Insights: Reimagining Customer Interface

Companies have had to adapt to working from home during the current pandemic. Customers have started getting used to these adaptations – virtual meetings, webinars etc – even preferring them going forward. If companies are treating this period as a short-term adjustment and hoping they will resume face to face customer interactions as things open up more, this is not going to happen anytime soon. You are likely setting yourselves up to fail. So, the question is “How do you reimagine the customer interaction model?”

You need to be ready to implement the hybrid model for the long term. This involves:

  • Having all the digital tools ready for effective interaction & presentations to customers.
  • Developing the skills to communicate online, having seamless discussions & possibly negotiating also virtually.
  • Face to face meetings will probably be limited to essentials only from the customer’s perspective

This also presents opportunities to increase your reach to customers. Regional barriers no longer hold for this model. In fact, supplementing your current model:

  • Not only sales but also technical & senior management can participate in increasing number of customer meetings making a greater sales impact.
  • You could also set up a central team of your best salespeople who can now develop & follow a set of customers outside their region of location, supported by onsite sales person periodically.

The possibilities are immense. You just need to be prepared to accept this change and reimagine & speedily implement the new ways in order to achieve faster business growth.