B marketers must ensure their customers take full advantage of their products, use new features, and leverage their solutions for business accomplishments. Failure to do so will result in implementation rather than accomplishments, which is what customers truly want.
When customers feel accomplished, that is when the authentic stories happen, and that is where brands are defined, equity is created, and value is enhanced. When businesses empower their stakeholders and enable them to act with agility and measure accomplishments in a clear way, the result is a win for the customer and a win for the company.
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As marketing continues to evolve and the B2B space becomes increasingly competitive, marketers will have to turn back to their customers and focus on them first – their customer experience will make or break their business. Companies in general, and marketers, in particular, must continually challenge the way they approach problems and not fall into the rut of doing the same thing and expecting the same or better results, When marketers focus on their customers, care about their experiences, and focus on their accomplishments, value is created, and cost of acquisition does not increase …
And that is the holy grail of B2B customer experience
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