From understanding to action: Mastering B2B customer needs for financial success

Did you know that customer satisfaction is one of the most reliable predictors of stock market performance?

And not just that. According to HBR analysis of 30 years’ worth of data*, customer satisfaction has a direct impact on productivity, market share, revenue, profitability, and much more.?

At the Customer Relationship Consultancy (CRC), we see that every day. After over 10 years of analysing customer feedback for global leaders in the manufacturing industry, we’ve learned that relationships are by far the most powerful lever for commercial success.

In this article, I’ll share what industry leaders have in common — and how to create highly competitive customer experiences (CX).

The 2 things that set the top performers apart

When we look at businesses with the highest customer satisfaction ratings, two things stand out:

●????? Unwavering commitment to customer-centricity: It’s their operational backbone. They don’t just talk the talk. They walk the walk by actively spreading customer insights across the organisation and tying team and individual goals to customer satisfaction metrics.?

●????? Dominance of relational over transactional (a.k.a. operational) themes in customer feedback: While customers often default to discussing the tangible in their feedback — product quality, timely delivery, fair pricing, top performers know that these are almost a given requirement. True differentiation lies in intertwining operational excellence with a profound understanding of the customer’s needs and positive relationship dynamics.

Our data supports this. Our clients with the highest customer ratings see nearly 70% of customer feedback relating to ‘relational’ or ‘behavioural’ topics rather than operational ones. The highest rating customer feedback consistently focuses on collaboration and strategic alignment.?

?In fact, oftentimes relational factors are the root cause behind transactional complaints. That’s why the relationship remains one of the most powerful levers for commercial growth.

The hierarchy of B2B relationship needs?

How customer-centric are you, really?

Many companies believe they are, while in reality, their culture is primarily sales and transaction-focused, leading to transactional drag and missing the mark on true customer connection.?

And here’s the hard truth:?

A great relationship can save you during temporary operational shortcomings. But operational excellence will never save a bad relationship.

Without aligning your culture, operations, and customer management, strong customer relationships and business outcomes will always be a challenge.

?To illustrate this, we like to use our applied Maslow's hierarchy of the three levels of B2B customer needs:?

●????? The fundamentals: This level delivers on basic expectations like quality, on time delivery, and fair pricing. Focusing solely on these aspects indicates a transactional dynamic without a strong customer relationship in place.

●????? Customer experience: This is where most companies sit — nurturing the customer experience. We see this reflected in customer feedback. Once the basics are mastered, feedback reflects more on the relational factors, such as customer service, communication, and complaints handling.

●????? Strategic partnership: The pinnacle of customer relationships, this level goes beyond operational excellence and a great customer experience. A strategic partnership is built on alignment and mutually developed goals and plans — through consistent and effective collaboration. In my next article, I’ll share practical tips on achieving this level in your business relationships.

The 4 keys to mastering B2B customer relationships?

In her article, my colleague Anna Hopwood has summarised perfectly the behaviours that are essential to healthy B2B relationships:

●????? Care: Being interested, engaged, and invested in your customer’s success?

●????? Customer centricity: In-depth understanding of their needs and goals both soft and hard, individual and organisational??

●????? Partnership: Working together in support of a shared agenda. This is mirrored in McKinsey’s report listing communication and trust, value creation and sharing, and strategic alignment as the areas that underpin successful collaboration.

●????? Challenge: Constructively challenging each other to get better outcomes.

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But what does that look like in practice??

Key #1: Measure your progress

You cannot improve before you know exactly where you stand across all your customer relationships. Including all stakeholders, from the day-to-day contacts to key decision-makers.?

A benchmark measure is crucial to driving business success — which is why you have to be very careful with the approach you choose.?

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I’ve seen far too many companies rely on either:?

●????? Too lengthy customer surveys that result in low response rates and limited insights?

●????? Single NPS benchmark that can easily lead to guesswork and misinterpretation of the causes behind the rating

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That’s why at CRC, we use TRR, a scalable client feedback mechanism that’s built on a two-question survey. Its ease of use secures a global average response of 55-60%, including the C-Suite, while the strategically formulated questions generate truly eye-opening insights.

TRR combines over 10 years of manufacturing data across dozens of benchmarks, behavioural science, and expert consulting that turns customer feedback into actions that:?

●????? Leverage opportunities

●????? Mitigate risks

●????? Build strategic partnerships?

Key #2: Separate symptoms from root causes

A customer may complain about a recent price change, but that alone won’t necessarily cause a drop in their rating.?

On the other hand, if that comes with a perceived lack of transparency and unclear reasoning behind the pricing decision, your ratings will be plummeting.?

When analysing customer feedback, it is crucial to separate transactional from relational feedback and the symptoms from the root causes. In this case, if a customer complains about price increases, they may be more aggrieved about the way that discussion was handled and the lasting impact on the relationship than the price increase itself.

Inaccurate diagnosis and a subsequently misdirected response can exacerbate problems, leading to deteriorated relationships and revenue loss.

Key #3: Be strategic about your response

From the customer’s perspective, the issue itself is often less frustrating than the way it’s handled.?

After making sure you’ve identified the primary pain points to address, one of the most crucial steps is demonstrating the feedback is heard and taken into account:

●????? Meet with the client to formulate a solution.

●????? Put it into action.?

●????? Survey customers at regular intervals to assess results.

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It is a cycle of continuous assessment and improvement.?

Key #4: Make it part of your company's DNA

Implementing all of the above requires embedding customer relationship strategy into your operations, alongside product delivery:

●????? Making sure everyone from the manufacturing floor upwards knows the impact the CX has on the business as well as their role in delivering it.

●????? Establishing internal communication channels that clarify what’s needed from each team and individual.?

●????? Checking your operational setup enables effective data and customer management (more on this in my upcoming article).

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If strategic customer relationship management is not part of your company’s DNA, even the best of intentions will be blocked by operational inefficiencies.

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In my next article, I’ll share what the most common blockers to strategic partnerships are and how to overcome them.

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Stay tuned!

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Looking to assess the state of your customer relationships? Drop me a line to find out what CRC can do for you.

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*10 Ways to Boost Customer Satisfaction, HBR 2023

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