The Life-Long Customer

“Every organization is going to be a little different here, but I'm really close friends with the Vice President of Operations and with the Customer Service Director, they're often traveling with me on different trips…  

A recommendation I would have for any organization is to make sure that the head of your departments are talking and that they're coordinating with each other.”

- Brad Ball, VP of Sales and Marketing, GlobalSim

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

“Get familiar with account-based marketing. It's still relatively new out there. Just in the market though, there's a lot of appetite for it, you can see it in the MarTech vendors out there and how they're moving towards that. Part of our colleagues and our funding company - they are all looking at models like that as well.

So, to me, that's the next frontier in a lot of ways. And that's, I think, a new discipline to get good at, how do you build the right tactics and campaigns to help move a group of people versus just an individual.”

- Brian Gates, SVP of Marketing, Rainfocus

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

“Really listen and ask clarifying questions to really get to the need that the customer has.

Oftentimes they'll tell you that "Oh, you know, we really need help with our website that is terrible" and then you start kind of peeling back the onion and you ask them what's terrible about it? "Well, you know, people only stay three seconds, and then they bounce or they go somewhere else". Well, is that the problem with the website or is it the positioning of the brand, or is it some other underlying issue that your value propositions aren't clear so it's difficult to find them on the website? Maybe your value proposition needs an overhaul and maybe that's where the real problem is. So you can't take anything for face value, but you got to kind of understand and probe, and this is true for everyone that's in sales or marketing.

You’ve got to understand your customer's needs because if you understand the needs and you have the solution and the cost or the price is right, then you have the business that that's the way it is in B2B. You know you don't have to convince people. You just have to show them, right?”

- Per Ohstrom, CMO, Chief Outsiders

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

“People are busy. They don't really care about me or my company. So finding ways, smart ways to insert us into their world, using a combination of thoughtful marketing and human touches, even when they don't really need you right now is so important to building a longstanding relationship. And what this hopefully results in is when they do need somebody, they turn to you when they're ready to buy. 

Don't send everybody the same content, meet people where they are on their journey. And I'm going to hit this again, the ability to do this well requires you to have an exceptional foundation of data and a deep, deep understanding of your target audience.

Your prospects and customers are so much smarter than you think, and it will really serve you to do extensive market research on your targets, and understand the assumption that your customers are doing their research too. Don't be lazy, do the work and you'll reap the reward.”

- Kristen Muckleroy, VP of Marketing, ServisBOT

 //

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

“Perseverance and grit mindset is something that I'm happy that is being talked about a little bit more. It can even go into almost mental health, too. You know this last year, for example, a lot of marketers and salespeople run really fast. Like we're always sprinting, right? And so you can get caught up in that a lot and it can take a toll. But recognizing that it's actually not a sprint. You shouldn't be sprinting all the time. It is a marathon and you have to celebrate what I would consider like mile markers, like in a marathon. Because you can just keep going and going and that's when burnout happens. And I think that's when it's hard to have that brain space to be creative too.

Take a step back and look out to see your peers, or if you're in B2C, look at B2B, what are they doing? There's a lot of creative people and companies and campaigns and outreach that you can really learn from if you take the time to learn, but you gotta be in the right mindset, and being super open to get there.

But if you're in this constant state of running a mile a minute, you got to figure out ways to reset.”

- Tara Pawlak, Head of Marketing US, GetAccept

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

One of the things that really came out of the pandemic is that consumers are looking for brands that they can trust. That is from a sales perspective too, and not just branding. So if you're in that business development role, how are you really establishing a relationship, so that your clients trust you?  Your clients need to trust what you say, the guidance that you provide them, and they need to trust the tools and technology that you implement for them and their business.

But then at a broader scale, from a branding perspective, the data further validates this concept of trust and says that people are looking for brands that they can trust.  They're making purchasing decisions around this. So how is your brand telling the story about how they're making a difference in the community and reinforcing trust? Whether that be through banking and PPP and helping small businesses, or if you're investing in minority groups and underserved populations.

Then we have the use of user-generated content. Are there influencers and other people that are trusted within your community that are talking about your product, that are talking about your service, that can further reach, engage and reinforce your brand? 

- Jody Guetter, Chief Marketing Officer, Social Assurance

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

“It just goes against what we are as human beings to not be thankful for the business that you bring us. In this day and age, where there's alternative products and alternative services for everything and 100% price transparency and feature transparency, you could buy that widget on Amazon or you could buy one of 10,000 other widgets that do the exact same thing on Amazon. Be thankful that they chose you.

Our service, Handwrytten. Yes, we're the biggest in the world, we think we're the best, but certainly there's competitors. Be thankful to your clients for them choosing you and so many people don't do that simple step. And it's insane to me, because one of the most difficult things in business is attracting new clients, so why not retain the clients you already have?

You've already gone through that. You've already marketed to them, sold them on your business. So really just retaining your existing customers through being good people and appreciative and thankful, it cannot be overstated.”

- David Wachs, Founder & CEO, Handwrytten

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

“I believe that the core of great marketing is actually anchored on understanding customer wants and needs, and then helping our company deliver value that matches those needs.

In short, I'd argue that marketing as a discipline today is a little too caught up in automation and instrumentation and not nearly focusing enough on meeting customer needs and then delivering customer value. So I would say find your internal champion.

Make them successful, deliver value, promote that value. And the rest of the marketing is all mechanics, right? There's an art and a science to marketing, but at the end of the day, it is about helping customers achieve the value and promoting that value. And then you'll find that business comes and that's been the key to our growth in over the past 24 months.”

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing

“Don't just try to sell them software, really listen to them and try to understand their pain points. What are they struggling with? How can we help you?

It's funny because we have one sales rep in particular who will have a conversation with a customer or do a discovery call and just really listen to their needs and at the end of it say "You know what, we're not a great fit for you." "I'm going to give you to my competitor." And that goes a long way.

And the reason that might sound counterintuitive is the legal industry is very niche and very small.

And what we're finding is people move companies. I think when you're honest and just forthcoming and say you know what, my solutions may be too robust or you need something like this. People are gonna respect that and honor that and then think of you the next go around.

So what we're experiencing now, just because Onit's been around 10 years is customers that have now gone to two or three other companies and since they've left are coming back to us. Because we had those kinds of conversations. To me it's about just building the long-term relationship and not just selling software.”

-Jill Black, VP of Marketing, Onit

//

To listen to more The Life-Long Customer podcast episodes, follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifelongcustomerpodcast/

Follow the host Brad Hammond https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-hammond

#thelifelongcustomerpodcast #customerjourney #marketingleadership #b2bmarketing