This is not a lame attempt to grab a headline. The point being that if companies want to make positive changes to win more customers they can no longer look at sales in isolation. Would Customer Experience Transformation be a more appropriate term, or Buyer-centric Initiative? They might not roll off the tongue, but they do better reflect how we get to the desired outcome.
The reason we’re questioning the Sales Transformation descriptor is that the process actually involves a major organisational change. A successful transformation is a true collaborative effort embracing different departments across an entire company – from R&D, HR and IT, to sales, marketing and customer relations. Yes, one of the aims is to turn around sales. But this goal can only be achieved if the company aligns its culture, practices and processes to the customer journey.
We know that organisations today operate in the age of the customer, not the age of the seller. Which is why the ‘Customer Experience’ is the driving force behind the most forward-thinking corporate change programmes. Modern multichannel customers have the same high expectations whether buying b2b or b2c. Any disconnect between those expectations and the way a company goes to market presents a strong case for the organisation to carry out a so-called Sales Transformation. Business leaders often ask ‘how do you know when you need a Sales Transformation’ and assessing whether there is a misalignment with the buyer’s journey has become the first critical identifier.
Whatever name we give to a transformation programme, it doesn’t alter the priorities companies need to focus on to make it a success. The latest statistics from CSO Insights show that the highest performing organisations have the tightest alignment between the customer’s path and their selling processes. So if an organisation has reached the decision to implement an improvement programme, a customer-centric strategy will increase their chances of success.
Transformation Assessment
Before a strategy is drawn up, companies need to evaluate how they fare on the scale of customer centricity. Is the current culture too sales, service or process-centric? Are they aligned to the customer’s path? Do their sales teams provide insight and perspective to customers? This is the first crucial step for any organisation, assessing where they are today will create a clearer plan in both the short and long term.
Segmentation Exercise
It might be a tried and tested technique but customer segmentation is a vital tool to quantify the relationship between the buyer and the business. During the initial planning stages of a transformation, it allows the company to identify the different customer groups and how they specifically interact with them. Segmentation will help the organisation to create personas based on the patterns that differentiate their customers.
Dual Vision
The customer analysis will form a fundamental part of the vision. But what is key here is to create both an internal and external vision. Every business going through a transformation needs to have aspirations for its people, as well as its customers. How they want their people to develop is an important consideration, alongside determining how they want their customers to feel. While the primary goal is to improve business results and financial performance, the vision for transformation must also paint a compelling story internally to engage employees and get their buy-in.
The how and now
So the strategy needs to be executed and for the execution you only need one thing. People. Driving change deep into the organisation starts at the top, with management committed to the cause and taking actions that role model the defined strategy. Transforming the culture and mind-set takes several years and relies on upskilling people to sustain the continuous improvement necessary. This is where formal and dynamic coaching is crucial. Teams need to be equipped with the right behaviours and strategies to engage more buyers and provide those exceptional customer experiences.
There are so many critical elements that need to come together to make a transformation successful. It’s little surprise that putting a name to it has become increasingly complicated. We asked the question should the term Sales Transformation be redefined? But rather than pose the question maybe we should focus on how we achieve the end results. And the answer to that is simple. Perfect the customer experience.