Every distributor believes that it is customer-centric, but not every distributor understands what “customer-centric” really means — and the definition has shifted in recent years.
“Customer-centric” used to mean sending sales reps out to meet with customers face-to-face. But according to Gartner, 75% of B2B buyers now say they’d rather not see reps at all. Then again, Gartner also reports that when B2B buyers go through the entire buying process online and on their own, they’re more likely to experience regret.
B2B buyers now expect an ecommerce experience comparable to the one they get when they’re acting as consumers, but the tendency to regret their B2B ecommerce purchases indicates that distributors aren’t quite delivering it. It could also mean that they haven’t approached customer-centricity as a matter of not just technology and sales but of company culture.
How can distributors balance what customers want (a frictionless digital customer journey) and what they need (knowledgeable reps guiding them to the right purchase)? It’s all about integrating the digital and human elements into a powerful omnichannel experience.
From Multichannel to Omnichannel
Most distributors have offered multiple channels for a while now, but there’s a big difference between multichannel and omnichannel. With a multichannel approach, those channels and the data they generate are siloed from one another. It operates under the assumption that customers stick to one channel when they’re likely to jump from channel to channel, often within a single shopping experience.
For instance, a B2B buyer might browse your ecommerce platform to learn more about product options. Then they run into a technical question, so they pick up the phone to get expert advice from your inside sales team. Weeks later, during a sales rep visit, the customer decides to place their order.
If your ecommerce store, salespeople and customer service reps aren’t all on the same page, customers who switch between channels are very likely to notice and become frustrated by the inconsistency. Worse case: They go to a competitor who delivers a more integrated, seamless shopping experience.
According to Harvard Business Review, B2B sellers need to understand their selling channels as “a set of interconnected tools a customer may want to use at different stages” of their journey. And it makes sense that one customer would want to use various tools. As Gartner explains, the average B2B buying group has at least five (and up to 11) stakeholders representing around five different business functions. Different stakeholders will have different preferences and needs, so it’s critical to serve each of them with equally robust channels that communicate with each other efficiently and effectively.
To achieve that, you need two things: buy-in on a cultural level and the technology to support true omnichannel integration.
Building a Customer-Centric Culture
If your customer-facing teams have been operating in their separate worlds, shifting to a customer-centric omnichannel approach will be an adjustment. Not only will you have to break down siloes and build new cross-team processes, but you’ll need to get everyone to understand the motivation behind those changes and re-dedicate themselves to ensuring a consistent, reliable experience for each customer.
As Brian Hopkins puts it on Distribution Strategy Group, “It begins and ends with the question: Who is our customer and why is what I do for them important?” Everyone who works with customers, from sales and service reps to marketers to delivery drivers, should know the answer.
Once they do, they can calibrate their approach to their respective role to best serve the customer. It’ll require clear, straightforward and engaging communication, and it may even require a bit of turnover as you hire people who want to buy into your message.
It will take some time and effort to code the customer’s wants and needs — and the importance of constant cross-functional teamwork to serve those wants and needs — into your company’s DNA. But doing so will lay the groundwork for the other crucial component of a customer-centric omnichannel structure: powerful technology solutions.
Tech as a Tool to Serve the Customer
As Magnus Meier observes on Modern Distribution Management, AI-powered tools are particularly conducive to distribution sales. They can enable better price optimization, generate rebates and promotions that your customers are likely to take advantage of, help pinpoint opportunities for value-added services and tailor incredibly specific product recommendations to each customer.
To support those tools and achieve the level of internal collaboration required by omnichannel sales, you’ll need to make smart investments in technology that can facilitate it.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is particularly adept at connecting the various parts of your business to create smooth operations on the back end, translating to a consistent customer experience. It offers data visibility that makes AI-powered analytical tools useful and breaks down the siloes that often keep different channels from being able to communicate with each other in real time. And it’s not just an ERP — it also has CRM functionality and the capacity for customizations that your company can use to serve its customers’ specific needs.
When your people don’t have to jump from system to system to get the information they need and to collaborate with people on other teams, data doesn’t slip through the cracks. And when key data doesn’t slip through the cracks, your customers won’t run into the frustrating disparities between channels that prevent companies from offering an effective omnichannel experience.
Take a Giant Leap Toward True Customer-Centricity with Enavate
Depending on your current ERP platform, moving to a Cloud-based platform like Dynamics 365 BC may look like an uphill climb. However, an experienced implementation partner like Enavate makes the process much easier to manage. Reach out to our expert team today to learn more about how we can help you build the tech infrastructure necessary to support a successful customer-centric culture.
