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Option 5: Customer support is every employee’s job

At the beginning of the decade, as the growth rate in the U.S. economy reached unsupportable levels, customer service suffered. The rapid reversal of growth into negative territory has caused companies to cut costs, which has only exacerbated the problem. In an economy where the customer is king, service is not a differentiator—it is a survival technique.

Enhancing customer satisfaction involves culture as much as process and technology. However, process and technology can help. We see the increasing usage of technologies like corporate portals that connect customers not simply to company information, but to applications that manage customer information. This trend will only increase.

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Option 4: Increase sales focus on farming

In a difficult economic climate companies will be more likely to increase the percentage of their investments on existing customer relationships. This focus on “farming” instead of “hunting” is a natural response to uncertainty. As a result, we expect cross-selling and up-selling initiatives to increase as a percentage of corporate sales expenditures. Sales managers should review existing account plans and accelerate planning and review meetings with key customers. If such plans do not exist, this is good time to adopt a formal account management process (such as Target Account Selling, Miller-Heiman or the Large Account Management Process).

The role of the sales professional has changed in most industries, as transactions continue to move to online channels. Sales personnel are increasing their focus on relationship management and support. Companies that have successfully made this transition will be well served in the current economic climate through increased customer satisfaction and a greater share of wallet from existing accounts.