In the business-to-business arena, firms are often fighting in highly competitive, commoditised market places. Any period of economic downturn forces business owners to consider their costs to a greater degree, and makes customer-churn more likely than ever. It is therefore essential for firms of all sizes to protect their customer base, and with it the short-term viability and long-term growth prospects of their business.
Pitney Bowes' conducted a survey of business directors/managers across Europe and the USA to investigate why B2B decision makers choose to change suppliers. ‘Poor communications' - encompassing anything from asking about customer needs, to product updates to simply keeping in touch - was revealed as a key catalyst for change.
Over a quarter of B2B customers revealed that they are likely to switch suppliers when left feeling neglected (‘not in touch') and/or uninformed ‘not told about updates and developments'. Nearly a third switch as a result of firms failing to understand and act upon their needs.
The survey demonstrates the importance of building up customer data from all channels over time, and furthermore, in using that data in personalised communications that speak directly to the customer and address their specific requirements. Personalising communications in this way also helps overcome another reason for churn - customers feeling that suppliers do not value their business.
One of the key communication challenges for today's businesses is to communicate with customers over multiple channels (web, email, phone, mail, social media and more). Today's customers demand convenience and expect choice in how they communicate and are communicated with.
If businesses are going to offer to communicate via multiple channels, it is critical to ensure that the know-how and infrastructure is in place to deliver an effective service, and incorporate response data into a holistic communications management strategy.
For some businesses, integrating customer data from multiple channels can be a daunting and potentially expensive task. Rather than make a large investment in the required technology and people, businesses are choosing to engage an outsourced provider with the communications management expertise to implement the tools for multi-channel communications quickly and with minimum disruption to existing systems. Ensuring that communications are integrated across all channels allows suppliers to build up a single customer view allowing them to understand their customers' needs more effectively.
The phrase ‘Business to Business' or ‘B2B' is perhaps a little misleading. Even within this arena, businesses are still selling to and communicating with specific individuals with particular desires and expectations. These individuals, by now used to the sophistication of much marketing activity in the consumer arena, are beginning to expect the same level of interaction with their business partners and suppliers.
So, B2B companies need to address poor communications with customers in order to retain their existing clients. Failure to do so will see disgruntled customers defect in numbers, a point clearly emphasised in the recent survey results. Success relies hugely on capturing customer data and using that data to inform future interactions. Many businesses are recognising the need to work with expert communications management partners to not only stem customer churn, but to also drive future growth.
Sally Wright, Pitney Bowes
