How To Combat The Great Customer Resignation
In this guest post, Jason du Preez (main photo), senior vice president Asia Pacific at SugarCRM, discusses how businesses can arm themselves with the tools to mitigate customer churn…
Customer acquisition is costly. It takes time, considerable effort and requires considerable expertise. It makes sense to keep your existing customers happy as the cost of churn is so high. New research from SugarCRM reveals that seven in every ten sales and marketing leaders agree that it is more cost-effective to keep existing customers than closing a new sale. Yet, despite the cost of churn to Australian companies, 61% surveyed admitted they don’t understand the reasons for churn and 63% struggled to quantify and track churn rates effectively.
The Great Customer Resignation is upon us. In the wake of pandemic-related forces such as supply chain disruption and employee resignations, shortages in essential resources have led to staff burnout and the organisation’s inability to catch up with or meet customer expectations. In essence, businesses have struggled to create better CX against heightened customer frustration.
Addressing customer churn in the post-pandemic world is a mission-critical activity for sales and marketing leaders. While some churn is inevitable, businesses must arm themselves with the tools to best prepare for and manage attrition.
Revisit your customer’s journey
Knowing your customer has always been important. But the pandemic has created new consumer behaviours and profiles, forcing many brands to make business model changes. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to create a high-definition customer experience, or HD-CX, across marketing, sales, and service.
Deloitte says brands should seize this opportunity to revisit customer loyalty strategies and remove friction points in the customer journey. Brands that don’t evolve will quickly learn it’s extremely hard to keep a customer if their experiences don’t match their renewed expectations.
A unified view of sales, marketing, and service is critical for identifying gaps between a customer’s expectations and what they actually experience. Customers don’t deal with companies, they deal with people, often across multiple channels. Collaboration between customer-facing teams is more critical than before. You must regularly audit your customers’ wants and needs so you can create a HD-CX.
Reassess your toolkit
A consolidated view of customer information across the organisation is critical to delivering a HD-CX. Yet, most businesses say they don’t have the data they need to maximise the success of marketing campaigns and sales conversions. One of the biggest issues they face is losing a quarter of sales because the customer received zero follow up.
Creating a HD-CX involves digitally transforming your business so your employees are empowered with technology that helps them delight their customers and deliver an excellent customer experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool as it lets you analyse and draw insights from massive volumes of data quickly. This complements the skills of your team so they can make better decisions and anticipate customer needs. Follow-ups aren’t missed because your team is ready to meet the customer where they are in their journey.
Data is the key to HD-CX
Creating an amazing experience for customers requires a bird’s eye view of relevant data, establishing mutual goals and metrics and creating a seamless handoff process to improve productivity and ensure ownership. That data can come from internal sources such as your sales system, finance and and be complemented by data from external sources. When you understand every step of the customer journey from their first inquiry through to support you can transform operations to become customer-centric. The intelligent use of technology enables you to optimise and personalise customer engagement.
Marketing and sales leaders understand that a unified view of sales, marketing and services are critical to delivering a HD-CX. When these three pillars of CX are in harmony, the customer wins. Operational silos are inefficient and make life harder for sales, marketing and support teams. More importantly, they make life harder for customers. And when customers encounter friction, they will start looking at your competitors. Great data accessed from a single source lets you take a proverbial sledgehammer to the walls between your teams.
High quality data that is easily accessed from a central system and allows teams to see a complete view of the customer is the key. That system can leverage tools such as AI to fuel actionable insights that sales, marketing, and service teams can use to act decisively at every critical touchpoint.
When you anticipate and meet your customer’s needs, the Great Customer Resignation can be transformed into the Great Customer Opportunity.
Latest News
DMARGE Founder Unveils Creator-Led Social Media Agency Feedstar
New creator-led social media agency Feedstar to be aimed directly at Gen Zs. Well, they'd hardly want print, would they?
TV Ratings (02/05/2024): A total of 1,753,000 Aussies Witness Port Adelaide’s Defeat
Seven's AFL numbers almost double that of the NRL last night. The NRL still easily winning for ruptured ACLs.
Hotglue Cashes In With La Trobe Financial Digital Media Account
Hotglue staffers learning their cashflows from their collaterals today after nabbing La Trobe Financial's digital media.
M&C Saatchi’s Sydney Creative Lead Exits
B&T's stopping short of calling it a revolving door at M&C at the present, but there's definitely heat on the hinges.
Taylor Swift’s Music Re-Enters TikTok As Universal Pens Landmark Deal
Yes, B&T may have spent 152 hours failing to get Taylor Swift tickets, but, as you'll read here, it's all behind us now.
HAVAS Red launches inaugural Influencer White Paper
Havas Red has debuted its first influencer white paper. Unless you print it out in colour, of course.
Two Sides Global Campaign Reports Increasing Greenwashing As Organisations Focus On Sustainability
New report confirms greenwashing's on the rise. Apparently Mars' 'work, rest & play' claims also under investigation.
Aruga Launches New HQ & Changed Ownership Structure
PR agency Aruga proves Brisbane is 'so hot right now'. So hot in fact, Adelaide's had to go on anti-anxiety meds.
Delicious & American Express Partner To Launch Month Out 2024 In Sydney
Cost of living got you eating noodles prepared in the two-minute style? Why not live vicariously through this.
Aussie Ad Market Continues Decline In March
The belt-tightening in adland shows signs of a turnaround soon. Bar the belt-loosening at the all-you-can-eat buffet.
VMA Focuses On Skills And Training For Members
If there was a post-COVID hangover (bar the anti-vax ranters) it was the rise in skills shortages. Here's another one.
Nearly 90% Of Consumers Want Transparency About AI Images, Finds Getty Images Report
Study finds consumers want transparency around AI images. Couldn't care less about photoshopped magazine covers.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation Partners With VML To Boost Funds
Anyone else feel we've exhausted the office morning tea for cancer? B&T proposes the office moonshine still instead.
Perry ‘Pez’ Lazaris Named New National Hit Network Announcer
Why is it mandatory for the media to only publish the nicknames of people in radio & underworld crime figures?
Before Adland: Garry Dawson’s Journey From Teacher To Marketer
Here, the Hopeful Monsters marketer talks his shift from the classroom to the room wherever marketers congregate.
Scott Cam Urges Tradies To Prioritise Sun Protection
The Block host promoting sun protection to tradies. Also, don't try getting into the RSL after 6pm wearing high viz.
PubMatic Study: Advertising On Retail Media Is 50% More Effective Than Social Media
New study finds retail media 50% more effective than social. B&T says two-for-one Tim Tams trumps the lot.
From MOWING to life GROWING: Jim Penman launches ‘Life Coaching’ services
Can't decide on getting the hedges trimmed or finding a deeper meaning to life? You're in luck with this new venture.
Budweiser Brazil Turns Songs That Name Drop The Iconic Brand Into Spotify Ads
It's strange that Budweiser never found a market among beer-swilling Aussies. Then again, neither did the fluffy duck.
Effie Worldwide Strengthens Board With 6 New Members
B&T hopes everyone's wearing their Maseur sandals at the Effies, as it's standing room only at the next board meeting.
Special Enlist A Penguin Named Nigel In Latest Energy Campaign For Contact
Special unveils Nigel the penguin in work for energy provider Contact. Apparently Percy the peacock was booked.
Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth & George Miller Ignite Sydney For Epic Mad Max Launch
The Mad Max film franchise is Australia's cinematic gift to the world. That & Chris Hemsworth's near perfect cheekbones.
IAS Launches First-To-Market Integration With Roblox To Provide 3D Immersive Measurement
Always thought you could do with better 3D immersive measurement? Happy days are ahead here.
Fast And Furious: Top Gear Australia Launch Thrilled Motorheads, Car Entusiasts And Guests
B&T is still no closer to knowing who the new Stig is, except that she is a woman and a ridiculously fast.
TV Ratings (02/05/2024): Seven’s The 1% Club Wins The Night
The 1% club did not live up to its name when it comes to TV ratings last night.
TRA Welcomes Raft Of New Hires; Bolstering Expertise Across Markets
Insights and research agency TRA announces slew of new hires. Still no news on the return of marble wash denim, however.
CX Lavender Hires Boston Consulting Group’s Kim Verbrugghe as Chief Strategy Officer
CX Lavender announces new strategy hire and channels 'acoustic folk act at local RSL' for the publicity pic.
Opinion: Community standards, will they be the death of us?
This columnist is talking community standards. Sadly not those people who put dogs in trolleys in supermarkets.
Tegel gets heads bobbing with new free-range chicken platform
Sure, there's a lot of moral considerations when buying a chook. Yet, not as baffling as buying eggs or canned tuna.
Study: 66% of Aussie men believe masculinity is under attack
Two-thirds of Aussie blokes say masculinity's under attack. That said, sales of Solo lemon drink appear robust.
‘Equal Writes’: Canyon reveals new campaign and refreshed brand for women and non-binary writers
As this brand redesign again proves, nothing beats black on white. Well, white on black in this instance.
Icon Agency bolsters consumer and integrated offer with major hires
Icon Agency unveils new recruits. As press photo confirms office moustache competition now a lay-down misère.
Clemenger launches agricultural graduate program
Has Farmer Wants A Wife triggered an interest in dagging & hay balers? This grads program may resonate.
Levi’s Appoint UM As Global Media Agency For $217m Account
Levi's are the jeans for rockstars, models & the cool kids. Although that's not stopped dads from ruining their image.
QMS Nabs Sean Rigby From oOh!media
Things set to get spicy at the next Outdoor Media Association dinner and dance as a rival gets poached.
Bumble Reveals New Brand Identity To Usher In New Era Of Dating
It's ironic that all the dating apps market themselves as having no weirdos, freaks or mummy's boys like their rivals.