Let me first start this off by making it 100% clear that when it comes to B2B customer service, customers are never, ever always right. In fact, in a number of instances they’re wrong and the only way to properly service them is to have the intestinal fortitude, and willingness, to tell them the truth. Does this all sound completely foreign to you? Have you always believed that good B2B customer service was built around customers always believing they’re right? Well, if your idea of customer service excellence is to capitulate and appease customers at the expense of your company’s reputation, then someone, somewhere, has sold you a bill of goods.
B2B Customer Relationships: The Customer Isn't Always Right
Not only is it bad to allow customers to always believe they’re right, it can actually cost your business a lot of money. Now, a number of companies believe that bad B2B customer service costs companies money when a company’s service practices don’t properly endorse the “customer is always right” doctrine. Or, better put, some customer service professionals believe companies lose business in the long run when they don’t take an appeasing customer service strategy.
For these individuals, the customer’s satisfaction and loyalty is forever linked with the idea that the customer should never be questioned, and that to do so is to go against everything essential in good customer service. However, I’m going to argue the exact opposite. Instead, I argue that bad B2B customer service occurs when a company continually allows its customers to believe their right, and that it’s this practice that costs companies money.
By not taking the time to properly manage customer expectations, and not asserting the company’s service criteria, companies not only lose relevance in the eyes of customers, but they forever set the stage for customers to make serious errors in judgment. It’s these errors in judgment that costs companies money and it’s these errors that go unchecked and are never dealt with. These mistakes are ultimately caused by a company that adopts B2B customer service practices predicated on “the customer is always right”. So, how can this ill-advised practice cost companies money?
1. Sales Forecast Accuracy
Customer service is far more than just a company’s service department. Included in that are the company’s marketing & sales functions. In fact, marketing sets the stage for the company’s B2B customer service approaches with the message it delivers to the market. Sales then follows through on that message. In B2B sales, a number of companies must rely upon accuracy of sales forecasts to justify the purchase of inventory. These sales forecasts come directly from a customer base that must be relied upon for being thorough and succinct in their projections.
Customers that can do no wrong, have no reason to be helpful with a vendor who must be called upon to forecast the customer’s consumption. In the customer’s mind, those products should be there at any time – after all, the customer is always right, right?
Learn about improving your team's sales forecast accuracy.
2. B2B Contractual Supply Agreements
If your company is involved in supply contracts, then you’ve likely realized that the best agreements are ones where both parties understand and respect their liabilities. In this case, it’s about having a level playing field where customers respect the conditions of the agreement, as well as your company’s efforts in making that agreement work. Now, if your customers are led to believe that they can do no wrong, then why would they ever be willing to sign, let alone respect, any of your company’s conditions within your contractual agreements?
Learn about how to run a better contractual supply agreement.
3. Service & Quality Issues
Bottom line, your company’s reputation has a value in its market. Your company’s quality and service levels define your company’s market position. These both play a pivotal role in positioning your company and securing future business. If your company capitulates on customer demands, or if it allows customers to make false and erroneous claims about your service &quality levels, then you will forever lose in the long run.
There is nothing wrong with standing up for your company’s practices and asserting your position. Now, does this mean your company should ignore those times when you’re clearly in the wrong? Absolutely not! What it does mean is that you admit your mistakes but that you’re also willing to stand firm when your company has done the right things.
B2B customer service need not be predicated on the assumption that the customer is always right. Since business to business sales transactions are far more involved, and typically involve a high dollar value per sale, then adopting a customer service approach predicated on establishing a level playing field, is always best. Customers can’t be allowed to be infallible. They can’t be allowed to make the same mistake, time and again, without any idea of the costs involved in those mistakes.
Your company isn’t servicing consumers. Your company is servicing another company and in B2B sales and marketing, partnerships are forged on an understanding of each party’s role in the relationship. This means one can not possibly always be right. This mindset will not only cost you valuable relationships, but it will also cost you market share.
To learn about how a back-end rebate program can improve customer relationships, while increasing customer retention, please read: A Reward Program That Lowers Customer Acquisition Costs & Increases Customer Retention
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