Deliver Value Faster: How a Customer-First Approach Drives Growth and Retention

In today's competitive landscape, understanding how to deliver value quickly to customers is crucial to survival. Many more companies are realizing that getting better at understanding their customers' needs is the first ingredient to revenue growth and competitive advantage. Others are realizing that reframing the definition of 'short-term goals' and 'long-term goals' is necessary to get their organization focusing on the actions that drive sustainable success - there is a strategic shift from looking for quick balance sheet improvements at the expense of sustained positive customer relationships and loyalty. But how does this inform what happens when the 'potential target' now becomes a customer? In this edition, we discuss how CX Management informs the onboarding phase after a customer begins interacting with your solution, and how that journey affects Customer Retention and business growth. #NowThat'sCXy!

The Business Benefits of Understanding Time to Value (TTV):

Time to Value (TTV) refers to the period between a customer’s initial interaction with your product or service and the moment they start experiencing its benefits, value and results. Shortening TTV can lead to:

• Increased Customer Satisfaction: When customers see value, benefits and results faster, their satisfaction levels rise, leading to greater retention rates. They key here is to understand, BEFORE designing a solution, how the customer defines 'Value' and the time frame that they define as 'On-time or Earlier than expected'. Many solution providers have found themselves with a great solution that either: didn't solve the customer's problem as the customer thought it should, or didn't solve the customer's problem as fast as they needed it to be solved. Only after those needs are met to the specs of the customer should additional solutions be highlighted (especially if there is no additional cost). The reason: seeing results clearly and quickly helps the customer justify the investment made sooner.
• Reduced Churn: A quicker realization of value, benefits or results means customers are less likely to leave, improving Customer Retention, reducing Customer Defection and increasing long-term profitability. It is here that the seed of upselling and cross-selling becomes planted - get this wrong, and those revenue streams can be lost. You may recall a quote from a previous edition from the White House Office of Consumer Affairs (2011) that says that "a loyal customer is worth up to 10X the value of their first purchase". That's why understanding TTV and becoming adept at reducing it is a winning recipe during the onboarding phase.
• Faster Revenue Growth: Short TTV often translates to quicker renewals and upsells, directly impacting your bottom line. While this is a well understood phenomena in subscription-based solutions and SaaS, other industries can adopt this approach as well. It is in this phase that a business can identify the additional unmet gaps that their solution can reduce so that the customer can then see additional value BEYOND what they expected (and signed up for). This deep understanding of customer preferences enables personalization that adds value from the customer's lens. From here it's easier to earn referrals - accelerating revenue growth even further. #NowThat's CXy!

To learn more about the concept of Time to Value, check out this popular episode of the #IAMCXPodcast where I interviewed Dr. Solomon Akinlua, MBA. DBA. PMI-PBA. CSSBB. CCEP. SFC?.CCSM on the topic 'From Purchase to Payoff: How Time to Value Fuels Business Growth and Loyalty'. Just click on the pic below and it will take you to our YouTube channel.

Feel free to share the podcast episode and subscribe to it. You can also enjoy other episodes and other topics from exceptional guests.

"The average loyal customer is worth up to 10X the value of their first purchase" - White House Office of Consumer Affairs

What percentage of that potential value is your business currently getting? Do you have a formal strategy to understand and create loyal customers? Don't guess...CX!

Using a Customer Success Mindset:

A 'Customer Success' mindset isn't just about reactive problem-solving; it's about proactively guiding customers to success:

• Focus on Outcomes, Not Just Products: Understand the outcomes your customers are aiming for and align your solutions to meet those needs.
• Collaborate for Value Realization: Work closely with customers to ensure they’re maximizing the benefits of your offering, creating a partnership rather than a transaction.
• Empower Your Team: Train your teams to think like advocates for the customer’s success, driving value at every interaction.

#NowThat'sCXy!

Why Businesses Should Lean into Capturing CX Insights:

This particular topic is sometimes uncomfortable for C-suite because they often cannot connect the dots (see the ROI) between the investment in capturing Customer Experience insights and the results of Revenue Growth and Competitive Advantage. Although there is over 3 decades of data supporting the financial benefits, C-suite is sometimes still skeptical. Forrester 2020 research (The Business Impact of Customer Experience) finds that "companies that excel at CX have 1.5X greater financial returns vs. those that don't". Here's a simple illustration of measuring the ROI of Customer Experience.

Practical Example: Local Online Retailer

Investment: Implemented a comprehensive CX strategy including personalized email marketing, a streamlined customer support system, and a loyalty program.

Costs: $10,000 annually.

Outcomes:

• Increased Revenue: 20% increase in repeat purchases.
• Customer Retention: Reduced churn by 5%.
• ROI Calculation: Additional Revenue: If annual revenue was $200,000, a 20% increase adds $40,000.
• ROI: ($40,000 - $10,000) / $10,000 = 300% ROI.

Impact: The retailer not only recouped their investment but also achieved substantial profit growth, demonstrating the powerful impact of effective CX management.

So, CX insights can be a goldmine for shaping your strategy, improving offerings and generating revenue growth because the business can:

• Understand Customer Pain Points: Gathering feedback allows businesses to identify friction points and address them before they impact satisfaction and loyalty expression (buying more, staying longer and telling others).
• Drive Product and Service Innovation: Insights from customers can highlight trends and needs, guiding product enhancements or new services that better align with market demand or unmet gaps.
• Enhance Personalization: By analyzing CX data, companies can tailor experiences to individual customer needs, fostering deeper emotional connection and loyalty.

Conclusion:

Incorporating a focus on TTV, a customer success mindset, and leveraging CX insights can create a powerful combination for growth. By delivering value quickly, aligning efforts around customer success, and tapping into the wealth of insights from customer experiences, businesses can position themselves for long-term success in any market. #NowThat'sCXy!

New Free Resource for Subscribers:

Want to learn more about ways Customer Experience Management can help your business? Just click on the e-book cover page and check out our FREE (to subscribers) e-book entitled, 'The R.O.O.T.S. Approach to Business Growth':

That's it for this edition of the #NowThat'sCXy newsletter. We look forward to your feedback on the edition and your takeaways from the e-book. Until next time, have a great day and Go WiN!

Yours always in CX, Roger.