The customer journey is the driving force behind any customer experience. It should be the backbone of not only marketing, but every department in the company. Each customer touchpoint should be carefully molded to ensure that the customer is surprised and delighted at every stage. The company as a whole, should be deeply entrenched in the customer journey. 

But, how do you get the process right from start to finish and ensure that the customer not only converts, but returns as a loyal, paying client? We took a look at what B2B companies are doing globally and how they have optimized their customer experience.

Automate as Much as Possible 

Automation is a great way of ensuring that all of your processes are done efficiently, swiftly and with as little human error as possible. There are tons of automation tools out there for you to make use of. And you can automate almost every aspect of your business. From eInvoicing to procurement, supply chain, HR, and many aspects of marketing, there are hundreds of online tools and platforms for you to choose from. 

What is more, most of them are incredibly affordable and easy to use. They mostly work on a subscription basis, and there is usually a variety to choose from to suit your unique business needs. So, if you need, for example, custom invoices to automatically be sent to your clients, you can opt for a solution that not only fits your budget but your brand. 

Remember, the customer journey is pulled through to every aspect of your business and dealings with clients, and this includes finance and invoicing, so make it as streamlined as possible. 

Make Customer Service a Company Wide Effort 

Customer service should not be a siloed effort. It should not just be client-facing staff that are trained on effective and quality customer service. It should rather be pulled through to every part of the company. Make sure that each staff member from each department is sent on some kind of training to ensure that your customer journey is streamlined. 

Now, you might think that this is slightly unnecessary for, say, the guys in the dev department who are working on your site. But consider for a moment what your first point of contact usually is with a client. It is usually through your website. So, not only do they have to consider the full UX design of the site, they need to optimize each point that they would be in contact with your brand. 

Take, for example, chatbots which usually appear on most landing pages of your site. It is up to the development team to create interactive, helpful, and efficient points of contact that your clients can effectively use. So, training your developers on customer service and its intricacies of it can ensure that these small elements are carefully designed to optimize the customer experience. 

Heighten Communication With your Clients 

While we are on the topic of chatbots, when was the last time you audited your contact points? The fact of the matter is that every single client prefers different forms of communication and contact. While some prefer phone calls and direct contact with a person, others prefer getting questions and troubleshooting done with instant messaging. 

Make sure you are offering your clients a variety of ways to engage with you about a wide variety of issues. From social media, to chatbots on landing pages for real-time query solving, and access to an account manager, the more you can offer, the more streamlined the customer journey.

Keep communication transparent and honest at all times. Allow them to choose what communication they receive from you and provide them with regular opportunities to provide you with feedback. Remember, the more feedback you get from your clients, the more you can streamline your services and offerings.

Test, Measure, Monitor and Track Everything 

How do you know what you are succeeding at without the right data and metrics? If you are not receiving feedback from your clients, how do you know if the products or services are what they want? Or how would you know what they need for continued patronage?

The rule of thumb is to measure everything. From the traffic going to your site, how it behaves and where it drops off and converts, to the success of your social media campaigns. Gather metrics from various sources to be able to understand which campaigns were successful, what your clients responded well to, and what was a flop. 

Google Analytics allows you to track the traffic on your site and understand how it behaves. Your social platforms and mailing tools provide you with relevant metrics too about the success of your campaigns. But there are a plethora of other tools that allow you to track everything. 

The Bottom Line 

Customer service is a company-wide initiative. Train up your entire staff complement regularly and make sure that you have the right information coming to you at all times. The customer journey is your answer to great customer experience.