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2 minute read
After venturing out of KPMG and starting my own niche B2B consulting business helping different types of companies to future proof the way they conduct Sales, Marketing, Customer Service and Customer Success, I have observed four distinct typologies of customers that have been driven towards my services:
- The Frontrunners
- The Laggards
- The Blissfully Unaware
- The Acutely Aware
The Frontrunners are companies that have the knowledge, skills, resources and the systems to conduct marketing, sales, customer service and customer success at top level. They understand the need to operate a customer centric approach, develop content to facilitate the buying journey at different touchpoints and knowledge levels and use data and interaction analysis to win deals and continuously improve processes and storylines. In this group, while we have many SaaS-companies, there are also quite a lot of traditional B2B companies that have not only embraced concepts of the new way of selling, but have also hired the right people and engaged with the right technology that is needed to keep them on top of their game. This group of companies want to talk about Good to Great and are interested in fine-tuning specific elements of their business model and revenue architecture.
The Laggards are companies that have the resources and certain skills but that are hesitating to overhaul the way they work today. This may be due to the fact that they are confident that their existing customers will keep buying from them, and as a result, they may not be actively looking to upgrade or extend their customer base. These companies are often looking for guidance on foundational decisions. Some of these foundational decisions may include questions such as; “If we change or upgrade CRM, what should we pay attention to? How can we apply a reliable model of customer segmentation and account management? Should we install a customer success function and where in our process? Should we move into Infrastructure-as-a-service and what are the do’s and don'ts of this go-to-market model?”
The Blissfully Unaware are often SME-level companies that are locked-in to a traditional way of work. Their customer base is established. Sales is focussed on managing the existing customer base. Marketing is about the website, fact sheets and the annual trade show. Sales is basically a black box. Customer support is seen as a cost and Customer Success is not on the radar. They may engage in a keynote or an inspiration session but they are not really feeling the need to change the status quo. Often they are reluctant to engage in difficult conversations about roles, responsibilities and skills of the incumbent sales team.
The Acutely Aware are Blissfully Unaware that are woken up by a sudden unexpected event. For example: A major customer is switching suppliers. Another client starts a tendering business that was taken for granted. New products are not getting the expected traction. New competitors - pop-up out of nowhere and do everything different, simpler, cheaper and lure customers and prospects away. In some cases a sudden understanding of efficiency gains of an integrated sales, marketing and service approach are triggering interest. These companies want to move fast. Really fast. As if their the house is on fire.
Would you like to know whether you are a Frontrunner, a Laggard, a Blissfully Unaware or an Acutely Aware type of B2B company?
Then I have good news for you.
You can spend a couple of minutes taking the newly released 2024 Disruptive Selling Maturity Assessment and get a clear answer.
Participating will allow you to position your business on 20 topics of future proofed Sales, Marketing and Customer Service and to obtain a score on 120.
Anything above 100 and you are a Frontrunner and an example to the rest of your industry. Anything below 60, you should consider where you can start catching-up. Anything below 40, you may want to get moving right away.
You can access the assessment via https://eu.mar.medallia.com/Disruptiveselling
If you have any questions or comments on the above? Do you want to engage in a 15 minute call? Feel free to reach-out. Happy to connect, and happy to discuss.