Best Practice for Obtaining Feedback
This is a short but never the less very important chapter. It is the first of the best practices and applies only to the B2B environment.
Best practice for obtaining feedback from your customers requires two parallel systems.
The first is a regular, event-based telephone call from your own people to your customers, at an appropriate time following the delivery of your products and services. This is to make sure that all went well and, if it didn’t, allows knowledgeable people to sort out any issues as quickly as possible. This is aimed at the recipients of your products and services who, by the way, are not necessarily the decision-makers.
We recommend that the 'phone calls are made by someone senior and knowledgable. We have seen examples of best practice where general managers, managing directors and vice presidents have telephoned customers 'incognito', a bit like in the Undercover Boss television show. This can be effective if it is done for the right reasons (such as a 'The Customer is King' initiative) and done for the long-term good rather than a short-term gimmick. But you have to ensure that everyone knows what is happening and why, and make sure it doesn't look like spying. It should be just good old customer relationship management.
Long-term, key account managers are often the most appropriate people to make the call. It will help them to broaden their list of contacts and if they make just one call a day it quickly becomes more than 200 calls in a year.
The second system or method for obtaining customer feedback is an occasional (every 12 – 24 months) in-depth survey of the decision-makers. This will review your systems, disciplines and procedures from the customers' point of view, and should also identify any “people” issues that your company may have.
Don't be surprised to find people issues – in business people buy from people and we can't all get on with everybody. There will be personality clashes. Accidents do happen. I often give the example of the first time that I, the new sales rep, came to visit you, one of my first customers. It was raining that day. You were an early-morning appointment. I arrived at your factory before you did. And I took your space in the car-park. You have [subliminally] held that event against me for all these years. You've never mentioned it because it is a) so trivial and b) historic – so it cannot be put right. You have continued to give me and my company some business – but we have never enjoyed either the lion's share of your spend or even the status of being a preferred supplier.
Your key account managers might have similar accidental clashes in their histories. Stuff happens. Best practice, once this has been identified, is to assign a different account manager to the customer whilst supporting the pride and ego of the displaced KAM with some new challenges. Customers in this situation often react positively to the new face and clean sheet. The best measure to use is to check that the share of wallet increases once the personnel change has been made.