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    What if outstanding service is stunting your growth?

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    Everybody knows that great customer service is key to retaining and growing accounts, right? We believe this so strongly that we invest countless hours and boundless resources into developing customer success teams whose sole job is to ensure that clients are so happy that they continue to buy and increase spending.

    So what if I told you that your above-and-beyond customer service was undermining your ability to grow your accounts?

    That’s the conclusion of a recent Gartner study called “Why Accounts Aren’t Growing, and What to Do About It.

    For the study, Gartner’s researchers surveyed approximately 750 customer stakeholders and found that while high customer satisfaction correlates with customer retention, it has no meaningful impact on customer account growth.

     

    gartner_service_vs_growth_1

    I was as intrigued as anyone to read this data, but not surprised. I’ve been saying for some time that our focus on customer satisfaction doesn’t go far enough, and that account “management” is the wrong approach to growing customer accounts.

    This data reinforces for me the value of the account growth module in Membrain, and our decision to focus on growth rather than maintenance.

    But if customer service doesn’t drive account growth, then what does? Many account managers are reluctant to “sell hard” to existing accounts, for fear of losing their business. And they’re correct to be afraid.

    gartner_service_vs_growth_2

    Aggressive selling behavior correlates negatively with customer retention. So that’s clearly not the answer we’re looking for.

    But look to the left and right of the chart. On the left, as expected, excellent customer service correlates well with customer retention (even though it does not correlate to growth). And on the right, something interesting: Customer *improvement* also correlates strongly with customer retention.

    Even more interestingly, customer improvement seems to be the key to that elusive account management goal: customer growth.

    gartner_service_vs_growth_3

    These two charts alone are enough to convince me that account management teams are under-investing in customer improvement, but the Gartner report takes it even farther.

    Over-focusing on customer service does not grow revenue.

    According to the report’s authors, the problem with over-focusing on customer service is that above a certain level, customer service yields no additional revenue growth. It's a wasted investment. Instead, invest that same amount in customer improvement, and you will not only retain a customer–you will grow an account.

    But what, exactly, is “customer improvement,” and how can account managers harness it to grow their accounts?

    What is “customer improvement”

    Customer improvement is much more than simply helping customers get the most out of your product. Customer improvement means continually acting like a business consultant and helping your customers see how they could change what they’re doing to achieve even more of what they want.

    In some ways, customer improvement is the opposite of customer satisfaction. Satisfaction focuses on the current state, and helping the customer remain happy with how things already are. Customer improvement, on the other hand, is helping customers see how their current status is unsatisfactory, and motivating them to change.

    Account managers often fear that if they call a customer’s attention to what is not working or what could be better, that it will cause the customer to become unhappy with the current state, and to look elsewhere for a provider.

    But the opposite is actually true. Most customers are already interested in how to do things better, and your competitors are already encouraging them to question the value of their current status.

    When account managers become business partners, helping customers to see how they can be improving and updating the way they do things, customers are more likely to stick around–and to buy more from you.

    Customer improvement requires a mindset shift

    In most organizations, the account management mindset is one of conservation and risk mitigation. The goal is primarily to keep customers happy and get those renewals.

    Customer improvement, which in turn leads to account growth (as opposed to just management), requires account managers to think one step ahead of the customer. To be asking deeply probing questions. To help customers see what is NOT working… so that you can help them do it better.

    This requires a mindset shift from risk aversion to growth-seeking. I believe that the most successful account growth teams will be those who aggressively shift from risk avoidance (what Gartner colorfully calls the "anti-shrinkage system") to opportunity hunting. But not opportunity hunting in the traditional sales sense–rather, the focus should be on opportunities for the customer to grow and improve, and for you to grow and improve with them.

    I would love to show you how our brand new account growth module works and helps teams to achieve this mindset shift, and execute on the necessary processes to truly grow. Contact us for a demo, or sign up for a trial.

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    George Brontén
    Published November 18, 2020
    By George Brontén

    George is the founder & CEO of Membrain, the Sales Enablement CRM that makes it easy to execute your sales strategy. A life-long entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the software space and a passion for sales and marketing. With the life motto "Don't settle for mainstream", he is always looking for new ways to achieve improved business results using innovative software, skills, and processes. George is also the author of the book Stop Killing Deals and the host of the Stop Killing Deals webinar and podcast series.

    Find out more about George Brontén on LinkedIn