Are Your Clients at Risk?
It is the million-dollar question and a question isn’t it?
So as a CEO, COO, or VP of Sales, how would you answer the question?
Yes ... Some ... A few ... All of them.
In an era where it costs approximately six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one, every leader should have a fact-based, data-driven answer to the client risk question. The cold, hard truth is this: most companies rely on the salesperson’s perception of the relationship. In fact, only two companies of the 100+ companies we have surveyed can effectively answer the client risk question.
Why should you be able to answer the question? According to Bain & Company, a 5% increase in client retention can increase a company’s profitability by 25-95%.
So, I will ask you the question "Are your clients at risk?" If you are being totally honest, the short answer is ... that you don’t really know. And that is the good news. You now have awareness and have created an area of opportunity to protect your most important asset: your EXISTING CUSTOMERS.
Then how do you measure client risk? A world-class client risk analysis utilizes historical data around number and quality of relationships, ordering patterns, client share, performance versus SLAs and other key relationship data. While that may seem like too much work due to data collection and disparate systems, there is a way to start to understand client risk. Perhaps the simplest way to begin to truly understand if your clients are at risk is to utilize a Net Promoter Score Survey — the de facto standard for measuring client loyalty, satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
NPS asks one simple question: "How likely are you to recommend company XYZ to a friend or colleague?" The optional second question asks why you rated the company the way you did. If the respondent rates you ...
- 9 or 10: They are an active promoter. They are loyal and are saying positive things about you in the market place
- 7 or 8: The are a passive. Satisfied but highly susceptible to competitive threats. Nearly 80% of customers who left their current supplier rated themselves "satisfied" or "very satisfied" shortly before they defected.
- 6 or below: They are an active detractor. Unhappy and most likely speaking negatively about you within their company and the market place
These scores provide actionable insights necessary to advance the relationship with your key customer contacts. With response rates upwards of 50%, NPS is the standard for measuring customer loyalty across all industries and is the first step in understanding if your clients are at risk.
At Butler Street, we believe progressive improvement is better than postponed perfection. Take the first step in understanding client risk and improving client retention. Sign up for the Net Promoter Score today and earn your way to the Best of Print & Digital Award this year! You can learn more at www.aremyclientsloyal.com.
Butler Street, a leading management consulting, training and research firm focused on client and talent development, has formed an alliance with Printing Impressions, America’s most influential and widely read resource for the printing industry, to provide the de facto industry standard for measuring customer loyalty through its Best of Print & Digital Customer Survey.
If you are interested in understanding how Net Promoter Score and the Best of Print and Digital can help you grow your business, go to www.bestofprintanddigital.com
To take part in the 2017 Best of Print and Digital go to www.bestofprintanddigital.com.
Click here to watch the Printing Impressions interview with Mike Jacoutot, founder of Butler Street, and Mark Subers, president of Printing, Packaging and Publishing at NAPCO Media, as they discuss the new partnership program.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
With 194 percent year over year growth and a 90 Net Promoter Score, Butler Street has established itself as one of the leading consulting, training and research firms to the middle market. Before founding Butler Street, Mike Jacoutot spent the previous nine years as CEO of a national health care staffing company and most recently, a revenue cycle company. Jacoutot brings a strong combination of Lean Six Sigma process skills together with 34 years of sales and marketing experience.
Jacoutot is also the author of "Become the Only Choice." Now in its third printing, the book emphasizes a combination of consultative selling and process management techniques to enable salespeople to sell the way clients buy.
A four-time All-American collegiate wrestler, Jacoutot led The College of New Jersey wrestling team to two national championships. He culminated his senior year by winning the NCAA Division III Championship after three consecutive second place finishes. In March 2015, Jacoutot was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame. In October 2013, he was also inducted into The College of New Jersey Athletic Hall of Fame along with his 1981 NCAA Division III Championship Team. He holds a B.A. in Management.
