Talk to many marketing automation practitioners about customer journey automation in B2B, and the first things that come to mind will be the nurture flows, cart abandonment and sales funnels. Are we missing the bigger picture?
We all know that customer retention is cheaper, and often easier than acquisition. So why do we overlook the value that automation can bring when applied to customer satisfaction and retention?
The real power in marketing automation isn’t the sales funnel, it’s the application across the customer lifecycle, unlocking long-term value from increased customer satisfaction and retention.
The sales funnel vs the customer lifecycle
The traditional sales funnel is linear, a one-way journey. And it has one single goal: conversion. The task is simple. Get the lead from awareness of your brand to a paying customer. Once the goal has been achieved, customers are often abandoned as we move on to the next lead.
The customer lifecycle on the other hand is the opposite. One continuous loop of engagement, satisfaction and retention. Shifting our focus from acquisition to retention and advocacy allows us to build deeper relationships, leading to higher long-term value. Marketing automation becomes a tool to keep the cycle running smoothly, allowing us to correct course when we veer off track.
From negative feedback to satisfaction roadmap
We should stop viewing negative feedback as complaints, and start viewing it as a satisfaction roadmap. Whilst complaints and poor reviews may not always be given in the most constructive manner, look beneath the surface to the root cause and you’ll find a wealth of information that can be used to identify customer experience improvements.
What rocks do we need to lift to identify a poor customer experience?
- Customer comments from NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys
- Transcripts from support chats, call logs or tickets
- Social media comments and direct messages
- Trends in support tickets
- Low-scoring reviews
- Anywhere you collect customer feedback
This feedback, direct from the customers mouth, gives us a clear roadmap to our operational marketing automation. It shows us exactly where the experience contains friction and where we should apply our efforts to improve the experience. Are customers often asking queries around the time of their invoices? Are there regular issues at the time of service delivery caused by a lack of communication? These pain points are your signal to implement automation.
From analysis to automation: Practical applications
Let’s put this reframing into practice. By lifting the rock on feedback, we can turn a source of frustration into a trigger for automated, high-value customer service workflows.
Scenario 1: Confusing or inconsistent onboarding
The problem: Our analysis from low NPS scores given by new customers shows a confusing, decentralised process, with no defined process in place for service portal setup and access details missing in many cases. This causes early frustration for the customer, as they are unable to self-serve. It also brings an increased workload on the support teams, as there is an increased number of support tickets raised.
The solution: Trigger an automated onboarding series to deliver tutorials, helpful tips, clear portal setup and access details, providing a clear path to get the most value from the services they have signed up to.
Scenario 2: Service overload and inefficiency.
The problem: Our support teams are overwhelmed by repetitive queries regarding payment and billing that often take place at the time of the first invoicing run. This constant workload creates a poor customer experience during a crucial transaction process. Not only that, but it also drains internal resources.
The solution: Triggered email communications, targeted to invoice and payment contacts, arriving shortly before the first invoice. This sequence can answer common queries regarding payment and billing, provide direct access to the relevant support departments, and even be used to provide access to self-service portals.
The rewards of a customer centred approach
- A better customer experience drives satisfaction
Operational automation builds trust by making your service more transparent. By using feedback to fix friction in the experience, you increase satisfaction. Over time, you will anticipate customer needs before they arise, transforming satisfied customers into brand advocates and increasing their lifetime value.
- Improved retention and profitability
With satisfaction comes retention. Proactive support, and bespoke communications make customers feel valued, leading to longer retention periods and decreased churn. This is far more profitable than the neverending cycle of customer acquisition.
- Increased efficiency
Automation and the return on investment isn’t just about the cash flow. With automated solutions in place, you free up human resources to focus on more complex, high-value customer issues that require a human element.
Ultimately, when applied well, automation is an investment in the long-term profitability of your business.
The future is human enablement
Ultimately, the goal with operational marketing automation is not to replace human interaction, but to support it. By using technology to handle the mundane, simple support requests, you can free up your experts to focus on the human, empathetic side of the customer experience, allowing them to provide the valuable customer service they have trained for.
So I leave you with some reflection: What rocks can you lift in your customer journey? What automations can you implement today to provide a smoother experience for your customers and increase the efficiency of your operational teams?
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