You’ve given them countless product demos. Made executive trips to their headquarters. Answered their questions on Saturday mornings. Invited their European team out to dinner.
Your team put in the work and finally won the deal. Congratulations!
Now, is it really on to the next one? For sales yes, but for your entire company it definitely shouldn’t be. More companies are spending additional time and resources on improving the B2B post-sale experience of their customers. Why? Here are a few of the main reasons…
– Keeping customers happy after the sale decreases churn – Simply put, happy customers are less likely to leave your business. It’s the main reason why more businesses are creating “customer success” teams to manage customer wants and needs. These relationships formed by the success team create a foundation for not only maintaining your current customer count, but also for unlocking so many other beneficial opportunities that will help your business grow both in the short and long term.
– Highly satisfied customers are more receptive to upselling – Customers that like your business not only stick around, they’re also more likely to buy again. If they have a great post-sale experience with your business, there’s a better chance that they will expand the customer relationship. From adding more seats to buying additional products or even onboarding sister companies, you can upsell customers in several different ways. It’s a great option to have for increasing revenue and creating new profit streams.
– Happy customers should provide reviews and testimonials – Emphasizing the B2B post-sale customer experience has other benefits than just on the bottom line of a business. It can also be great for attracting new customers. How? By leveraging the positive relationships formed to provide review and testimonial content. Both tactics are a way to provide “digital social proof” in an ever-changing B2B shopping landscape where companies now conduct extensive research before making a purchase. It’s now even at the point where if your business doesn’t have social proof, it may be a cause for concern with prospects.
– Get better and more refined product feedback – If the impact on your bottom line or industry perception still isn’t enough of a motivator to focus on the post-sale customer experience, it’s also worth noting that customers with a long tenure are also better at providing product feedback. Once trust is built, a customer will be more likely to speak their mind when problems happen instead of remaining silent, giving you with an opportunity to fix what’s wrong. Also, because of their extensive experience of working with your company, they’re able to provide you with in-depth customer feedback.
To recap, the value of the post-sale customer experience in the B2B industry is increasing every day. Not only does emphasizing the post-sale experience increase revenue by reducing churn, but it can also boost revenue even further by creating additional upselling opportunities. Add in other benefits including better product feedback and social proof and to emphasize the importance of the post-sale experience even more.
Don’t let all that work your team put forth to win the deal go to waste. Prioritize your current customers and make the most out of the relationships you have with them!