As most things in business, retaining customers in the wholesale industry was probably much easier in the past when there weren’t many options or changes in B2B. But all customers have changed, making the wholesale distribution customer experience incredibly important to business growth and retention.
Today nearly all business customers use e-commerce and internet research to enable high transparency and comparability, and companies need to adjust to meet ever-growing customer expectations driven by rich digital experiences.
The wholesale distribution customer experience: It’s changed – have you?
In the past, sales reps acted as information gate keeper on new products, prices, and services. Their arrival at a customer site was very welcome, since they brought with them relevant information and the new catalogue. It was very common to buy for years – even decades – from the same supplier.
Long gone are those times.
Now, the digital natives, who’ve grown up with mobile devices and are experienced online buyers have taken over the buying departments. Their expectations are very different from those of their predecessors.
Or are they? In my opinion they’re actually quite the same, but need different answers from their suppliers.
High customer retention has a lot to do with meeting the (emotional) needs of customers. Behind a business purchase decision are many relevant factors, primarily rational ones:
- Reasonable price
- Product is meeting the specifications
- Availability
But also in B2B there are quite a number of emotional factors involved, such as fear of possible failure and the opposite, trust.
Emotional factors and wholesale customers: 5 ways to connect on a personal level in a digital enterprise world
No matter what sector a consumer is in, they want to feel valued as a customer. When it comes to the wholesale distribution customer experience, there are five factors that are valued most.
- “I am an important customer.” When does a customer feel important to a vendor? When the vendor keeps its promises, like keeping promised delivery days and informing early in case of a delay. If there are stock restrictions, IT based features like automatic determination of an alternative delivery plant help to keep the customer promise. It’s crucial that customer service is promptly available. A chat bot can be great for a first response, with an experienced service rep available in the background when necessary.
- “I want to get things done, and do not want to spend much time.” Be easy to do business with in every channel, on the web shop, on the phone, social media. Time saving features resonate well with buyers, and self-services play a key role in that context. They can comprise many offerings from account management, ordering, accessing any kind of relevant documents, even contract negotiations. But remember, sometimes customers still require fast access to sales and services reps in case of complex questions.
- “I feel valued and respected from the vendor.” Digital services are great, but the human factor should not be forgotten. We are humans, and humans need social contacts, not only in our private life also in our business life. Sitting in the home office since a couple of weeks (and most probably for quite a number of weeks more) made me aware how much I am missing the direct contact with my colleagues and customers. Human interaction is important, and it makes me feel valued as a customer if a sales rep calls me, even with no obvious reason, maybe just asking how I’m doing. Feeling valued has also other aspects. Customers will feel valued when they get special offerings – this can be monetizing offers like special discounts, but also new services customized to their specific needs. By asking customers for feedback on specific topics like new services and products, or customer service, they can get directly involved.
- “I am surprised – in a good way.” Surprise customers by exceeding their expectations. Key to this is getting to know the customer, their interests, their requirements. Analytics of transactional and experience data (like surveys) can build the backbone for new strategies to not only meet but exceed customer expectations – in the service department, in outbound logistics, accounts receivable management. Examples can be: suggestions provided by the customer are implemented, and the customer is thanked for their suggestion. Or, the wholesaler suggests that a spare part needs to be replaced because based on their records, the lifetime of this spare part is soon over.
- “I trust the vendor.” Trust is built on positive experiences, and is much easier to destroy than to restore it. For positive experiences remember, each touch point a customer has with the supplier counts, from on-time delivery, to quick reaction, to complaints and easy access to information.
Keeping customers loyal pays off – it can cost five times more acquiring new customers then retain existing ones. And the probability of selling to an existing customer is around 60%, while the probability of selling to a new one is only 5-20%.
