![\"an](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/Act-Helpful-Sales-Marketing-and-Customer-Experience-Hacks-02.png\")
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Did you know 758, 168 <\/a><\/span>new businesses were formed in the UK\u00a0 in 2021-2022?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This means your <\/span>small business<\/span> will likely face stiff competition. How do you overcome it?<\/span><\/p>\n Better customer experience<\/span> (CX).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A top-notch purchase experience helps you build a strong <\/span>customer base<\/span> or community of <\/span>loyal customers<\/span> who will make repeat purchases. It can even help you <\/span>attract <\/span>new customers<\/span><\/a> through <\/span>referrals<\/span> or <\/span>word of mouth<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n But how do you improve <\/span>customer journeys<\/span> and convert leads to repeat customers as a <\/span>small business owner<\/span>? Adopting an integrated approach to <\/span>customer experience<\/span>, marketing, and sales is key. Here are a few tips to help you get started.<\/span><\/p>\n You likely spend a lot of time generating leads and following up with them. New leads are integral to a high-performing sales pipeline.<\/span><\/p>\n But as a <\/span>small business owner<\/span>, you may not have the resources to nurture every lead that enters your pipeline. Case in point\u2014<\/span>70 percent of SME owners<\/span><\/a> report handling all their sales and marketing operations themselves, meaning they don’t have a dedicated team and are lacking in meaningful <\/span>customer experience<\/span> metrics<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s wiser to use a <\/span>customer relationship<\/span> management (<\/span>CRM<\/span>) platform that lets you score and qualify leads. Modern <\/span>CRM<\/span> solutions<\/span><\/a> analyze each lead’s likelihood of <\/span>conversion<\/span> and assign a score. That, in turn, can help business owners (and their sales teams) focus their <\/span>follow-up<\/span> and nurturing efforts. This also ensures that no leads slip out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Understanding your <\/span>target audience<\/span>‘s <\/span>pain points<\/span><\/a>, preferences, and behaviour is one of the most widely mentioned marketing tips for <\/span>entrepreneurs<\/span>. But having a broad overview of your <\/span>potential customers<\/span> isn’t enough. The last thing you want is to drive them away with generalised messaging and promotions.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead, you must divide your <\/span>target audience<\/span> into segments based on purchase history, location, online activity, and more. A robust <\/span>CRM<\/span> solution can come in handy here, providing an in-depth glimpse into every customer’s behaviour, background, and preferences. This makes it easier to divide them into segments.<\/span><\/p>\n Outline detailed buyer personas for each group, complete with a name, age, occupation, likes, dislikes, interests, and other qualifiers. It’ll help you tailor your messaging to each segment and, ultimately, improve CX.<\/span><\/p>\n According to a recent survey, <\/span>62 percent of consumers<\/span><\/a> say a brand will lose their loyalty if it delivers a non-personalised purchase experience. Another <\/span>report by PwC<\/span><\/a> revealed that 61 percent of <\/span>customer loyalty<\/span> executives ranked personalising the <\/span>customer experience<\/span> as a top priority.<\/span><\/p>\n How is that relevant for marketing for <\/span>small business owners<\/span>?<\/span><\/p>\n You can’t expect to drive <\/span>conversions<\/span> and skyrocket <\/span>customer retention<\/span> with a one-size-fits-all <\/span>marketing strategy<\/span>. Instead, you must personalise the <\/span>customer experience<\/span> at every <\/span>touchpoint<\/span>, from the first <\/span>follow-up<\/span> call to the order confirmation email.<\/span><\/p>\n The good news?<\/span><\/p>\n You’re already on the right track if you’ve divided your <\/span>target audience<\/span> into segments. The next step is to use <\/span>marketing <\/span>automation<\/span><\/a> tools to deliver personalised content, product recommendations, and promotional offers to each segment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>CRM<\/span> platform like <\/span>Act!<\/span><\/a>, which features built-in <\/span>automation<\/span> capabilities, can come in handy here. With Act!, you can tweak your communication for different buyer personas at every sales funnel stage.<\/span><\/p>\n Let’s say a lead opens your weekly newsletter and clicks on a button that leads to your upcoming webinar, but they don’t register. You can use <\/span>automation<\/span> software to send a personalised reminder, urging them to sign up for the webinar.<\/span><\/p>\n If there’s one <\/span>customer experience<\/span> tip you must follow, it’s this: Use automated email campaigns to personalise <\/span>customer journeys<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a business owner, you’re already aware of the benefits of <\/span>email marketing<\/span><\/a>. Nevertheless, many email campaigns fail to hit the right note with consumers. That’s because they look like cookie-cutter emails sent to hundreds (if not thousands) of other prospects. And adding the recipient’s name in the subject line or body copy no longer screams “personalised.”<\/span><\/p>\n Relying on generic email campaigns is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead, you must use automated email workflows to create personalized <\/span>customer journeys<\/span>. An <\/span>integrated <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/a> and marketing <\/span>automation<\/span> solution can help you implement such campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n For instance, you can set up response-based campaigns that trigger specific emails based on how a recipient interacted with previous emails. Alternatively, you can build drip email campaigns that automatically send personalised <\/span>follow-up<\/span> emails and reminders to nurture leads. It’s an excellent way to tailor the <\/span>customer journey<\/span> to individual buyer segments.<\/span><\/p>\n Consumers typically go through various <\/span>touchpoints<\/span>, such as <\/span>social media<\/span> platforms, <\/span>chatbots<\/span>, emails, and sales calls, before purchasing. In fact, more than <\/span>50 percent of customers<\/span><\/a> use about three to five channels before purchasing, emphasising the importance of a multi-channel <\/span>digital marketing strategy<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Start by identifying the communication channels each customer segment frequently uses. Next, find out when they’re most likely to use these channels. This will give you an idea of the scope and timing of your <\/span>marketing campaigns<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, it’s time to start creating and delivering high-quality and <\/span>valuable content<\/span><\/a> through each channel. Make sure you tailor the content to fit each platform and customer and maintain a consistent brand identity. Depending on your target demographic, you can also use other channels like SMS, push notifications, and instant messaging apps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Six in ten business owners<\/span><\/a> will move on after 48 hours if their onboarding issue isn’t resolved. In other words, converting leads into customers isn’t enough. You also need a <\/span>customer success<\/span> strategy. And that emphasises the importance of proactive and timely support.<\/span><\/p>\n Provide <\/span>omnichannel<\/span> customer support<\/span> with <\/span>chatbots<\/span>, <\/span>FAQs<\/span>, knowledge base articles, emails, and phone calls. Using a ticketing system to address and resolve customer queries can also help improve the post-purchase experience.<\/span><\/p>\n Speed up query resolution by ensuring <\/span>customer support teams<\/span> can readily access customer data. A <\/span>CRM<\/span> platform can be helpful here, providing your reps with up-to-date information on a customer, including their purchase and service history. This saves customers the hassle of repeating their queries and other details whenever they talk to a new rep. The result? Better <\/span>customer satisfaction<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n You’ll invest plenty of resources in automated email workflows and multi-channel campaigns to attract and retain customers. But are these investments helping you improve <\/span>conversion rates<\/span> and <\/span>customer loyalty<\/span>?<\/span><\/p>\n Use your <\/span>CRM<\/span> system to monitor your sales processes, <\/span>marketing campaigns<\/span>, and <\/span>customer support<\/span> channels. It’ll give you an overview of gaps in the sales funnel that are causing leads to churn. Similarly, you can identify bottlenecks that prevent repeat purchases.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/CO-1-2.png\")
<\/p>\nChase the right leads<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/Helpful-Sales-Marketing-and-Customer-Experience-Hacks-CO-2.png\")
<\/p>\nDefine concrete buyer personas<\/span><\/h2>\n
Prioritise personalisation<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/Helpful-Sales-Marketing-and-Customer-Experience-Hacks-CO-4.png\")
<\/p>\nImplement automated email campaigns<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"an](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/Email-Marketing.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/Helpful-Sales-Marketing-and-Customer-Experience-Hacks-CO-5.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFocus on multi-channel marketing<\/span><\/h2>\n
Deliver top-notch customer support<\/span><\/h2>\n
Track and measure<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"an](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/Reporting-Illustration.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/dev-inproduct.pantheonsite.io\/uploads\/Helpful-Sales-Marketing-and-Customer-Experience-Hacks-CO-6.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIntegrate sales, marketing, and customer service<\/span><\/h2>\n