As much as we talk about the power of customer experiences, there’s still a major disconnect in what individuals expect and companies provide. At the end of the day, you want customers to know you have their back — and ironically enough, stressful times are the prime opportunity to build trust.

With reports indicating that businesses can expect to lose $3.7 trillion annually due to poor customer service, here are three steps B2B companies can take to rebuild trust and forge stronger relationships when complications emerge.

1. Respond As Quickly As Possible

No matter how polished your product or service might be, there’s no such thing as perfect — product limitations/failures and buyer frustrations will inevitably bubble up at some point during the buyer’s journey (though they might not be as wide-spread as a complete ground stop). And when these issues inevitably occur, 87% of B2B buyers will let that bad experience negatively impact their relationship with the business.

With that in mind, the No. 1 way to remedy a poor customer experience is to respond to their complaints as quickly as possible. The research — conducted by Accenture — suggested companies should actively listen to the customer’s concerns and delve deeper to understand the root cause of the bad experience.

To Chatbot, Or Not To Chatbot?

In theory, fielding a mass influx of complaints seems like prime time for chatbots to shine — however, in high-stress circumstances where temperatures are already running hot, it might be best to use chatbots sparingly.

When it comes to chatbots to field customer complaints, our advice is to proceed with caution: While 75% of customers favor live agents for resolving issues, compared to 13% for chatbots, chatbots still have a place to provide low-level support and give customers an idea of wait times for live agents.

2. Directly Address The Issue

According to Forrester’s 2023 Global Buyers’ Journey Survey, honesty and transparency are crucial for B2B buyers, especially in times of turmoil. When things go wrong, practitioners’ best bet is to explain the root cause of the issue and keep the customer informed throughout the resolution process, which includes updating them on the steps being taken and the expected timeframe for improvement.

A report from Edelman-LinkedIn underscored how thought leadership and open communication significantly impact B2B buyers’ decisions, as 71% of B2B buyers are more likely to engage with a company that demonstrates open and honest communication about its products and services.

Remain Transparent

While it’s intimidating to own up to your mistakes, it’s often the best solution to save relationships. Failures and shortcomings are a part of life, and sometimes the best thing to do is the lean into those mishaps and discuss how you’ll improve future processes. When companies can embrace their mistakes and not shrink away from them, it’ll foster more trust between companies and buyers. In a competitive market, transparency becomes a differentiator, attracting customers who value upfront information.

3. Reinforce Trust After The Fact

If your buyer faced a problem that sullied their experience, they want to know what steps you’ll take to prevent similar disruptions in the future. And in this case, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work; instead, tailor communications and solutions to address the specific issue. With the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer indicating that 88% of respondents believe trust is critical or important, businesses should foster a culture that values customer satisfaction above all else. This will empower employees to focus on the customer experience and make decisions that benefit them in the long run.

Incentivize Customers To Stay

While it’s great you’ve apologized and let your customers know you’ll do everything in your power to prevent future issues, the reality is an issue already happened, and no matter how well you handled the situation, there’s still going to be a bad taste in a customers’ mouth. But luckily, there’s a solution: Gifts.

Approximately 52% of recipients are more likely to do business with a company after receiving a corporate gift​, while personalized and well-timed corporate gifts can significantly strengthen client relationships, leading to better client retention and potential referrals​. And these don’t have to break the bank, either: The key is to choose gifts that are thoughtful, personalized and useful to the recipient, such as gift cards to their favorite restaurant or coffee shop.

Strong CX = Stronger Relationships

While the Crowdstrike SNAFU primarily exacerbated customer service issues on the B2C side, it placed a renewed focus on B2B CX and how it is mission critical for success. Companies with strong customer relationships can see retention rates increase by up to 5%, which can boost profits by 25 to 95%.

In times of turmoil, B2B’s best bet is to open direct lines of communication, address issues head-on and ensure they remain transparent in all their processes across the board.

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The TruVoice platform was created to help capture and present customer insights and coaching intervention analytics in role-based dashboards to help managers monitor, measure and modify strategies and interventions on specific accounts. Specifically, the solution was designed to:

• Pinpoint areas of weakness or opportunity in customer relationships;
• Trigger an alert to the account team that outlines an account’s areas of concern and/or interest; and
• Serve up relevant coaching content.

“With this automated customer feedback and customer success coaching system, each individual account team member will be shown areas for improvement based on what their customers are saying,” said Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy Officer at Corporate Visions, in a statement. “It’s like a fitness tracker for customer success: Just like a fitness tracker monitors your physical activities, helps you identify areas for improvement and provides personalized recommendations, this system tracks customer experience, uncovers gaps based on customer feedback and offers tailored training to optimize results.”

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According to the company, there are two key features of Performance Center:

• Identifying gaps in buying groups and gaining insight into buying group behaviors to help identify the accounts that have the most/best buying group coverage; and
• Leveraging big data and machine learning to create Integrate’s proprietary trust and reliability score for media partners, which is based on an algorithm running on millions of data points that track media partner campaign performance.

“B2B marketers are faced with doing more with less, and doing it faster, and everyone is looking to AI to raise the threshold of what’s possible and accelerate decision-making and productivity,” said Aaron Mahimainathan, Chief Product Officer at Integrate, in a statement. “With millions of data points passing through our platform each month, we’re building AI capabilities from the ground up into our product to enable B2B marketers to make informed decisions so they can deliver more meaningful impact to pipeline, revenue and business outcomes.” 

The release of Performance Center is hot on the heels of the debut of Pipeline360, Integrate’s new media arm that seeks to offer an all-in-one integrated media solution for content syndication, enhanced account intelligence and digital advertising.

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A Resurging Marketing Channel

Direct mail, often considered a traditional marketing tactic, has experienced a resurgence in recent years. According to RR Donnelley’sDonnelley’s (RRD) Modern Marketers Report, 42% of consumers expressed an increased interest in receiving direct mail compared to the previous year. Among younger age groups, particularly those aged 18-26, there was a notable enthusiasm for direct mail, with 61% expressing agreement. This shift in perception highlights the untapped potential of direct mail for hyper-personalized marketing journeys.

One key strategy that sets the Arbor Day Foundation apart is keeping a priority on direct mail in an era dominated by digital clutter. In a landscape where email inboxes are flooded with promotional messages and social media feeds are laden with ads, direct mail stands out as a tangible, trustworthy channel for communication.

A Legitimate & Personal Channel

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of customers report feeling overwhelmed by digital brand communications, specifically via email. At the same time, nearly half (46%) are more cautious about sharing personal data online. With the overpowering nature of email communications and growing concerns with online data privacy, the opportunity for direct mail to emerge as the go-to trustworthy and personal channel is here.

It’s this perception that has helped to support the marketing needs of the Arbor Day Foundation. We’ve heard directly from the foundation’s members that they appreciate legitimate, physical pieces of information they can keep around and revisit. The Modern Marketers Report confirmed this, showing that 47% of customers also noted a preference for direct mail due to their appreciation for having a tangible copy of information for reference, in addition to finding it easier to remember than email and enjoying the excitement of opening physical mail.

By leveraging direct mail’s hyper-personalization capabilities, the Arbor Day Foundation also ensures that its message reaches donors in a way that resonates with them on a personal and local level. Direct mail recipients can see and hear what is going on in their immediate area as it relates to the foundation’s goals and activities.

Cutting Through The Noise

As RRD and the Arbor Day Foundation continue to collaborate, direct mail holds strong as a marketing channel that cuts through the noise. Recognizing its members are bombarded with messaging all day every day, the Arbor Day Foundation knows the importance of meeting them, as well as potential members, where they want to be met. The nonprofit’s success underscores the importance of this tactic in maximizing marketing program return on investment, especially in today’s unpredictable economic climate.

Digital channels often dominate the marketing conversation, but mediums like direct mail that emanate trustworthiness and personalization remain a force to be reckoned with in the marketing landscape. And for nonprofits like the Arbor Day Foundation, it’s a go-to method for reaching their mission-driven goals.

Tim Pietrini is the VP of Strategic Development at RRD, a provider of marketing, packaging, print and supply chain solutions. Prior to his current appointment, Pietrini served as the company’s Marketing Strategist.

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The Problem

Revenue professionals understand the significance of selling to existing customers rather than acquiring new ones: It cuts down on acquisition costs, enhances overall efficiency, fosters enduring customer relationships and maximizes the value of each customer. With that in mind, Avalara wanted to uncover new ways to deliver greater value to its customers and optimize revenue opportunities based on their existing contracts.

“Avalara’s customer account teams handle a high volume of interactions, driving roughly 3,000 deals to close each month,” said Sean Flynn, SVP of Global Sales at Avalara. “We put great emphasis on providing best-in-class customer service to make compliance less taxing for our customers.”

The Solution

In 2021, Avalara’s customer account management (CAM) team adopted revenue intelligence platform Gong to capture customer interactions — such as calls, emails, video conferences and more — to surface insights that would help teams boost engagement and increase efficiencies to drive more revenue. Leveraging Gong Insights, the CAM team was able to identify the behaviors that contributed to growth and those that hindered opportunities.

“For customers like Avalara that have a large and diverse customer base, automated insights that uncover opportunities for account growth can make a big difference,” said Ben Brownlee, Gong’s Chief Customer Officer.

These insights allowed CAM leaders to provide personalized coaching that would improve customer interaction quality. They could also communicate the value of their solutions more effectively and assist their sales teams in achieving better results.

The Results

After seeing the widespread adoption of the platform throughout the CAM team, Avalara decided to extend the use of Gong to other departments, including customer success, customer development, product marketing, sales development, new business sales and support. Gong rapidly became integral to these teams’ most critical workflows, enabling Avalara teams to:

• Achieve a better understanding of their customers, which enabled them to build robust sales pipeline and identify potential opportunities;
• Close new business deals more effectively through data-driven insights into customer needs and preferences;
• Provide a more personalized and value-driven customer service experience; and
• Analyze customer interactions and behaviors to identify cross-sell and up-sell opportunities to maximize revenue from Avalara’s existing customer base.

“With Gong, we have accurate, market-driven insights on how to deliver the best possible experience for customers on every transaction, which has been instrumental in helping us develop a culture of value in every customer interaction,” concluded Flynn.

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With that in mind, Kerry Cunningham, who leads Research and Thought Leadership for 6sense, recommended that solution providers exert considerable marketing efforts to create awareness with buying committee members early in the buying process to create a competitive advantage.

“We asked buyers who initiated the first interaction with the selling organization, and 83% said that they initiated the contact,” said Cunningham, in an interview with Demand Gen Report. “That doesn’t mean they weren’t getting emails and calls; they probably were, but they didn’t respond until they were ready to start having those engagements. And when we asked buyers who they reached out to first — in terms of the winning company or other contenders — 84% said they started with the winner.”

Cunningham dove deeper into the nuances of that outreach, elaborating that 78% of buyers have their expectations set when they initially contact sales. He explained that this means that the 84% of companies that will win the deal have very little ability to shape what that deal is going to be. To help get ahead of this proactive cohort of buyers, Cunningham recommend that marketers:

• Allow all information that could influence buying decisions to live outside a form; and
• Atomize content as much as possible.

“The fact that buyers can do everything digitally means that it’s easier and frictionless — they can download information anywhere, at any time,” said Cunningham. “You must make sure everything is available to your buyers. Buyers stay anonymous throughout nearly three-quarters of the entire journey and by the time they uncloak and make themselves available, you better have made your case. One of the first questions you should ask a prospect is if you’re the first vendor they contacted. If the answer is yes, you can light up your cigar because you’re probably going to get that deal.”

To learn more about the current state of B2B buyer experiences, download the full report now.

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“We are thrilled to offer this new capability to our clients,” said Kalin Kassabov, CEO of ProTexting, in a statement. “The integration of Twilio with our SMS marketing dashboard is a game-changer. It not only streamlines the process but also opens up new possibilities for our users. Our goal has always been to provide the most comprehensive and user-friendly mobile marketing solutions, and this is a significant step in that direction.”

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Mine plans to use the capital to scale its B2B enterprise-grade product MineOS, which features an intuitive, no-code experience that seamlessly integrates with advanced AI technology.

“In the ever-evolving landscape of regulations and groundbreaking initiatives like AI, organizations now demand comprehensive visibility for effective data governance, and our solutions have never been more essential for enterprises of all sizes,” said Gal Ringel, Co-founder and CEO of Mine, in a statement. “We’ve engineered a completely differentiated customer experience that has proven itself in the marketplace. Our pragmatic approach, coupled with an unwavering emphasis on ease of use, has deeply resonated with our users. This funding positions us to deliver an even more seamless and differentiated experience, ushering in a more efficient and streamlined approach to addressing data privacy concerns in the B2B market. This further solidifies our commitment to making the digital world safer and more transparent.”

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Offering more than 30 customizable holiday-themed AR experiences, Cardii’s technology seeks to provide recipients with a personalized and dynamic 3D holiday scene that unfolds from their digital gift card. The scene is accessible directly via their smartphones.

“Cardii is not just about giving a gift; it’s about creating a moment of genuine connection and awe,” said Du Nguyen, Co-founder of Cardii, in a statement. “Through our AR-powered platform, we’re bringing a new level of creativity and emotion to corporate gifting.”

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The Lowdown

Software AG, a provider of digital transformation solutions, announced the launch of the “Super iPaaS” — a new category of integration designed to meet the changing needs of large, modern businesses in the landscape of rapidly evolving AI solutions, complex data sovereignty laws and multi-cloud environments that need to work seamlessly.

Back-Of-The-Box Details

It’s no secret that today’s modern enterprise is faced with integration complexity driven by recent technological advancements. Traditional iPaaS, while extremely useful, still requires some manual processes. The Super iPaaS solution leverages automation and real-time analytics powered by AI to provide immediate results. This category is said to be a game changer for companies who are looking to achieve a modern infrastructure in a highly competitive market and eliminate technical headaches.

Who It’s For

Software AG is designed to enable end-to-end visibility and governance across geographies, IT environments and complex business ecosystems, with hybrid multi-cloud connectivity and enterprise-grade security relied on by banks, governments and corporations around the world. Super iPaaS, specifically, aims to help large enterprises.

What It Solves

Super iPaaS is designed to help large enterprises maintain good IT governance while giving them ways to become more agile and productive. To do this, it must have five key components, the inclusion of which is what makes the Super iPaaS different from all integration tools that came before. The five capabilities are:

• Integrates applications, data, APIs, B2B and event streams;
• True cloud-first enterprise end-to-end hybrid integration: Mainframe to cloud;
• Global to meet data sovereignty laws yet managed centrally to assure governance;
• A common user-interface across all aspects of the platform; and
• The power of generative AI to drive agility and productivity.

What Makes It Special

Marketers are more reliant on data and insights than ever before and yet, even the largest organizations in the world are forced to use old-gen tools to try and unlock the true value in their data. Software AG aims to provide an enterprise integration proposition that doesn’t exist anywhere else.

Contact

Software AG

300 Frank W Burr Blvd.

Teaneck, NJ 07666

(201) 836-1719

Request a demo.

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