MarketStar Blog

It wasn’t too long ago when companies held all the power in their business transactions with customers. Individuals or organizations which needed help with a product or service were at the mercy of whatever customer support solutions were made available to them. In most cases, the only way to get assistance was via phone, at specific dates and times. Even then, one had no idea how long one had to wait in the queue to speak to an actual human. 

However, times have changed. Companies have come to realize that now, more than ever, customers have many options at their disposal to get what they want. Now, customers have all the power and companies are scrambling to find ways to keep them happy. 

Since products and services are bound to have associated queries or issues, we need customer service. Fortunately, companies have stepped up their service offerings with multichannel contact centers, which offer customers multiple ways to reach someone who can help. However, as laudable as this is, the result can often still be a disjointed, unsatisfactory experience.

Sales success today depends on a combination of strategy, skill, technology, and process. With buyers conducting 57% of their purchase research before engaging with a sales rep¹, traditional sales tactics are no longer enough. A well-structured sales playbook is an essential tool that streamlines processes, enhances productivity, and aligns teams for success. 

Many organizations experience friction between sales and customer support teams. Sales teams are often under pressure to meet aggressive targets, sometimes pushing leads that aren't the right fit. When these deals close, the burden shifts to customer support, which must manage customer expectations and resolve issues that could have been avoided¹. 

This disconnect creates internal distrust and diminishes customer satisfaction, leading to higher churn rates and lost revenue. The solution? Aligning sales and customer support to create a collaborative, customer-focused dynamic. 

Here’s why integrating these two teams is crucial for business success.

The contact center plays a critical role in shaping customer experience (CX) in today’s always-on, digital-first world. Over the years, contact center technology has evolved significantly, with new innovations constantly enhancing customer interactions.

 
Happy customers are your best salespeople. In any SMB sales initiative, part of your mission is to build customer loyalty, not only so those customers will come back to buy more but so they will also serve as brand evangelists. If you can build customer trust and engender loyalty, then that customer will advocate for you. What’s more, keeping happy customers is one-fifth the cost of acquiring new ones.

You know that you have a great product; your customers tell you so. You are enthusiastic about your product or service and you know that your energy comes across in sales calls. You have a list of all the benefits your product brings to the table. You have even researched the competition and are ready to respond to any objections. So why aren’t you closing more deals?

Strategies for B2B sales have changed with the coming of the digital age. The days of cold calling are over, and we have entered a new era of B2B sales driven by customer experience (CX) and customer service. Today, selling is more about making a connection and solving customers’ problems than it is about making a hard sales pitch to close a deal. Welcome to the age of digital selling.

Your company is growing. Sales continue to climb, and your online marketing program is so successful that you are getting customer queries from other countries. It’s time to expand your international sales strategy, but where do you start? Is it time to start opening regional sales offices, or is there a better way?

Business growth is fueled by reaching new audiences and increasing your potential customer base. However, targeting new audiences, especially those beyond what you usually encounter or engage with, can be tricky and tough. So, to make ad targeting simpler for advertisers, AI-powered tools, such as look-alike modeling, have been developed.

In any business the customer comes first, which is why companies invest in customer relationship management (CRM) software. CRM platforms make it easier to take better care of customers and prospects, capturing everything you need to know about the status of any engagement and providing the insight you need to help keep the sales pipeline full. In fact, 91 percent of companies with 11 employees or more are using some form of CRM software, and as a result, revenues for CRM software sales have risen to $39.5 billion worldwide in 2017.