The Customer Experience

Awareness – Not specifically awareness of your brand, but making the customer aware of problem they didn't know they had or didn't know how to quantify. Generate need for your product or service through marketing and drive awareness of your brand as a result.   

Consideration – Looking for the solution to a problem can be a frustrating prospect. One's first inclination is to see if the problem can be solved without spending any money at all, so overt Sales pitches can be very off-putting. Establish your brand as a resource with subject matter experts that customers and the community can start to see as a reliable source of helpful information so they will seek you out when they need a solution.    

Decision – Why should a potential customer choose you over a competitor? You may know, but how well is that communicated through your brand message? Whether it is a unique aspect of your product, or an aspect of your company that sets you apart from another reseller, clearly showcase your value proposition to the customer.   

Conversion – Once a decision has been made, you want to make the last steps in the Sales process as short as possible. If someone wants to give you their money, the last thing you want to do it make them wait. Shorten the lead cycle in key areas, or even create bypasses, to insure the Sales team or the AP/AR team get the notification and information to act immediately. 

Promotion – Not a promotional campaign, but the act of a customer promoting your brand to others. Although this is more a result of the Sales and Service teams' hard work, it is important to both foster a positive customer experience and capitalize on it when appropriate with potential reviews, quotes and case studies.  

Awareness (again) – Are you capitalizing on your customer base for future sales? Keep your customer database as clean and consistent as possible so you can use the information in additional nurturing campaigns as well as give the Sales team the tools they need for up-selling and cross-selling to existing customers. This one can be a chore, but offers high returns if you can get into good habits.