Jeannie Walters: 0:05

While there's a lot of overlap between B2B and B2C customer experience, there are things that sometimes feel a little different. Let's talk about that today on the Experience Action podcast.

Listener Question: 0:19

Hey Jeannie, this question was recently submitted to us. In B2B relationships, our clients often stay with us for years, sometimes decades. What are some of the ways we can keep that experience fresh and engaging over the long haul, especially when our service itself doesn't change all that much?

Jeannie Walters: 0:35

You know, this is such a fantastic question because long-term B2B relationships, and dare I say, any long-term relationship you have, whether that's a friendship or a family member or a partner, we have to think about keeping that fresh, keeping that interesting, keeping it something that feels valuable to the person that we're in that relationship with. And so B2B relationships that are long-term like this, they can be both a gift and a challenge. It's very, very easy to become complacent. It's very easy to look around and think, well, everything's working, so that's all we really have to worry about. But if all we're doing in a long-term B2B relationship is essentially sending invoices, then we are missing opportunities to enrich the relationship so that there is no question when that new vendor comes along and says, hey, we might have an offer for you, they won't even look at it because they're so happy with the relationship they have with you. So let's talk about when things feel routine, when maybe the services don't change, when you have that long-term relationship, things are just humming along. What can you do in the B2B space to make that relationship feel fresh and interesting and most importantly valuable to the people that we serve? One thought here is that we want to keep checking in on them. Now, what they need at the time might not change, but their goals will. Everybody is always evolving. So check in with them on their evolving goals. We want to do this by not just reporting on performance, not just saying how well we're doing, but checking up, checking in in a very proactive way, setting up something like a partnership review, or simply taking somebody out to lunch and saying, what do you see for the future here? Look for ways that you can over-index on those positive things that you already do. If they are showing anxiety or fear about the future, is there anything you can do in that partnership to reassure them that your partnership, your service is solid and will continue to serve them and meet those goals? But make it about them, not you. The other thing we want to do is bring valuable information. How can they do their jobs better? Usually intelligence is a big part of this. What insights do we have into the industry that might be valuable to share? Is there thought leadership we could build? Are there white papers or videos or things like that? Better yet, can you invite your customer to be a part of that? Can you invite them to share their insights and maybe even promote them through those thought leadership avenues? People love to be included. And when you can really showcase your customers, that is telling the rest of the world that you are a great partner as well. Now, one of my favorite things to look for in a long-term relationship are ways to celebrate milestones. We all love this. We celebrate birthdays, we celebrate anniversaries in our personal lives. We might mark the occasion that we moved into our house or the first time we went on a date with our spouse, all sorts of fun little milestones. So think about how when you go through this relationship, what are those important milestones for your customers? And how can you celebrate those? Now, the person who asked this question mentioned that sometimes these relationships go on years or even decades. Could you celebrate those anniversaries? Could you make it about them? Can you give them some partnership swag? Can you invite them into a process that maybe they don't get to see very often? One of the things I saw that was really interesting was essentially a data company. They were providing a server farm, essentially, where they said, okay, we are going to provide all these servers so you have your data and it's all safe. Great. But all of that happens in the background. So once somebody hit a year with them, they actually had a process where they would invite them in to see how this all worked. It was a really special thing because most people are not invited to see the background, to see what happens behind the scenes. So some of these milestones are perfect opportunities for that. Another example of this is in the restaurant space, sometimes the farmers will invite the chefs, say, you know what, you've been receiving our produce for a long time. I'd like to invite you to the farm for a day to explore and see what we have and see if there are things that we could provide for you in the next year. It really becomes a collaboration when you invite people to things behind the scenes and celebrate those milestones in a big way. It's also important to keep your finger on the pulse of what is important to them. And if there is news about them, follow that news so you can proactively acknowledge those milestones as well. And of course, you know me, I love micro moments. I love looking for moments that are often neglected or overlooked in the customer journey and just turning up the volume a little bit on them. If we can do that, that really over-indexes on those positive moments. Because then when things do go wrong or there's a little complacency, we have enough in that emotional bank. We have invested in this relationship. So micro surprises, micro moments of delight can really go a long way, especially when they are surprises. Something like a handwritten note can go a long way, as well as just a spontaneous way to say thank you. I was actually in one of my clients' offices. It was a large insurance company. When out of nowhere. They got a big package. The secretary brought it in, put it on the desk, and he said, I have no idea what this is. Do you mind if I open it? And it was from their advertising agency, who they had a long, long relationship with. It was so long that the original contract was signed by the original uh owner of the agency, which you all know the name, in their corporate museum. That's what we're talking about. And their uh account director had sent this big box of things that they knew were important to this client. Now, this individual was really into classic cars. He had pictures all over his office. It was a big deal. So the advertising agency sent a box that had some swag, some things like a coffee cup and things like that, but then a lot of things that were really about the classic car world, things that he could use for that hobby, that passion that he had. And the note just said, we just want you to know that we appreciate your partnership and will continue to do so. Out of nowhere. And I remember watching him open this box and he was thinking, wow, this is really something. Because they had this long-term relationship. Everybody kind of accepted that that was the partnership that would continue. And it wasn't really at risk, nothing was wrong. But it meant so much to him personally because he understood that he was making decisions on their behalf and they were really partnering with him to make sure that it was a good relationship. He felt valued and appreciated. Those things go a long way. And then the last thing I want to leave you here with is if you find that you are complacent, or if you find that you are really excited about new customers, I want to ask: how can you get curious about the customers you have? Those long-term relationships, how do we still show up in a way that we can continue to serve them, continue to make sure that the experience changes, even if the services don't? Really, it's about curiosity. We want to be as curious as possible about these relationships. What really gets them energized? What are the fears and anxieties that they have? How can we provide them with the right tools, resources, intelligence, thought leadership so that they can succeed even more in their jobs? This is where the magic happens. So make sure that if you are finding yourself only focused on those new customers in your B2B space, take some time, look at all the customers you have and think, what do I know about them and what should I know about them? And then reach out and ask. Make sure that you are building these relationships day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, because that's what it takes. Sometimes we do get complacent and we assume, we think, well, they have to use us because of XYZ. Those reasons are changing. We are seeing this all the time. We are not locked into the accounts like we used to be. Vendors change. People raise their hand and say this isn't enough. And every day, including today, and including in your industry, there is somebody right now who is trying to disrupt. And they are trying to disrupt your industry through improvements in experience. So if you have not examined your customer journey lately, now is a great time to do it. This is when we do we use something called the disruptor day, where we literally get together and we think about what we would do if we were disrupting our own industry today. How would we improve the experience? This can be a great exercise if you're in one of those industries that's been around for a while, everybody does it the same way, you feel kind of like, well, it's fine. This is a great exercise for you to do. If you need help, we are here for you. We have resources at experienceinvestigators.com. But right now, I just want you to think about who are those clients that maybe we're taking for granted? What can we do to help them feel valued, appreciated, understood, and seen? What can we do to stay curious so that we can continue to serve them in the best possible way? And what can we do to change the experience for the better, even when the service or product doesn't change? This is such a great question. I appreciate all of your questions so much. Do not be shy. Check out askjeannie.vip so you can leave your question. You can either record it or if you're uncomfortable with that, you can leave us a message and we will record it on your behalf. I am so excited that you're here. We have so many exciting things coming up. If you are looking for events, they are coming up at experience investigators.com. And I cannot wait to talk to you next time. Thanks, everybody. To learn more about our strategic approach to experience, check out free resources at experienceinvestigators.com, where you can sign up for our newsletter, our year of CX program, and more. And please follow me, Jeannie Walters, on LinkedIn.