Trust as currency: Executive blueprints for lasting customer partnerships

In my previous article, I talked about the business impact of establishing a strategic partnership with your customers, the highest level in Maslow's hierarchy of B2B relationship needs.?

Strategic partnerships lead to high customer satisfaction ratings and accelerated business growth. They also require deep trust and transparency, and those are not easy to achieve.

Working with manufacturing businesses around the world, I’ve seen many companies feel like their best efforts at open, strategic discussions constantly miss the mark.

Most of them had to overcome the same two obstacles.?

Here’s how they did it.

Yes, it is you (and your business setup)

A 2016 Gallup study* revealed that, while many B2B companies believed to be in sync with their customers, most were failing to build strong and mutually beneficial customer relationships.

Things haven’t changed much today.

Strategic partnerships are built on trust. That takes:

●????? Commitment to common goals

●????? Alignment and accountability

●????? Consistency and reliability?

Easier said than done.

?

At the Customer Relationship Consultancy, we’ve seen first-hand businesses doing their best — having collaborative meetings with customers and sharing their goals, yet still receiving complaints about a lack of openness and transparency.

Why does that happen? And more importantly — what’s the solution?

While there are many elements at play in these situations, two roadblocks are present nearly every time.

Blocker #1: Fear of complete transparency

A common hurdle is the hesitance to embrace complete transparency.?

As the Economist* notes, while 69% of executives believe in the importance of certain measures for enhancing trust, such as embedding ESG obligations into contracts, just a third have done so.

It will always feel a bit risky. But, once you’ve met the transactional and customer experience expectations, the only way to propel your business to the top is by taking a leap of faith.

Blocker #2: Operational and data limitations

Gartner* reports that 64% of employees believe that unnecessary effort in their everyday jobs prevents them from creating a higher-quality customer experience.

?Even the best of intentions and initiatives will be blocked by operational limitations, such as a lack of:?

●????? Clearly defined metrics and KPIs around the customer experience

●????? Good internal reporting and data sharing?

●????? Unclear roles and responsibilities in customer management

?

Having the right business set-up is, therefore, vital to building strong customer relationships.

The 3 pillars of strategic partnerships

To succeed in strategic partnerships, businesses need to strengthen the following four pillars:

#1: Technology and processes

?The first step is implementing technology and processes that support transparent reporting and information sharing with customers as well as employees.?

This goes hand in hand with practices that engage and enable your employees to deliver top-level CX. For example, in the case of a late delivery:?

●????? Is the data and automation in place to inform everyone involved of the issue and potential time to resolution?

●????? Are the right teams alerted to inform customers as soon as possible?

●????? Is it visible whether that’s done, when, and by whom?

?Strategic partnerships cannot be achieved without close alignment between operations and customer management.??

#2: Key stakeholder engagement?

At a time when businesses are faced with global supply chain and sustainability challenges, transparency has become almost indispensable.?

●????? 82% of executives believe trust cannot exist without transparency*.?

●????? 51% of enterprise buyers* say that “open and honest” communication is increasingly more important.?

Well-established communication channels and shared action plans are, therefore, your best bet. Being aware of your customer's future projects and potential volume requirements, for example, will significantly mitigate supply chain issues.?

Our advice:

●????? Master the art of questioning and listening: Make sure you understand the needs and priorities of the organisation as well as individual contacts (gathering customer feedback is a great way to do that).

●????? Follow a strong customer contact strategy: Identify the key stakeholders (multi-level and cross-functional) within each account and involve them in long-term business planning.?For best results, add clear objectives and milestones in customer communication.

●????? Make sure you’re strategically aligned: Share your sustainability and innovation plans; ask about their plans and priorities.?This will allow you to position yourself as a trusted partner and develop joint strategies with mutually agreed KPIs.

●????? Be a thought leader and trusted advisor: Share with your take on the “big picture” view of the marketplace, useful insights and opportunities for your clients, offer support whenever possible.

#3: Customer feedback mechanism?

Building strategically formulated customer feedback surveys into the delivery and customer management process can be a game-changer.?

You should always be able to answer:

●????? What’s the hierarchy of needs within the organisation?

●????? What motivates each stakeholder?

●????? What are their communication preferences?

●????? Does our selling start with customer needs?

●????? What are the business needs, goals, and KPIs expected of us?

?

TRR (The Referral Rating), for example, runs on only two questions, plus a third one if we need to measure success in a particular area, such as sustainability or strategic alignment. While it may not seem like a lot, these questions have been tested and refined for over 10 years.

Today, TRR ensures complete visibility with a global average response rate of 55%-60% and is highly effective at delivering both quantitative (a rating) and qualitative (customer feedback) data.

The survey highlights what’s top of mind and most important to your customers by letting them decide what to comment on.?

With over 10 years worth of data on dozens of industry benchmarks, TRR is an accurate measure of:

●????? The state of your customer relationships

●????? Your competitiveness against other industry players

●????? The strength of your strategic partnerships

Rising from great customer relationships to strategic partnerships takes a mindset shift from transactional to relational customer management.?

It brings a new level of openness, trust, and cross-functional efforts that take time to implement and require ongoing collaborative behaviour that’s embedded in the company culture.

Having personally guided global manufacturers through this journey, I know it’s more than possible. And the ROI is absolutely worth it.??

In my next article, I’ll share insights on the final step to mastering high-value customer relationships — your employee experience.

Click Follow to be the first to know when it lands!

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

?

*Guide to Customer Centricity. Analytics and Advice for B2B Leaders, Gallup 2016

*A deeper understanding: Building trust in business partnerships. The Economist, 2021

*Customer-Centric Culture Is More Than a Bumper Sticker, Gartner 2023

*A deeper understanding: Building trust in business partnerships. The Economist, 2021

*The critical factor in building trust with key customers, Forbes 2021?