{"id":51150,"date":"2019-05-06T19:04:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T19:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=51150"},"modified":"2022-10-26T21:16:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T04:16:56","slug":"4-lessons-to-improve-your-customer-service-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/au\/blog\/4-lessons-to-improve-your-customer-service-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"4 lessons to improve your customer service strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A woman calls into a car company for help with the car she just purchased because the seats aren\u2019t adjusting properly when installing her childrens\u2019 car seats. Meanwhile, at a supply chain firm, the customer support team gets an urgent question via email from the CEO of a mid-sized business that recently signed on as a customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mum and the CEO are the same person. She has the same expectations of service in the B2B and the B2C situation. And she\u2019ll be comparing them. But she is sure to have two vastly different experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some obvious differences between B2C and B2B organisations, of course. One is often the size of the purchase. While consumers may buy something that costs less than $10, a business buyer might regularly place orders worth thousands, even millions. B2B customers also tend to have specific procurement processes they need to work through in order to make a purchase. Consumers, on the other hand, usually only have to pull money or a credit card out of their wallet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the world of B2B has been increasingly disrupted by what some experts have dubbed the \u2018consumerisation\u2019 of enterprise IT. In other words, consumers who have become used to the ease of accessing products and services, or interacting via social media, are coming to expect the same kind of experience in their professional lives. This has caused a rethink of marketing, sales and service strategies for B2B customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, B2C businesses have had to think carefully about the way they collect, store and manage all the data about consumers at their disposal, offering the kind of transparency and governance that an enterprise customer might expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though these worlds sometimes seem very far apart, customer support operations in either environment can benefit from looking to their counterparts for inspiration and best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve picked the top four service lessons B2B and B2C service organisations can learn from each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

B2B lesson 1: your customer is more than just the person standing in front of you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In an enterprise business, it\u2019s rare that a single individual will be able to sign off purchasing an expensive software application, IT equipment or even a large order of office furniture. Instead, they tend to work with a procurement team or buying committee, weighing in with questions and to articulate what they feel is important about the quality of the product and the kind of service they expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers, on the other hand, may look more like solo buyers \u2013 but don\u2019t be fooled. Buying something as simple as a television can involve input from multiple family members, for example, and advice or recommendations from friends and even strangers. A big purchase like a house will almost always involve multiple people. Sometimes even extended family members are weighing in behind the scenes, especially if they\u2019re lending money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This should all be factored into the customer support experience being offered. It means you need to collect as much data upfront about needs, preferences and other details when the purchase is made, and use it to provide the best help possible. If you\u2019re providing service to a younger customer, for instance, what additional information might they need to provide their parent or guardian afterwards? When you consider the \u2018buying team\u2019 at home, you\u2019ll have a better chance of getting more business from the customer, just as you would in a B2B context.<\/p>\n\n\n