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How to move beyond a transactional seller/customer relationship in 2023
By Daren Finney, Mitel
In this era of ongoing uncertainty, business leaders are looking to address their challenges with dependable solutions that also feature maximum flexibility. This includes communication solutions their organization can rely on at any time and from anywhere – whether to connect with customers or collaborate with colleagues.
For channel partners who provide these communications solutions to customers, empowering business leaders in the year ahead will require an approach that goes beyond the traditional transactional seller/customer relationship. In 2023, channel partners will need to focus on delivering flexible and future-proof solutions through focused customer lifecycle management (CLM) efforts.
Fundamentally, CLM is about maintaining a strong, long-term relationship with the customer that goes beyond a point-in-time sale. It means having regular conversations with your customers and using a sales approach that focuses on the customer’s evolving needs. For vendors, it means supporting partners with actional data, tools, and account planning so they can drive CLM, and ultimately deliver a mix of solutions that best suit each customer’s unique needs.
Over the next twelve months, CLM will be especially important as companies look to continue their path to modernization, ensure their resources bring the most value to business goals as we face economic headwinds, and adapt to the realities of a hybrid workforce.
Continuing to Advance Hybrid Work
Hybrid work is now necessary for most companies, but few – if any – have perfected it. Issues remain around misalignment in meetings, friction points in asynchronous work, and employee concerns over work-life balance.
Whether businesses are trying to support more employees in the office or expand remote options, business leaders are looking to their solution providers for answers. This is where a commitment to a CLM philosophy is invaluable.
A CLM approach encourages partners to develop ongoing dialogues with their customers, and hybrid work is a topic most are eager to discuss. Leveraging these discussions to cultivate a deep understanding of a company’s unique structure, partners can present flexible communication solutions that align with each customer’s needs and help both the business and its employees excel regardless of where and how they work.
Supporting the Path to Modernization
Technologies that drive the modern workplace are constantly evolving. Keeping customers updated on new trends and the latest communication solutions is critical to supporting customers along their journey. In fact, according to a recent survey from Techaisle and Mitel, 73% of respondents believed modern communications solutions drive business growth.
It’s possible that customers made uniformed unified communications (UC) purchases that led to technical debt during the previous two and a half years. Customers may also remain committed to legacy systems that no longer create efficiency. Either of these situations allows partners to have open conversations with their customer base that can lead to the deployment of modernized and streamlined solutions.
For any business, an engaged customer base is highly desirable. For partners, CLM represents an authentic means not only to engage with customers but also an opportunity to solidify and grow the relationship through modernization. By helping clients identify communications solutions that promote efficiency, collaboration, and value, a partner’s CLM efforts are building a trusting relationship that will serve you both in the future.
Remaining Sensitive to Business Expenses
With the global economy expected to continue sending mixed signals, businesses will remain mindful of their expenses. Small businesses, in particular, have recently felt the strain of the current economic landscape, according to NerdWallet.
To address these concerns, channel partners engaging in CLM should provide flexibility in their solutions, enabling their customers to choose from varying subscription models, deployment schedules and the like. Presenting options that vary in price and payment method builds goodwill and trust between seller and customer. Offering customers flexibility and choice ensures they know that their channel partner is keenly aware of their current circumstances and responding with options that best meet their unique needs – both now and in the future.
In the same vein, channel partners will have to change their definition of success in 2023. The definition of “success” should also include strong, ongoing relationship maintenance rather than simply another completed sale. If a customer is not financially able to upgrade to a new solution but remains aware that the channel partner is there to support their communication needs, even that gesture offers value and leads to a satisfying customer experience.
Embracing CLM is Key for 2023 and Beyond
In 2023, customers will demand solutions providers that are interested in far more than making a new sale. They will place a premium value on vendors that prioritize relationships, customer experience, and ongoing support. If channel partners embrace CLM in the new year, they’ll find a new version of success that is beneficial for sellers and customers alike.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daren Finney, Senior Vice President of Global Channels at Mitel
Daren Finney is Senior Vice President of Global Channels at Mitel with over 25 years of global sales and channel operations experience. In his role, Finney leads Mitel’s global partner organization spanning strategy, program development and administration. With his past expertise developing and executing organizational design for channel transformation, Finney has a reputation for successfully leading high-performing teams through significant business change. He was previously at Citrix, most recently serving as chief operating officer for worldwide channel. Prior to that, Finney served as Citrix’s Vice President, EMEA Partner Sales & Services. While at Citrix, he was responsible for managing all indirect routes to market while providing strong leadership and positive transformational strategies for the future of the channel. He has also served in leadership positions at Symantec, Lenovo and CA Technologies.
