Throughout my sales career, I’ve seen all sorts of system setups. Very few of them have actually helped me do my job better. Here, I’m going to unpack my thoughts on how systems can be harnessed to support our work.
I’m about to hit 20 years working in various commercial companies, in roles spanning sales, sales supervisor work, sales management, and sales development.
I have first hard experience with customer work from roles as a product specialist all the way up to sales director, and everything in between. I’ve gathered industry experience ranging from wellness services, pharmaceuticals, coaching and consulting, to retail and optometry businesses, and most recently, from the IT services and solutions sector.
I’ve used, led, and coached various customer relationship management systems in many different organizations – and it’s always felt equally challenging, for one reason or another.
Sometimes the systems haven’t been very user-friendly. Sometimes they have been used for a very specific purpose only. Sometimes they have been too generic. Sometimes they simply haven’t been of any use in practical activities. Sometimes the right kind of data hasn’t been available for analyzing and improving operations.
Whatever the reason might be, using the system has felt like a chore or at the very least frustrating.
Can’t see the forest for the trees
It’s only this past autumn that my eyes have truly opened to the reality that in all the cases I’ve mentioned before, both the business and the systems in use have been scrutinized far too much from the inside.
Every company I’ve worked for has truly excelled in their core activities. One company was particularly brilliant at turning research data into sales presentations.
Some other company has been excellent in managing customer meetings just right. This company has exceptionally guided customers through eye exams to the acquisition of the right eyeglasses.
At this juncture, it’s essential to remember that all these examples are merely a tiny fragment of the entire customer journey. Therefore, it’s crucial not to view the systems from the perspective of isolated issues alone – even if that represents the pinnacle of a company’s expertise.
Customer relationship management systems, or CRMs, are often built around new customer acquisition, which naturally leads to problems if the goal is to somehow manage and develop existing customer relationships. This is an issue I have encountered several times throughout my career.
Turning the focus on customers
What if it had been possible to turn our gaze to what matters most, namely the customer?
I sometimes wonder about the kind of results I could have achieved earlier, and how much better I could have served our customers, if I had been able to examine them through the system with a 360-degree view?
I am absolutely convinced that the results would have been significantly better, and we could have moved beyond the typical resistance seen in sales organizations to genuinely creating added value.
How does the idea sound to you, where an organization struggling with its own solutions would know exactly which customer to contact at each stage (read: at the right time) and always with the most appropriate message?
It just so happens that a customer at an optician’s chain might be interested in something other than the latest trendy frames or discount products. Without customer data, there’s no way to know.
Could we possibly lure in new customers by offering them information, for example, on eye health, upcoming models, or events tailored for their demographic? This way, they might be drawn into our sphere of influence and get hooked on our marketing path.
This way, we could provide relevant information to customers even before their first eye examination. And once a customer has purchased new glasses following the exam, could we possibly send him instructions on the proper maintenance of the glasses, or track his product searches during online visits?
What if this client were a contract client, and the maintenance of the contract was automated in such a way that we could proactively reach out to the client at various stages of the contract period with the right approaches and messages?
Functional systems + functional teamwork = a winning combination
This kind of customer management can be achieved with current systems without the need for constant manual labor. It requires effective systems and seamless collaboration between sales and marketing.
In this kind of operation, companies have much to gain. Through systematic customer management and automatically revolving relevant marketing campaigns, the risks of losing customers to competitors after a one-time purchase could be minimized.
So, how can we ensure that our own organization does the right things, at the right time, and does them well enough? Moreover, that at no point in their journey does the most important factor—THE CUSTOMER—fall off the wagon. Speaking from experience as a customer of many companies, I dare say customers would be quite satisfied if this were actually the case.
If you’ve been pondering these issues as well and want to brainstorm, reach out on LinkedIn. Let’s then figure out together the exact right actions for your business—what needs to be done, in sufficient quantity, at the right time, through the right channel, and with quality.