Our industry works hard to build, improve and provide customer-initiated systems for ordering and replenishing products, as well as easy access to transaction records and history. As the number of Amazon-like services increase, I am increasingly concerned about how well animal health companies understand the dynamics of de-personalizing the day-to-day transactional business on which we all depend.
A recent story from Gallup’s Business Journal underscores some of my own concerns and puts measurement into the mix. While the focus is on the recent Black Friday/Cyber Monday consumer experience there are important references in this short article. Writers Julie Lamski and Amy Adkins note two critical points.
- Engaged customers have an emotional connection with a company or brand.
- Companies must emphasize service and provide customers with access to employees.
Source: Gallup Business Journal, December 9, 2015.
Customers have limited tolerance for companies’ online blunders. Online shopping is often devoid of any person-to-person contact, making it more difficult for companies to forge emotional relationships with their customers. This scenario means they must try even harder to perfect their online presence and ensure that customers have engaged user experiences.
It can be hard to differentiate between business-to-consumer and business-to-business behaviors in animal health. Often a buyer is just a buyer. To me, this article emphasizes the importance of basic customer interaction and engagement. It also means that when a customer does connect to a service or salesperson, they will be better informed as a result of their online efforts. They’ll likely be looking for clarification or comparison information. Our sales teams inside and outside must be prepared to service these customers, many of whom will likely have less patience than those that routinely call-in or meet in-person.
Additionally, representatives whose customers use web services will find value when they regularly review the last 60 to 90 days of purchases against annual purchases, as well as the order frequency in key SKUs. Customers who engage at this level with their distributors and manufactures will find efficiencies and savings by optimizing replenishment cycles, eliminating duplications and finding value in some promotions.