Sooraj Balakrishnan is currently functioning as Head of Marketing at Acer India. In the current role, he is responsible for the entire product portfolio across PCs, tablets, monitors, projects, and smart IoT devices under consumer and enterprise segments. He oversees responsibilities to drive brand preference, customer acquisitions, product marketing, and strategic alliances. He also leads all GTM marketing efforts for the brand across e-commerce, LFR, and channel for impact and product positioning. He has been a marketing professional with over 10+ years of experience in managing large brands, creating brands and alliances, enabling sales and growth of the business.
The customer is the centre of every business. Since the pandemic digitization and has led to the growth of new channels, customers demand personalised, interactive brand engagements. Expectations build pressure on the front office, the communication line between the customer and company, marketing, sales and the servicing teams. The front office functioning can help gain, connect and sustain customers for a company.
Attracting and keeping loyal and profitable customers
Businesses, to ensure long-term growth, not only have to attract new consumers, but they also need to retain existing, paying customers. With customers increasingly engaging with brands through online platforms and on mobile, businesses should optimise their online platforms for quick and effective user experience across devices.
Delivering seamless, rich end-to-end customer experience
A seamless customer experience creates a major impact on a company’s reputation. Accessible and intuitive user experience leads to greater customer satisfaction. It makes customers feel valued and a priority to a company. Several companies experience high customer churn due to poor customer engagement and a lack of connect. Speed, convenience, consistency, friendliness and human touch is what companies need, to create better customer experiences.
Customer and sales management using Technology
In today’s time, most sales companies use some form of customer relationship management system (CRM). It provides clear visibility into sales prospects and permits sales managers to pursue leads as they proceed through the pipeline. This allows a company to save hours of manual work like data entry. In a single glance, one can see what set of communication the company has had with who and what the next approach is.
Mobile technology has changed many facets of the sales process, for company and consumers alike. There is research which shows 93% of customers use their mobile phones to explore products and services which will end up in a purchase. Mobile phones provide instant access to products and services increase the effectiveness of the sales idea producing higher closing rates and enhanced customer experience.
Social media has changed the rules of marketing and customer expectations. Data is always important in the sales process and social media has made it easier to gain access to customer data while automation tools can provide the analysis of such data focusing on data-driven deals. It companies to develop long-lasting relationships and it is possible if the companies invest time in researching, creating and sharing engaging content.
Creating new business models & digital channels like e-commerce
Being able to customise your customer experience is a blessing for every company. Now more than before, companies can own their customer relationships. Digital platforms are encouraging brands to open new platforms and expand the customer reach there by driving increased revenue streams, increase profits, and financial performance. Capitalizing on today’s digital tools and platforms to create a D2C capability can deliver an array of benefits across financial, operational and market dimensions like revenue growth, improved profit margins, expanded market reach, reduced capital expenditures, improved customer data, improved customer relationships and comprehensive product assortment.
Building effectiveness and efficiency in sales, Marketing and after-market spends
In marketing, efficiency might involve rising conversion rates whilst reducing the costs of acquisition, whereas effectiveness involves supporting a wider array of marketing objectives while providing for the greater good and return of interest of the organization. Instead of worrying about hitting the right balance, the emphasis should be on measuring each correctly to reach larger marketing goals. For instance, efficiency may be measured in conversion rates and cost per lead, while effectiveness can be seen in closed opportunities and return on spending.
In summation, a company’s growth and transformation revolve around its capability to obtain, manage and retain customers, and offer them experiences that urge them to proactively recommend services/products to others. The pandemic has pushed companies to focus on customer engagement to build brand loyalty. The adoption of digital tools can benefit brands to connect and engage with their customers better. And this enhanced engagement will lead to understanding and predicting customer needs better, thereby creating stronger customer connect.