More than 60% of people trust the feedback of other customers, even if they don’t know them. A big difference with the trust customers place in salespeople. This offers opportunities for both your organization and for your customer.
Important for the reputation of your company
In my previous blog I explained why it is wise to invest a lot of time in retaining customers. It is a cheaper and easier way to score new projects or sales deals than hunting for new customers. However, it is not only important for generating new business, but also for the reputation of your company. Happy customers spread positive feedback about you and contribute to a strong reputation. And that of course contributes to the success of your organization. So, make sure that your customers are satisfied or even better enthusiastic, and that they tell this to their network.
Who is the opinion leader?
It makes of course quite a difference which person spreads positive feedback about your organization. Search among your customers for the people who are listened to and whose opinion is highly valued. In a B2B environment you will benefit most from positive feedback from customers on your products and services when:
- The customer is a successful organization that serves as an example for the competition;
- The customer has a large network of contacts and communicates with her network through various channels (including online);
- The employee involved plays an important role in the customer’s organization and is considered an opinion leader in the industry.
Referral program
To make it interesting for customers to act as an ambassador for your organization, a referral program can be a nice tool. Customers get a reward for every new customer they introduce to you. Large enterprises such as Google, Amazon, Tesla and Uber use this strategy by rewarding a new customer with a voucher or discount. The customer as ambassador of your organization is in this way interesting for both parties. In addition, depending on the industry in which you are active, it can be profitable for customers if you are successful in their industry. For example, because the product or service improves due to a bigger market share or because certain development costs can be shared with other customers.
From satisfied to happy to enthusiastic
A satisfied customer comes back to you, a happy customer brings new customers to you, but an enthusiastic customer truly becomes an ambassador; someone who proactively promotes your organization. To turn a customer into an ambassador you must go beyond just doing a good job. Enthusiasm arises from the details. Think of a hotel where a bottle of champagne is waiting in the room. Just run that extra mile. By investing even only a minor part of your time and resources in making customers enthusiastic, you can turn them into ambassadors for your organization and you easily earn back the investment you made.
Teun Arts is Service Manager at Dysel and it is his job to ensure that customers make optimal use of the software, now and in the future.
