It’s very rare – dare we say, impossible – to have a relationship with your client that is completely free of challenges. At different junctures of your relationship, you’ll definitely find that your customer needs something that you’re not offering them at the moment. While such situations can make it tricky to retain customers; you want to be addressing customer pain points rather than have a pain-free relationship.
The truth is if your customers don’t ever display/express their pain points, suffice it to say your relationship is stagnating. And that’s never good for your business.
It is when you address your customers’ pain points, that can convert them from one-off buyers to long-term patrons. In the B2B setting, pain points management can nurture really lucrative and long-lasting relationships with your corporate customers.
Common B2B Customer Pain Points
Well, now you know what pain points your B2B customers have and how they can impact you. It’s safe to say that you need to identify these pain points quickly before they become unfixable.
But how do you identify these pain points in the first place? How do you know what issue a specific customer is facing right at this moment?
Top Ways of Narrowing Down on Your Customer Pain Points
1. Read Reviews They’ve Left About Your Company
B2B Customer reviews can give a great deal of information about what a customer has experienced with your brand. These reviews may contain complaints or information about what your customers may have been dissatisfied with.
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You can track the reviews to see if this is a one-off complaint or a common experience most customers have had with your brand.
2. Track Their Purchase History With You
Your CRM technology will definitely have a record of the purchase history you have with each customer. The CRM may also contain information about the points of contact and engagement your customers regularly use to engage with your brand.
You can track and study these CRM reports to understand whether there have been any changes in customer behavior and try to repair your relationship with your customer.
3. Monitor Their Intent Signals
Intent signals refer to actions customers take when they have any intention of doing something. This could be searching for blog posts on a topic related to a product/service, browsing through your brand’s FAQ section, applying for a demo call or sample trial, etc.
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Your sales team will definitely have updated the CRM system with this information. Tracking what these intent signals look like can give you a fair idea of what information your customers are looking for. It can tell you what pain points they may have.
4. Send Out Emails With Satisfaction Surveys
Email marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool for understanding customer pain points. Companies like Amazon send out satisfaction surveys to understand the customer experience, needs, and challenges right after purchase.
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If it’s a post-purchase survey, this is associated with the online invoice sent to customers. Since the buying experience will be fresh in the minds of your B2B customers, it’s a great time to find out what pain points they have.
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But, such satisfaction surveys can be sent out at any stage of the B2B sales cycle. You can use these surveys to find out if, for example, your customers are happy with the blog content or billing system you have provided them. That way, you’ll know where to direct your attention.
5. Invite Information With Incentivized Engagements
What if your customers don’t respond to your emails asking for feedback? In that case, incentivized engagements are a great way to get your customers to actively let you know what the matter is.
So, you can send them emailers soliciting their experience and needs while offering a benefit in return. For example, for filling in and submitting the survey or questionnaire, they get a coupon for 10% off their next order. Or they get a free maintenance service which they can avail of by using a code during checkout.
There are many B2B customers who would love to avail of such a facility. It’s a win-win situation for both of you.
6. Check Search Engine Queries
Search engine queries are a great place to get to know customer pain points. What customers search for online can tell you where you need to be focusing on.
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So, for example, if the most popular search query is, “How to integrate Zoom with my website”, you know that people are interested in addressing technical challenges during website set-up and design.
If you offer hosting and design services to B2B companies, then this search query will help you address this pain point that many of your customers may have.
7. Ask Customer Service Teams to Share Their Reports and Findings
Your customer service team will have everything from call logs to customer emails that can indicate where a pain point may exist. These reports and logs can be a great knowledge resource that you can get through to understand what customers may be looking for.
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Sometimes, your customers may not feel comfortable telling the salesperson or account manager they work with every day of the problems they face. But they may be more comfortable speaking to a customer service rep who they don’t work with closely.
8. Just Ask Your B2B Customers Directly During Routine Sales Calls
Finally, the best way to find your B2B customers’ pain points is to just ask them how you can help them better. Asking if things are going alright or if your product/service needs a modification can make your customers feel cared for.
Plus, when you initiate the conversation, your customers may feel emboldened and more likely to let you know how they feel and disclose their pain points.
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You can store all of the information you receive on your sales calls in your company’s CRM. That way, all members of your sales and customer service team will know how to mindfully manage the customers’ brand experience.
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