The Customer Journey: What Customers Really Want to Buy

“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” — Michael LeBoeuf

The US Department of Commerce reports the first quarter of 2016 saw $92.8 billion in e-commerce sales. Impressive, you say, but what does that have to do with the world of technology solution providers? Stay with me here. As consumers, we’re all immersed in the want-it-now, get-it-now environment created by the instant gratification of e-commerce. That mindset naturally spills over into expectations in our professional lives, setting new levels for customer satisfaction across all industries

In my series on guiding the Customer Journey, I’ve talked about how to get an impactful message out to the right audience and how to turn responses into leads that become customers. Here at the midway point in the journey, we’ve arrived at the first critical juncture for customer satisfaction: the purchase process itself.

At this point in the Customer Journey, the relationship is still fresh and somewhat fragile. Even if it seems you’ve already won them over, here is where you’ll make the “first impression” that actually sticks. It’s essential that you be prepared to carry the sale from quote to offer to purchase without a glitch.

In their book First, Break All the Rules, authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman speak to the four basic levels of customer expectation as identified by The Gallup Organization:

• Level 1 – Accuracy: As a bare essential to customer satisfaction, you must get things right.
• Level 2 – Availability: This level quickly follows the first: customers expect your service to be good, quick and timely.
• Level 3 – Partnership Customers begin to want a two-way relationship, where they feel you understand their needs. This satisfaction creates a foundation for loyalty.
• Level 4 – Advice: Now that a foundation for loyalty has been built, the trust relationship grows.

When it’s time to buy, perfection at level 1 and 2 is essential: your customers want their order placed immediately and they want the right products at the price they were quoted. Automation is the most effective way to ensure purchasing will get all the facts and spring into action the second a deal is signed.

The ConnectWise Suite enables a guided sales process for your team. You can track everything that happens, make sure all information is accurate, and streamline every step for ultimate efficiency.

• Move from purchase order to purchasing automatically inside ConnectWise Manage®
• Gain immediate visibility to when a product is received from the vendor and when it’s delivered to the customer

Find out how ConnectWise can help you keep your clients satisfied and their Customer Journey on track. Watch for my next post in this series, where I‘ll share ideas for preventing detours during delivery.