Most people evaluate businesses before striking a relationship with them, but how many businesses actually score customers?
Scoring customers or evaluating them on what they bring to the business is important. Why? You can’t assume you know your prospects and customers – there are far too many flavors. Organizations are learning the hard way it doesn’t pay off to lump people together in large categories and blast out communications. Your prospects are too savvy to be fooled by these tactics. Get to know more about the individual person – what he or she expects, likes, is turned off by, and his or her engagement habits.
Evaluating your candidates on both sides of the buying cycle is essential, but the value in gaining a 360-degree view of your current customers is underrated. The customer is your most valuable asset. Your customers are responsible for the success of your business – if you truly understand how to engage them, they will bring in renewal and upsell dollars that are far more reliable and valuable to your business than counting on an influx of new business every quarter.
On the other hand, some customers are more trouble than they’re worth. Bargain hunters invariably demand the moon for next to nothing and needy clients consume hours of your organization’s time and resources without contributing to relationship. Scoring customers allows your business to identify the ideal fit customer and invest more on those who provide maximum returns. Remember: knowing who to say no to is just as important, if not more, as knowing who to say yes to.
This seems to make sense, right? Now, how do you actually score your customers? It depends on your business. Automated solutions now track customer activity without limitations, assign scores to each activity, and weigh scores relative to the importance of the activity to the organization. Identify the most valuable profile attributes that characterize your ideal fit while defining the most engaging actions a person can take with your brand. Is your definition of engaging the ideal prospect a face-to-face meeting with the CEOs of the world? Articulate it and let your marketing automation platform of choice capture it.
At the end of the day, though, technology plus people is the true recipe for success. Utilize your scoring system to personalize interactions and drive relationships forward. No one wants to be treated like a number – so, let these numbers tell a story. But, don’t stop there. Let these numbers help you write the next chapter.
