Strategy Guide for Customer-Centric B2B Business
Beyond Buyer Touchpoints—86% of B2B Companies Must Align the Whole Organization with a Customer-Centric Mindset
Access the Report: Available April 2020
No matter how digitally sophisticated the organization, B2B companies that fail to align with the goals of their customers will fall behind their competitors. Now, B2B buyer expectations—shaped by the convenience and personalization they enjoy in consumer markets—are bringing this reality to the forefront so that clear market leaders and laggards are emerging. According to McKinsey, “B2B customer-experience index ratings significantly lag behind those of retail customers… B2C companies typically score in the 65 to 85 percent range, while B2B companies average less than 50 percent.”1
In 2018, the vast majority of B2B companies (86%) were not customer-centric, “and a lot of that is because they don’t try to get inside the mind of the B2B buyer,” Forbes reports.2 B2B companies prioritizing digital transformation need the right internal perspective, resources, and strategies to ensure internal change equates to long-term customer success.
Fortunately, “customer-experience leaders in B2B settings have on average higher margins than their competitors,” McKinsey reports.3 And in 2019, B2B companies are increasingly incorporating a customer-centric mindset into core business strategies—with dedicated customer experience teams, customer feedback analysis, and even complete restructuring of workforce cultures.4
2020 introduces new opportunities for B2B companies who wish to do more to incorporate a customer-centric mindset. Beyond optimizing marketing, sales, and service operations, organizations must “rethink their customer engagement model to leverage disruptive technologies, and redesign employees’ roles to form a customer success (CS) capability that maximizes value for customers and enables an enhanced experience for them,” according to Deloitte.5 But how can B2B leaders implement these company-wide changes, and what resources are available to them to ensure they are both internal and market successes?
Access Our 2020 Report: ‘Designing a More Customer-Centric and Agile Digital Organization’
In this special report, we identify the customer-centric strategies that are helping businesses evolve successfully. We uncover the key parties driving change within their organizations, including the teams and skill sets required to create a more customer-centric approach. We identify the programs, partnerships, and investments that are positively impacting the future of these businesses. And we share direct feedback in the words of business leaders who are establishing their “future organization” today.
Access the Report: Available April 2020