Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

B2B client loyalty is low but expertise can compensate for it

The service buyer journey map has changed for good

Add to this the now urgent move towards digital, and there is little doubt that B2B service providers will have to redraw their buyer journey maps.

The study monitored changes in professional services buyer and seller behaviors at a time of unprecedented marketplace shifts and uncertainty.

"Well before 2020, digital transformation and staying relevant in a fast-changing environment have both been on professional service firms' to-do lists," said Lee Frederiksen Ph.D., Managing Partner at Hinge. "This year's health and economic crises have accelerated these trends and eliminated the option to wait it out. If sellers don't keep up with buyers' evolving needs, buyers will simply search online for alternatives. The rise of relevant expertise combined with the drop in client loyalty tells us that this is already happening."

The study throws new light on the forces that are reshaping the buyer journey map. First, digital marketing capability will determine a firm's likelihood of survival and success in a world where few if any interactions are face to face. This will require building up a responsive digital content marketing program. Second, specialized expertise is key to remaining relevant and competitive. Third, managing the firm's talent bench is now key to the success of business development.

The report also uncovers key opportunities that sellers often miss. Sellers underestimate the need for services that address strategic planning, the demand for which climbed 44% over two years. Similar patterns are found with technology and data issues and regulatory compliance. Moreover, they misperceive the importance of key selection criteria including competitive pricing and better terms, talent caliber, and cultural fit. These misses represent areas of improvement that, if addressed, will strengthen client relations and help win new business in today's foreboding environment.

Respondents to the study included more than 1,900 buyers of B2B professional services and 1,600 of their sellers. This unusual examination of both sides of the B2B sales relationship provides insights into how expectations have changed, where they are met and missed, and how to close the gaps. Respondents were segmented by industry, namely accounting and financial services, consulting, architecture/engineering/ construction, technology and software, and government contracting.

Access to the study has been made available online at: https://info.hingemarketing.com/IBBPR

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)