Getting and keeping customers in the digital age

Having all the required information about your offerings in the mobile device, ability to monitor sales funnels on the go, assurance that not a single inquiry on any channel is missed and shared insights on customer behaviour are some added benefits technology can offer to your dedicated sales team

The usual ways of managing your customers will not work in the digital age. Customers have better information about your product and also other competing products. They compare multiple options available and necessarily look for the best option. The unfavourable economic conditions and resulting low purchasing power have made most of your clients to focus on value for money against brand loyalty. This article attempts to explain problems faced by business organisations under the current circumstances and sensible solutions to overcome them using technology. 

Customers use technology. Do you?

It is hard to see a customer coming to you who has not studied competing offers. The questions they ask about your offer provide ample evidence that they have better information. Interestingly, we tend to think that the customers do competitor analysis better than business firms offering such products. A customer who wants to buy a mobile phone, a young couple planning to reserve a banquet hall, a family looking to buy an apartment or someone who wants to borrow money from a bank are very likely to visit a prospective vendor with so much of information in brochures, tables, leaflets or in their devices at hand. Can you be happy about your preparedness as the seller? 

Maintaining records of all prospective clients, monitoring and following up them, closing the deals, exploiting upselling and cross selling opportunities and very importantly after sales services cannot be simply handled manually or for that matter using spreadsheets. Failing to use technology in managing customer relationships using technology will be a major reason for you to lag behind in the digital age. 

Multiple touch points and multiple channels 

How do customers learn about your products or competing products? There are multiple channels available. A prospective client who visited your showroom a couple of times and even tested your product may decide on a competing product appeared in social media. Similarly, there is high probability that you miss a serious customer inquiry made through your social media channels. Managing many customer touch points such as visits, phone inquiries, your website and social media channels is a real challenge. The strategies you adopt to attract a customer visiting your sales outlet or your dealer may not work for someone who reaches you through electronic channels. If you fail to respond promptly, the potential client may interact with many other competitors. 

Similarly, the customer expectations and the service quality vary across the different touch points. For most of the customers, their experience with your brand across multiple touch points may vary and is quite crucial. A satisfied customer with your product can become unhappy the moment his next telephone inquiry is not responded properly. 

Managing a large number of customer touch points which are equally important in creating lasting customer experience is not so easy given the fact that you handle multiple products, a large number of customers, increasing targets, resource constraints and ever-increasing customer expectations. Prudent use of technology is inevitable in addressing these challenges. 

The challenge of retaining customers 

The leaking bucket effect is something a sales professional will never like to experience. Attracting a customer demands time, conscious efforts and so much of resources. However, if you fail to retain them which requires relatively a lesser effort it is something you cannot afford. With high or hyper competition prevailing in your industry or the segment, it is quite natural that you pay more attention to get new customers than to keep the existing ones with you. When there are no switching cots and exit barriers, how do you expect the existing customers to remain with your brand especially when they are not properly followed up? 

Here a question you need to ask is that are we properly facilitating our sales people? It is essential that you share details of all potential inquiries received through various channels with your sales team in a timely manner. Similarly, equal or more attention should be paid to manage customer complaints, after sales requests and other demands. Losing a valuable customer can happen instantly if you fail to respond swiftly as competitors are looking for such lapses. It is evident that organisations must use technology to manage their customers who are expecting faster responses. As you cannot wait until your device boots up, as you expect OTC or over the counter type services even from the hair dresser or fine dining restaurant, you need to seriously think about the mindset of the customers as we all live in the digitally connected world. 

Ambitious targets and stressful efforts 

Maintaining service quality intact is a tedious task especially those who are in to services. When your sales people are attempting to reach the sales targets, they may compromise quality against quantity not necessarily in terms of level of service but also profitability. There is a high probability that a prospective customer with a high life cycle value is ignored and a customer whose profitability can be much lower is attracted when your sales person has a high target with shorter deadlines. 

As customers are becoming more demanding and tech savvy, your organisation not adopting technology is a passport to failure. Similarly, stiff competition prevailing in certain industry sectors lead to employee stress, dissatisfaction, job burnout and high attrition. Having all the required information about your offerings in the mobile device, ability to monitor sales funnels on the go, assurance that not a single inquiry on any channel is missed and shared insights on customer behaviour are some added benefits technology can offer to your dedicated sales team. On the other hand, use of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution enables sales heads and other policy level people to monitor what is going on using tailor-made dash boards. 

Borderless world makes it even difficult 

Unlike in the past where the boundaries were regulated, now a days you face competition from virtual suppliers. The demarcated boundary for your business with physical presence through large outlets, hoardings, and use of print and electronic media can go for a six when a globally renowned brand is made available to your customers. This can be quite irritating when their presence is not physical but virtual. Here, it is necessary to ask the questions from yourself as to what measures you have taken to reach your existing and potential customers virtually. 

If not for the forex deficits the country is facing and the consequent policy measures by authorities, the virtual competition local organisations face would have gone to new heights with the improved adoption of technology by local customers especially due to pandemic related developments. Manual systems or mere use of computers cannot help you to survive and grow in a digitally connected world. The lapses from your end such as not responding swiftly to an inquiry, failing to provide credible information, inability to monitor and follow up customers, and gaps in customer care and after sales services are essential reasons for you to suffer. The remedy is nothing but use of technology in managing customer relationships. Imagine a modern CRM that initiates a unique ticket for each and every inquiry, a customer and transactions where your sales team will not miss a single opportunity, your sales heads can monitor performance through custom made dashboards and big data analytics provide your front-line people as well as C level managers vital behavioural insights. We design, develop and implement such systems here in Sri Lanka. 

Technology now or never

Losing a good customer is the worst thing you can expect as a sales professional. Similarly, there is an enormous opportunity cost as you fail to convert potential clients in to your customers. 

Being proactive is a key success factor for any sales professional. However, to be proactive it is not only the motivation of the sales person will matter. As a business organisation, you should empower your sales team with timely information and insights. An AI powered CRM solution or a sophisticated CRM that uses machine learning can simply outperform the best sales team not using technology in the digital age. It is better you take initiatives now than never. A CRM will not cost you a fortune although it has the potential to bring a fortune! Modularity and opex options made available by vendors can make it pretty much affordable. 

On the other hand, having spent millions of rupees or dollars in implementing your core banking system, ERP or central data warehouse not having a dedicated and a pluggable CRM or a customer relationship management solution is more than ignorance. Certainly, you are depriving the organisation in getting and keeping customers which are mandatory in survival and growth of an organisation in a sustainable manner. 

Interestingly, the scalability, modularity and buying options made available by vendors make CRM solutions attractive and affordable to startup and medium size business organisations as well. Needless to mention that some smart startups using technology wisely have become headline makers and a threat to dominant and established players who are still relying on manual and legacy systems. 

(The writer is a seasoned fintech sales and marketing specialist in Sri Lanka with a proven track record of 17 years. He is the Director/Chief Executive Officer of Affiniti Innovations, a new joint venture between David Pieris Holdings and Avonet Technologies. Thilina is a graduate in business management from Monash University, Australia and completed his MBA at the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. His email is [email protected].)