Читать книгу The B2B Executive Playbook - Sean Geehan - Страница 14

Bonds are formed whenever people come together for a common purpose, and programs designed to engage executive customers are no exception. In fact, these B2B programs are the best and most consistent way to develop strong bonds with key accounts. They lead to increases in account retention and penetration, and they create a pool of references that is a powerful tool for winning new accounts.

The sales benefits are by-products of well-developed executive customer relationships. When a B2B company fully engages an executive customer, the customer becomes invested in the seller’s future; he or she begins to care about the seller and wants to see it do well in the marketplace. It is analogous to a new recruit in the military. As boot camp progresses, the recruit begins to internalize a larger mission—to protect his or her country and the members of the unit. Often this bond becomes so strong that a lifelong connection is formed. The same basic dynamic comes into play in executive customers programs. It is just human nature.

Executive customers can become passionate advocates of B2B sellers, both within their home organizations and the markets at large. “Even in the accounts where we aren’t performing great,” says Oracle’s Dasteel, “when executive customers participate in our engagement programs, they continue to buy, buy more, and even help us convert prospects to customers.”

This isn’t just talk. As you might expect, a high-tech company like Oracle has quantified the returns of their executive customer programs. A review of their top 400 accounts showed significant differences between customers involved in relationship programs and those who are not (see Exhibit 3-1). Oracle hasn’t shared the numbers, but we know that each percentage point of improvement equates to increases in revenue growth and profitability. And much of this growth is in existing accounts, where margins are almost always higher because they incur lower sales and on-boarding costs.

Exhibit 3-1: Oracle’s Return on Customer Executive Programs

Our own research, conducted in more than 70 client companies, reveals substantially higher percentages across industries. For instance, we found the percentage of decision-maker customers “willing to recommend” increased by more than 270 percent when they participate in an executive engagement program (see Exhibit 3-2).

Exhibit 3-2: Results of Executive Customer Programs: Geehan Group Clients

Anecdotal evidence also supports these figures:

 At Intesource, the growth in accounts that participated in executive customer programs rose 100 percent in a two-year period. Referrals also rose: one customer referred and helped secure three new customers in a six-month timeframe, a substantial number in a company that had 30 customers.

 At HCL Technologies, executive customer programs contributed to a customer retention rate above 94 percent. More than 70 percent of sales growth over a four-year period came from existing customers who were involved in these programs. Since the launch of HCL’s Executive Customer Council, they have not lost one of their participating customers.