The commercial strategy must be broadly planned and certainly varies according to the business model. Before Industry 4.0 – the digital age we live in – many companies tended to focus their business efforts towards themselves. Business and sales processes were, therefore, centered on the product or service, and on how salespeople should achieve a customer commitment. Sales strategy focused less on what the customer truly needed, rather being driven by features and price.
Focus on the customer
Nowadays, the commercial strategy is focused on the customer. Companies are (or should be) driven by customer’s expectations. When the first direct contact with the potential customer occurs, it might have already interacted with the brand several times. Will have, hence, more than 70% of the purchase process completed. It is, thus, clear that companies today have completely different challenges with regard to their business strategy.
People are increasingly concerned with the customer. Not only at the sales team level or commercial structure, but at all levels in the organization. Alignment with the customer is a critical element, today and for the future.
Commercial strategy is, therefore, no longer the only way to reach the target customer. Because companies must invest in the information and knowledge they have about their client. The path results from a combination of people and technology. On the one hand, it will be essential to invest in data and, on the other, to have the right people to establish an effective bridge between service and customer.
Then, tactical actions must be defined to meet each profile and how to satisfy their needs.
Customer acquisition strategy
Managing data starts with the ability to capture, accumulate and analyze relevant information. For that, there must be a CRM strategy. That is to say, not only the adoption of CRM software, but to adopt a customer-centric strategy. What is the customer acquisition strategy and what are the communication channels? Will it have an omnichannel approach? Web-tracking, Email-marketing, social media, SEO, among others. How do you manage SQL and MQL alignment?
Value offer
The value proposition will be one of the determining axes for the success of a commercial strategy. As consumers, today we can evaluate numerous purchase options simultaneously and quickly decide which one seems to meet what we are looking for. The same is true with corporate business, although with different cycles. A potential customer for a service, has all the information long before meeting with a sales rep. Value proposition must adapt, therefore, to the customer data we obtain and to the purchase journey. The value proposition must be validated after internal alignment. Integrating elements of the sales force into marketing processes and decisions (and the opposite, of course), will add value and a good deal of realism. This way, you can meet what the customer really needs.
Customer Retention and Loyalty
Customer retention and loyalty must have its own chapter in the commercial strategy. The sales strategy must focus on the customer. Your loyalty will enhance the ability to cross and upselling, increasing the future return. It will reduce investment in the acquisition of new customers, allocating financial flows to other investments, namely for business growth.
In the next article we will cover the customer journey process – have you defined yours?
Know more on https://salesfactory.pt/en/customer-experience/