Impact: Going Deeper than Data with Conversations

In our data-driven world, we can learn a great deal about our customers with just a few clicks. As marketers, we rely on this data to help understand optimize campaigns and plan new strategies that keep our customers engaged and help us build a community around our brand. With the right data and software tools, such as marketing automation platforms, we can even create marketing campaigns that deliver personalized content to each individual, or at least their buyer persona we’ve crafted.

But does all this data really help us get to know your customers? Can you really get to know someone because they downloaded your white paper or shared a Facebook post? You can certainly make some assumptions about their buying interests and preferred media channels, but even then, do you understand your customers sufficiently?

If you really want to know what keeps your best customers up at night, what’s on their wish lists and what you can do to help their business succeed, try an old fashioned, pre-information age practice. Have a conversation. Creating opportunities for personal interaction, particularly among your top customers, can have a deep impact on your business and theirs.

As Dimitri Kapelianis, an associate marketing professor at the University of New Mexico, points out, B2B marketing almost is a misnomer. “Businesses don’t have relationships with businesses—people have relationships with people. If your product is not a commodity, you need to have dedicated account managers working with your best customers, actively nurturing the relationships, looking for unique opportunities to create value and making certain that these customers are exceedingly satisfied.”

Kapelianis says that it’s not enough to know your industry and your company. You must know the key people personally and visit with them on a regular basis. You must be able to anticipate their problems and offer unique solutions. Be proactive, rather than reactive.

But building an authentic relationship takes time and is a company-wide endeavor. In case you missed this must-read article in our September/October issue of Tactics magazine here’s a list of 10 ways to use personal interaction to make an impact on key customers:

• Create a Customer Advisory Board and invite your best customers to join
• Look for opportunities to visit with your best customer at their place of business
• Invite your customers to visit your facility and show them how you operate
• Provide your customers with valuable content on an ongoing basis
• Customize your products or services to add unique value for your customers
• Be responsive and readily available to your customers
• Offer remarkable customer service that exceeds their expectations
• Anticipate their needs and be solution oriented rather than product oriented
• Know their industries, know their companies and understand what is important to them personally
• Be authentic, take a genuine interest in your customers, and facilitate their success

So take a moment to go deeper than data. Have conversations with your customers and you’ll see a big impact.

Featured in Tactics Magazine Vol. 5, Issue 5, September/October 2015