Where there is a will…

The changes of economic currents are inevitable. Sometimes they are relatively predictable, signs hinting an upcoming crisis, such as the housing market going rampant with loans around 2008, but then sometimes an impactful event occurs, so suddenly that it catches everybody by surprise, see the instance of the dreadful war in Eastern Europe.Unfortunately, businesses worldwide are currently suffering because of the pandemic, the war and the inflation brought about by these circumstances, many fearing that a bubble is bound to burst soon similarly to the Great Recession times. However, we learned from Part 1 of the article, that if there is a will, there is a way too, not only to survive but to turn around businesses to thrive. Apart from merely surviving, those armed with the right strategies, monitoring business trends, and with the right mindset are very much capable of advancing and developing, turning the crisis to their advantage. We can observe and analyse what is happening right now around us, how companies can remain resilient in hard times, and why customer experience (CX) is an important aspect to consider for B2B businesses today.

In 2022, though the pandemic issue may seem to lighten in most of the countries, Russia’s war on Ukraine became the source of a general anxiety. This conflict not only caused international turmoil by blockages in supply chains and in energy resources but by increasing inflation significantly. McKinsey reveals that based on their global survey, ‘respondents’ views of the top threats to their home economies have shifted since March 2022, and they now most often cite inflation as a risk over the next year’. Apart from Greater China and the Asian Pacific who report improvements, other regions seem rather weary, and they do not expect growth any time soon in the light of the geopolitical situation.

A number of strategies are lined up for leaders to pick but the choice is not as easy as it may seem. Perhaps nothing supports this more than the article Roaring Out of Recession suggesting that ‘only a small number of companies—approximately 9% of our survey—flourished after a slowdown, doing better on key financial parameters than they had before it and outperforming rivals in their industry…’. That percentage might be frightening, but there are many morals to take away from the numbers. Based on empirical research, Harvard Business Review’s text lists four types of approaches companies adopted and gives pointers on what actions to take. Here is their list:

1. Prevention-focused companies
2. Promotion-focused companies
3. Pragmatic companies
4. Progressive companies

The first approach can be defined as defensive, the second as offensive and the last two are using the combination of them. Upon reading on, we see that the article suggests considering moves that are less defensive and finding the right balance through combining (1) and (2) according to the given company’s nature. McKinsey takes its turn to investigate the instance of US businesses becoming resilient and advises the same strategy detailed in the above.

Image 1

McKinsey also includes a visual that showcases the dimensions of ‘resilient growth’ (Image 1), mentioning the aspect ‘Product and customer needs’. This brings us to the relevance of customer experience in today’s crisis management.

The role of customer experience has gained a serious momentum for B2B enterprises as well in the last few years. While B2C deals with a greater number of customers, B2B has to take a different approach when it comes to their clients. This has both advantages and disadvantages: though the latter allows for more resources to personalize campaigns and CX designs as well, ‘B2B experience can ‘feel’ distinctly inferior to a good B2C experience’, according to article 7 Steps to dominate B2B Customer Experience by CustomerThermometer.

Therefore, an excellent opportunity to grow strong - a gap to fill and a need to nurture is right at our doorstep.

Recently, there has been an enormous increase in the demand for more adequate CX in the B2B market and ‘at least 86% of companies consider it very important’. It is a massive shift compared to 2015, when only 3% of businesses thought it worthy of time and resources. We may wonder what are some clever ways to improve our customer experience – the answer comes from CustomerThermometer with a few tips that may help along the journey towards a great quality change in a company’s life.

1. Develop Customer Insight
   • Getting to know individual customers better, gives us useful points for developing a good customer experience
2. Deliver Personalized B2B Experiences
   • When customers see efforts put into personalized services, they feel valued and will appreciate that their needs are understood and met
3. Derive Continuous Feedback
   • Feedback throughout the entire customer journey is crucial as it helps to maintain a balanced progress without unwanted hurdles for the customer
4. Make Full Use of Technology
   • Being aware of the preferred channels and platforms of our targets provides an extra convenience for them

The points listed are only a few guidelines among many other means to make significant improvements on customer experience! It is a great way for a business to grow not only because it is one key to being resilient and coming out from crises. It also brings company and soon-to-be client closer and more appreciative of each other. In today’s challenging times, the development of CX designs for B2B companies is definitely an aspect worth keeping an eye on, bringing growth, stability, and a tad bit of human element the business.