MAIN INSIGHT 05
Kevin Lord
HEAD OF GLOBAL SALES
Do you believe that the pandemic changed buyer-seller relationships and if so, how does that affect customer acquisition?
I think that buyer attitudes have shifted dramatically due to the pandemic, causing a new wave of buyer-seller relationships. Now, the buyers do their own research, they have far more questions and they are considerably more cautious because the pandemic put considerable financial strain on all of us. So, buyers come to sellers–not just for products or services, but they come for information as well. As a result of this, many businesses have much longer sales cycles now.
I believe in terms of customer acquisition, it's all about being a lot more transparent, providing information, answering all the questions and being ready to ‘hold their hand’ over a longer period of time.
Given the prevalence of the digital buyer journey in today’s market, are humans still an important factor of differentiation in customer acquisition?
The role of humans is more important than ever. Even with the digital buyer journey becoming more prevalent, the reality is that people buy from people and because the buyers are more cautious than ever, you have to get on their level, understand their pain points and the impact that not solving those pain points will have on their business. But at the same time, you have to be able to make a connection with them on a personal level. If you are able to create that human connection early in the journey, you’ve won half the battle.
You have to be able to make a connection with digital buyers on a personal level. If you are able to create that human connection early in the journey, you’ve won half the battle.
I believe in targeting salespeople on an engagement score rather than revenue.
In your opinion, what are some initiatives organisations can take to improve human engagement?
I believe in targeting salespeople on an engagement score rather than revenue. Like I mentioned, sales cycles are becoming longer so it's all about creating long term value and building relationships. Engagement scoring is based on improving the engagement that customers have with an organisation: answering their emails or telephone calls, opening up their content, coming to their events and talking about them on social media. This is what builds those relationships and makes the customer stay.
Another thing I believe is extremely important is utilising videos when engaging with customers. Hopefully, you already know a lot about a customer before they even enter your sales funnel, so instead of sending a copy-paste email, record videos that are unique to the person receiving it. This personal approach shows them that you’re not just selling a product, you’re selling a partnership.
Chaser helps businesses get paid sooner with its all-in-one accounts receivables automation platform, debt collections and outsourced credit control services. Users can credit check, monitor debtors, chase late invoices via SMS and email, collect payments, recover debt and reconcile accounts, all in the same platform. By sending automatic and deeply personalised payment reminders, the software and service provider effectively gets invoices paid on time without losing the human touch. To date, Chaser has helped users chase over USD 30 billion in overdue invoices.
