POV

Companies have realized that only focusing on the acquisition of new customers is not enough to grow the business. Making that first sale but then failing to follow up adequately, and not tending to the relationships, means losing customers over time. And later you must spend again to acquire new ones.

I am excited to see this short-term approach changing into long-term thinking, toward getting more business from building a relationship with existing customers. What has changed in the meantime? Customers are getting fewer and bigger, and interactions with them have become more complex.

And they do not appreciate salespeople. According to Gartner, customers are spending merely 17% of their time in direct interaction with their suppliers (both virtual and in-person). Yet there is value coming from those interactions, but those needs to be tailored to a specific customer, their unique environment, and their specific situation/stage in the buying process. It's about understanding the customer and demonstrating interest in the customer.

The value that you can add isn’t just in your products, it’s in the way you work with them, it’s in the consultancy you give them, it’s in the way that you service them, and the way you support them.

Successful companies have stopped doing marketing to fill the funnel, targeting the broad market segment. It’s not about volume anymore, it’s about shifting the attention to:

• Who on the customer side is participating in the buying process and understanding how, when, and where they are making their decisions
• Implementation of a much more targeted approach, answering a variety of questions and interests and helping customers to the next stage in their buying journey
• Building relationships, being present, and trying to develop a deeper understanding of the customer environment while providing value.

Companies still miss the target by thinking of it as only short-term sales. It’s about:

• The effort of different teams working together across the organization (sales, marketing customer success, product teams), all a part of the customer team
• Partnering and aligning the marketing organization to sales and business go-to-market
• Doing the homework – listening to customers and, insights are key - marketing needs to know as much about the customer as sales, to be recognized as a valued partner in play
• Ensuring that there is value in those interactions and that those are tailored to the person “on the other side of the table”

It’s a simple idea, yet the execution is important. Don’t underestimate the potential of building customer relationships - it can double your growth.