In the age of digital marketing and multi-channel communications, companies are connecting with their clients in more places than ever before in business history. Between your website, email marketing, LinkedIn, Facebook, sales calls and visits… B2B companies in particular run the risk of overlooking important customer touchpoints.
In fact, research shows that most B2Bs need to improve their customer experience. While most B2C brands tend to receive satisfaction ratings between 65-85%, B2Bs fall short with approval ratings below 50%. This means, less than half of your B2B audience is happy with the experience you’re providing… and the gap is growing as B2B customer expectations continue to rise.
This is why we cannot stress enough the importance of mapping your B2B customer touchpoints. While it’s essential to cover the basics such as having a great website, top-notch salespeople and excellent customer service — successful B2B companies also invest in email, mobile search, digital advertising and social media to create a holistic customer experience that truly stands out from the competition.
What are customer touchpoints?
As the name suggests, touchpoints are moments when any current or potential client comes into contact with your business, your employees, your products or your services.
Touchpoints occur both online and offline. They can take many different forms, from a simple website visit to viewing your brochure, to human interaction such as a phone call or meeting.
Touchpoints are so important to businesses because each one leaves and shapes an impression on the customer, regardless of how important the business deems a touchpoint to be. This is why something as mundane as a Facebook post or the tone in which you answer the phone could leave a lasting impact and this is why it is so important that you vary your messaging with each touchpoint. Every time you contact a prospect, you should seek to provide value in a new way. For instance, you might send a short video with advice in one email and link to a helpful ebook in the second.
How many customer touchpoints are ideal to close a sale?
When it comes to the number of touchpoints necessary to guarantee sales success, evidence suggests that response rates rise with each outreach attempt. And statistically, across a broad spectrum of data, that ideal number of prospecting touchpoints is around eight. After eight touchpoints, customer response rates tend to decline and diminish.
However, this is just a guideline. Customer journeys can vary significantly from industry to industry. While eight touchpoints might be ideal for your business, five or eighteen might be right for another. This is why it is important to map out your buyers’ journey regularly and continue to optimise it.
5 Crucial B2B Touchpoints You May Be Overlooking
If you’re a B2B business, odds are the decision-making process for your potential clients is a long one. Here are 5 critical touchpoints we can’t emphasize the importance of enough:
- Case Studies and Testimonials – When it comes to B2B decision making, research shows time and time again that organisations trust peer reviews over the brand promises that you make. If you can credibly draw attention towards common challenges your clients may be facing and how you solve them, this will help swing buyer sentiment your way.
- Your Website – Your website is the online home for your business. It’s important to ensure that it accurately reflects your brand and your service offering, while also being helpful and easy to navigate.
- The Sales Proposal – Are you still using an ugly, old word document for your proposals? Consider having a graphic designer create a new professional-looking proposal for you to utilise or adopt software like Proposify. It’s important that your proposals reflect your brand and clearly outline your value proposition.
- Your Invoices – No client gets excited about receiving an invoice, invoices naturally induce negative emotions. And if done poorly, an invoice could lead to losing a client. This can especially be true if the client is experiencing financial hardship or cash flow issues. You can turn this touchpoint into a less negative experience by making your invoices clear, transparent and easy to understand. Try to use positive language, provide a range of payment options and include recommendations for working with you in a more meaningful way.
- Your Offering – When it comes to B2B sales, the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) principle applies. Don’t offer your prospects too many choices, packages or upsells. This can result in indecision dragging out or halting the sales process. Remember that when you try to advertise every single thing that you do, you complicate the customer experience. Simplify your website navigation to create an upside-down funnel, where your high-level offerings come first and encourage visitors who are interested in specific topics to drill down for more detail.
Below we have listed some other common B2B customer touchpoints that may be worth reviewing or considering when optimising your customer journey:
- Search Engine Appearance
- Your Office
- Live chat
- Brochures
- Onboarding Process
- Paid advertisements
- Trade shows
- Real-life conversations (sales calls, customer service)
- Emails
- Social Media
- Newsletters
- On-hold messaging
- Referrals
- Packaging and Delivery
- Cancellations and renewals
- Surveys
- Apps
Ready to map out your customer touchpoints?
Investing time and money into customer experience can really pay dividends for your bottom line. By mapping your customer journey and optimising each touchpoint, you’ll be able to identify areas for improvement, source information to assist with running marketing campaigns, and increase your overall customer satisfaction. This will not only lead to an increase in your sales conversions but improve the experience for your existing customers as well.
If you are interested in identifying and optimising your B2B customer touchpoints, we’re here to help! Tell us a little about your business below and we’ll get back to you soon!
