And how can you ensure they are happy while you are successful?
Making clients happy and satisfied is not easy.
In B2B, it’s not merely ensuring on-time deliveries and meeting quality standards that lead to loyalty.
Some argue that it often involves effective communication, meeting or exceeding expectations, being responsive to their needs, and demonstrating a genuine commitment to delivering quality work.
In complex B2B value chains, clients expect you to lead or support a larger change in their organization and participate in shaping their future. For example, it might involve you to educate their employees to use your products correctly, to help them drive adoption of a new workflow application or to implement an improved process.
“They are looking for a comrade not a mercenary.“
Yet on some other occasions, you wish to change certain behaviors of your client employees for the larger good though it may not be actively supported by the client.
Your failure in driving such changes leads to greater and wider dissatisfaction. I mean it reaches the ears of key stakeholders and decision makers.
It can be disheartening when clients are unhappy despite putting in good work.
Why do you think this happens?
How can you ensure clients are happy while you are successful?
Take 3 mins to check out this video:
Are you a B2B leader who is unsure about how to achieve SUSTAINABLE business growth and do you want to have predictable and consistent growth in your organization?
Then take this quick self-assessment diagnostic and you will have an idea of what your priorities should be.
#nilakantasrinivasan-j #canopus-business-management-group #B2B-client-centric-growth
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Background:
A leading group company involved in Engg and Enterprise Solutions for manufacturing sector to group companies & 3rd parties wants to increase sales win rates, C-sat with better targeting and skills and thus improving its client centricity
Condition:
- Projects with few group companies had frequent escalations.
- Most external projects had budget and time overrun.
- Client satisfaction scores were low. Sales Win Rates and projects awarded were of low value.
Big 4 Actions:
- Improved the Project Value and Win rates based on targeting the influencers instead of the decision makers.
- Customer Satisfaction Analytics to build a predictive model and key drivers
- Coaching of Delivery Managers and Project Managers on handling client reviews, communication and relationship management (influencing framework)
- Review of internal project management process and fix internal measures, risk assessment, resource management and client dashboards
Background:
A leading independent terminalling company wants to achieve seamless delivery during build and operate and thus improving client centricity
Condition:
- Frequent surprises due to complex stakeholder network and client dis-satisfaction
- Budget and timeline overrun on large projects
- Lack of accountability for red-flags
Big 3 Actions:
- BD process was not formally defined. BD skills were missing and there were no timelines or deliverables
- Client experience during the Build (NPD) and Operate phases were not measured. Stakeholder management was only at Sr. Leadership level
- Clear Measures of Success for Client Journey were defined
- End to End Process was established with involvement of all internal members (200+)
- RACI for all tasks with internal SLAs was established.
Background:
An ITES arm of a big software company which works with enterprises across industries wanting to improve its client relationship
Condition:
One of their large account ($1Bn) wanted to terminate their enterprise contract due to issues with ITES services. Hence main focus was to prevent the churn by short term fix and long term actions.
Big 5 Actions:
- Based on Client Interviews, employee interview and discovery, identified 4 actions to be immediately initiated (Service quality, Analysis, Client review framework, Org structure change). Facilitated the agreement of action with clients
- Identified delight opportunities to clients by performing Horizontal/Vertical synergy studies and subsequent prioritization roadmap
Background:
A leading business services firm provides B2B telecom Solution and services in India wanting to improve responsiveness in pre-sales
Condition:
- Clients are unhappy after first month bill. Payment disputes and escalations leading to retail brand damage
- Benchmarking study identified company is far behind all competitors in RFQ or leads
Big 5 Actions:
- After gemba, interviews and process-walk-thro three broad issues came out.
- Process not capable to respond to leads and RFQs at speed
- Pre-sales process is broken
- Post feasibility study – accountability issues
- The entire End-to-End business process spanning all regional teams was re-engineered and later digitized.
- Mentoring of re-engineering project teams Leadership workshop on customer experience & client handling across the BU
Background
A leading global ship management company with 600 ships under management and 24k seafarers wanting to strengthen is ‘competence’
Condition:
- Frequent escalations to senior management from ship owners.
- Some fleet owners terminated contracts
- Regulatory show stoppers On-shore teams (front line) are disengaged
Big 5 Actions:
- Process Definition and Digitization of EIR and VOC Management
- Employee Client Centricity Attitude Dipstick
- Core Process & Service Management Metrics Development
- Structure implementation of Central Function for Client Centricity
- Leadership workshop for digital transformation roadmap
- Mentor digitization projects
- Employee Customer Centricity Development Plan
“Client Centricity: Transient Lessons”: In the realm of handling clients in B2B businesses like manufacturing, Industrial, IT, ITES, Tech, Telecom & other services, a vital lesson emerges from the transient nature of all things like deliveries, orders, escalations, daily interactions and heated moments. This lesson underscores the importance of cherishing prosperous moments and relishing them to the utmost with your colleagues and your clients. A true client centric journey in B2B is about making it a practice to commemorate the small successes of your organization and your clients’ (though you may not be part of it). Simultaneously, during the challenging phases, it’s crucial to remind yourself that difficulties are not perpetual. Just as clouds eventually yield to the sun’s radiance, adversities too shall pass. But at the end of it, your relationship with your client will be stronger. So nurture patience and maintain faith in the process, knowing that brighter days are on the horizon.
#nilakantasrinivasan-j #canopus-business-management-group #B2B-client-centric-growth
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