B2B relationships last longer
B2Bs often enter long-term relationships with their clients. So you’ll have many opportunities to forge close ties with client companies and foster loyalty.
“In my experience, I build the most personal relationships with B2B representatives”, says Sam Chandler, Senior Manager of Customer Success at Zendesk. “Even if I’m a consumer who’s obsessed with a brand, there’s not one person who I always turn to within that company. Maybe I always go to a specific store, but it’s not like ‘Joe’ is my guy– I talk to many different people within that brand.”
But in the B2B world, representatives from one company are building a relationship with representatives from another company to enable the adoption of a product or service. “In that case, I have more loyalty to the partnership I’ve built with the people within that organisation”, Chandler explains.
The customer service team isn’t the only department that’ll interface with clients, either. B2B customers also interact with their account managers and
team– often more frequently than they do with customer support. It’s also possible that B2B customers will work with an implementation team.
Given that B2B clients form relationships with various teams, it’s critical for everyone within the organisation to adopt a
. Excellent B2B customer service is the responsibility of your entire company, not just the customer support team.
How 3 industries use B2B customer service effectively
There are many different types of B2Bs, and companies should tweak their customer service strategy to meet the specific needs of their clients. Here’s how B2B providers from three sectors approach customer service.
1. Finance
B2B finance companies operate in a highly regulated industry with strict rules about how their products and services are used and marketed. For that reason, customer service teams need to be very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the finance world.
It is also more important for businesses in the financial sector to be trustworthy and ethical because they deal with people’s money. That also means customer service representatives must be up to speed on topics like data privacy and data management.
“If you’re in a sector like the financial sector, where you’re controlling people’s livelihoods and their ability to live, your success depends on the trust and confidence you can instill at the customer service level”, Chandler says.
When training a customer service team, you can try an exercise to help them see things from a client’s point of view. For example, instruct them to place their wallets and phones on the table in front of them and put their hands behind their backs. Then, ask the representatives to buy you lunch.
The exercise can instill the agitation and frustration that potential customers might feel if they couldn’t access their money. It can also put the representatives in the client’s shoes and increase their desire to help them as quickly as possible.
That sense of urgency informs customer service agents’ work and their approach to their customers. They are more likely to hustle to solve a problem when they have a visceral understanding of the issues their customers face. In other words, empathy is a key component of the customer service strategy.
2. SaaS
SaaS stands for software as a service, and it’s one of the most common examples of B2B products. It usually includes the software that companies use to manage their day-to-day activities, such as customer relationship management (CRM), customer communication, team productivity or project management.
SaaS companies tailor their customer service to their customers’ needs by ensuring their representatives know both the clientele and the product inside out.
PipelineDeals, a software company that offers CRMs, leveraged
to answer all its customer calls and train its support team. Using the software, agents were also able to address even the most complex customer question by calling in an expert from another team in real-time. That’s an example of one B2B company using another B2B to provide B2B customer service.
Chandler argues that SaaS companies have a unique ability to build long-term relationships with a human touch. In fact, she came to work for Zendesk because she witnessed how well the company ran its customer service team when she was a client.
“It never felt like they were waiting for the next renewal– it was always about what happened in between”, she says. “They won me over through outreach and bringing me into the fold, making me feel like I was part of a special gang. That’s how the relationship grew.”
Chandler also notes that SaaS companies must do an excellent job of providing long-term customer service and forming connections with their clients. The SaaS businesses that are most successful at B2B customer service are the ones that know how to develop and nurture those relationships, using a human touch and finding common ground with customers.
SaaS B2B companies may want to consider having a small group of representatives that always works with the same clients, giving them the opportunity to build bonds and gain an intimate understanding of each customer’s needs.
3. Marketing
In the marketing sector, there are various ways to offer customer service, including via help centre content and blogs that answer common questions and provide guidance about how to use a product or service.
Marketing companies oversee and manage relationships with numerous customers, which gives them a unique ability to communicate with large groups of people at once. This is often done by sharing useful, engaging and relevant content.
Chris Joyce, President of Union Jack Tools,
his company’s content is an extension of its customer service. Using Klaviyo’s marketing automation software, Union Jack Tools improves relationships with customers through communication.
“Communication is key for customer service, and we feel like Klaviyo is the right platform for that”, Joyce
. “We’ve gotten more comfortable creating email templates and campaigns, which we didn’t have any experience with coming in. It gives us the confidence to go in there and keep dripping those messages out, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort.”
Klaviyo, meanwhile, also prides itself on its ability to provide excellent customer service by communicating with clients online.
“At Klaviyo, being customer-first is one of our core values”, says Kate Walsh, VP of Customer Success and Support at Klaviyo. “This means every team is thinking from the customer’s perspective, understanding the customer’s business, understanding their needs as a user and solving the business problems they are facing.”
The tools you employ for customer service should always reflect the unique needs of your customer base. Here are a few top-notch solutions that B2Bs can use to provide stellar customer service.
