Until you understand your customers deeply and genuinely, you can’t truly serve them
Rasheed Ogunlaru
I visited a newly launched fine dine restaurant in the neighbourhood on the weekend. They welcomed me with their hospitality, got me a table for four and served us till the end. Before I was paying the check, the manager of the restaurant came to me and asked me how the food was and requested that I give reviews for it on an app. Months passed, I got a call from the same restaurant wishing me a happy birthday and welcoming me for dinner with a 30% discount and a gift coupon.
I was seriously moved by this amazing gesture.Today, from a telecom provider to a grocery store, from your card service provider to a restaurant in the neighbourhood or a dentist you visited at least once, everyone knows the value of customer reviews and their impact on the overall business. Hence everyone is proactive in seeking reviews.
What about seeking reviews from high value enterprise customers of yours?
Think how critical reviews must be for businesses like you who engage in providing complex solutions (products or services) and have gone through long sales cycles before acquiring clients.
Just checking, you must have heard of terms like Executive Business Reviews, Quarterly business reviews, Service Health Check, Business report or Service Review, etc. with a focus on reviewing the business periodically and demonstrating the value for money and the return-on-investment the client is getting with your solution.
Here is the approach I follow for business reviews with clients –
Data Points & Preparation
Data is everything. Before you set up a date and time for business review, first prepare a list of data points you want to cover or you think the client would expect you to cover. Gather the information available internally in your company against each of the items in the list you made. Additionally, collect details or insights of your client’s business, growth, industry news, etc.
Set a high-level agenda for the stakeholders and attendees
First acknowledge the support and assistance you are getting from the client’s team in implementing your solution. This keeps the positive vibes on for the upcoming review meet.
Compare business growth with real-time data
Put data comparing month-on-month or quarter after quarter (ex: service deliveries, usage, support tickets, resolution time and efficiency)Always remember to present logical and realistic data. Ex: You have a tool that manages the client query system. The Total number of Tickets received was xxx, and the number of tickets resolved was xxx. This data is available to the client as well, but how many were resolved as per the agreed SLA, how many deviated, and how your tool minimised and resolved them is the realistic approach.
Client spends and ROI
There are quantitative and qualitative methods to arrive at ROI depending on the solution that you provided. Hence, support the client patiently by offering the relevant information.Ex: Your ATS (Applicant tracking system), which screens resumes of candidates with 90% accuracy as per the Job requirement, cannot have a direct ROI, but this is indirectly helping the organisation to hire and deploy quickly in a project or a role.
Be open to acknowledge any delays or gaps at your end
You cannot have brownie points every time. It is ok to admit any issues that are affecting your client deliverables with a reasonable justification. This enhances the client’s trust and credibility on you and your company.
Client-side challenges
Sometimes you may experience challenges from the client’s side too. Do not hesitate to discuss those points. Highlight the importance of win-win situations for a long-lasting business relation. Seek intervention of people concerned with the matter in resolving those issues.
Resolution & follow up
Once gaps are identified or pinned, provide a resolution matrix with ETAs depending on the size or the nature of the issue. But do follow-up with actions taken, if any. Share the updates or data fortnightly until you achieve 90% of resolutions.
Identify upsell or cross sell opportunities
There is no perfect time than review meets to showcase additional features and benefits with an upgraded plan or solution or an allied product or plugin that could meet client’s uncovered needs during the initial sign up. This gives you some upsell or cross sell revenues.Ex: Client bought your product or solution with a problem as X but what if you and client both discover that the client’s problem is beyond X and they need an enhanced or a better solution than the one they already bought from you. It is like this, the salary product you sold only covered the mainstream work force and during review, you and client together identified that even the gig staff can be covered in your salary product. This eases the pain of handling multiple vendors or multiple salary products on the client side thus giving you some upsell revenue.
Goal Setting for the Next Review cycle
Define the progress you wish to see in the deliverables and service levels and ensure you and client are on the same page here.
Finally,
you may have a question, why should we do reviews when the client is not complaining or is happy with what you sold or provided?
Please be clear on one thing – No complaint is never equal to satisfaction. Clients may have some feedback on your services but may be busy with their own business affairs. So, as a sales person, it is in your good interest to hold review meets if you want to receive feedback, references or testimonials.Hence, assume less and review more.
Happy Selling!
Shankaran Chandrasekharan
Seasonal Sales Expert
