By: Jonás Spellman
B2B companies can use the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to re-evaluate what their customers need, thus strengthening their relationship with them, for which they must accelerate the generation of new products and services -or the required modifications to existing ones – in order to add greater value.
The previous paragraph is obvious and has been quite hackneyed in business articles in recent months, but I bring it up because during the second half of 2020 we have seen several Latin American companies, our clients, do specific things that have been successful. Next, I present some of them.
Draw, examine and diagnose the complete experience of your client.-
A key aspect here is to prepare a service blueprint where the delivery stages of your product or service, the contact points, and the expected times per stage are clearly detailed. And you must also have a tracking of said times to ensure that you are complying with them. On the other hand, analyze what product or service innovations your company has generated during this crisis that you want to continue or take to a next level of sophistication. If you have not generated any innovation, question yourself: your customers expect an upgrade, even if they are not told. Also think about new partnerships you’ve created or opportunities you may identify to bring new B2B partners into your ecosystem of experience. Once the worst of the crisis is over, which practices will you maintain and which will you need to leave behind?
Align incentives right: Reward good service, not just sales.-
Use recognition programs, awards ceremonies, and appreciation dinners to reward your employees and partners for customer experience best practices. Doing this can help change your company culture from one focused solely on sales to a more comprehensive one that includes good service, and reward your staff accordingly.
Look what the others are doing, especially in terms of technology.-
Experience has shown us that one of the few good things about this C-19 crisis has been the technological springboard that it has meant for many of the world’s companies. The acceleration of digitization has generated profound changes, some of which have come -I think- to stay, especially those related to teleworking, e-commerce and the ubiquity of contact points between companies, customers and suppliers. But in all this tangle of technological tools, clearly some are more robust and effective than others, and not only that, some are in their early stages of evolution, that is, they are tools that will continue to mutate. We believe that it is mandatory for companies to have an internal team, even if that team is only one person, who is basically looking at and evaluating the technological vanguard that concerns their industry. It’s that simple. There has to be someone evaluating the pros and cons of the tools currently in use, and looking at what’s happening in the more sophisticated markets (US, South Korea, the Scandinavian countries). Being a pioneer in the implementation of technological management advances in your industry can be a competitive factor with incalculable benefits.
And finally, remember that the success of a company can no longer be separated from the success of the community where it operates.-
Sometimes it takes a crisis like the current one to help remind us that values, purpose, and genuine care really do matter. In the age of Covid-19, the traditional imperative of business growth per se has been reinforced by a broader truth: business success cannot be separated from social success, be it economic or humanistic. There is no better time than now to show the market that larger purpose and your company’s credibility as a force for positive and permanent change.
Sources:
- Six tips for optimizing your B2B relationships in the time of Covid-19 (Strategy + Business)
- The Coronavirus crisis in B2B settings: Crisis uniqueness and managerial implications based on social exchange theory (ScienceDirect)