Before we begin to establish some parameters to follow with respect to B2B customer service, it is important to make a clarification to understand this article: a client company is still a client, so it still requires effective communication and customer service.

Of course, the scale changes, as well some guidelines in terms of contracting and monitoring. But, in essence, a company and an ordinary user are very similar, under these customer conditions. That’s why in this article we’re going to teach you how to improve customer service for a B2B company.

How is B2B customer service characterized?

Having clearly established that both a company and a user are customers, it is time to differentiate between them. Although they share common characteristics, there are considerable distances in terms of the treatment and interests of each target.

In the case of B2B communication where you address a company, it is crucial to be clear about these aspects that will help you in your subsequent trades:

The emotional connection does not exist, the data prevails.

When a company makes a purchase, it does so based on numbers and reports, not on compulsive purchases or purchases driven by emotions. Therefore, a client company looks for a communication that has to be concise and objective.

There is complexity in the buying process of a client company. You must establish your needs, solutions, integrations, risk factors, budgets, etc. The company that offers you the products or services you need must have a strict follow-up of the communication, leave everything written down and with analysis. This in order to understand how your client company works and how you can help.

Purchase value for the customer company

Continuing with what was said above, companies are going to make targeted purchases. In other words, they will base their decision on convenience. What will be convenient? It will be products or services that fit your business model and meet your growth needs.

Understanding this is one of the most important bases for B2B communication, since it is necessary to understand in depth how the client company works. Knowing this, all contact must be planned according to solutions that provide value, that satisfy a real need, not to create a new one or an impulse to buy.

The pricing strategy

The prices offered to a company are, in general, tailor-made. This applies to both products and services. The reason is that everything must be coupled to the characteristics of the company, it has to be a customized product, so most times it is difficult to establish a standard price.

There is also another factor that has a strong influence: wholesale prices. Producing large quantities saves costs and, therefore, sales of large quantities also tend to lower the unit price. Quantity discounts should be established for companies, which also tend to make much larger purchases than a wholesaler.

The last factor is the most important and the one that definitively determines the final price: the negotiation of the price depends on factors outside the control of both companies. There are influences from the competition, financial risk factors, financial strategy, growth expectations, etc. All these aspects will be brought to the negotiation, in order for both parties to establish a price that is convenient.

One piece of advice is not to set a price without first taking all these considerations into account and bringing proposals to the negotiation. The handling of the information will be crucial in the outcome of the negotiation, in addition to the skills of the person in charge of proceeding.

How to provide good customer service for a B2B company

 

After understanding the generalities of B2B communication, applying the appropriate tools is the next step. It has to be said that all customer service staff should be able to handle them perfectly, so it would be wise to do a short training before integrating them in the company.

 

Customer service of a B2B company

How to implement WhatsApp correctly within the tools for B2B customer service

Communicating via WhatsApp is much more effective than using other methods. Mail gives more formality, it is true, but it has important limitations in terms of speed, immediate interaction and response times. In addition, the integration of WhatsApp to a company’s website provides a very accessible means of communication, which greatly facilitates B2B customer service.

A multi-agent team

A team made up of multiple agents allows for much longer service hours. And, the more people in customer service, the wider the range of service hours, without reducing quality.

WhatsApp Business by itself allows up to four people to be connected at the same time from different devices. This is far too few when it comes to medium-sized companies and upwards. Moreover, the indication is that response times are too long due to too many messages being received.

To solve this, it is necessary to implement platforms such as Callbell, which increases the limit of agents that can connect at the same time. This means that, in addition to short response times, each agent can communicate with one customer at a time, providing a much more personalized and problem-solving service.

The power of personalized attention

When one company devotes time and resources to serving another, B2B communication is actually feasible. Understanding what the client company requires and following up on it requires a significant investment of time, which can be achieved if more agents are available.

Communication within the work team

Internal communication is crucial to provide good B2B support. Callbell allows you to make notes in chats that only employees can see, so you can make brief reports so the next agent knows how to continue the conversation, without having to ask for the data again.

Several agents can be monitoring the conversation at the same time as a team offering solutions and active listening. This can be done easily with Callbell, as several people can connect at the same time to WhatsApp and the same inbox.

This also allows several employees to support each other in case of doubts when responding to the other company. If an agent does not know something, he/she can communicate it to another agent outside the chat and they will be able to replace each other without the client company noticing.

A client company manual

Having a manual of the client company implies that there is a standardized protocol of how to deal with them, what they require, what solution they are looking for, what their needs are, among other things. Again, the annotations help to know where the B2B relationship is at that moment in the buying or negotiation process.

The immediacy of the technical support with the sending of files

Accessibility gives confidence. In the event of any technical problem or doubt, the client company must be attended to as quickly as possible. Likewise, the more communication channels there are, the better. Sending large files is something that WhatsApp Business does not allow, but platforms that integrate WhatsApp in their CRM do, so its use is very important.

This gives flexibility and dynamism to the conversation, so communication and attention will be greatly improved. It also helps to improve accuracy when speaking because you are allowed to display files, instead of just describing them. And sending them, without having to resort to external options, decreases response time. Hiring a virtual assistant to handle those duties can relieve the demands of your staff members and also boost their productivity and work efficiency.

Customer service of a B2B company

Good B2B customer service translates into sales

As explained in the beginning, a company makes a purchase when it is convenient. That is why it is so relevant that the company offering a B2B solution can establish a relationship in which it clearly shows its product or service. In addition, personalized attention will allow for true active listening.

Knowing how to attend to needs promptly and effectively is key to providing reliability and letting the other company know that they have a buying option that will support them in the future, which will be a convenient business relationship. For all these reasons, it is very important to take care of all aspects of communication and understanding when providing B2B services.

Frequent Questions
How to offer a good customer service to a B2B company?
For all areas that make up a business it is extremely important to know the profile of customers, the idea is to understand how they behave, what interests they have, and valuable data such as age, location, etc.. The purpose of this is to understand perfectly what the person on the other side of the screen wants and desires and thus achieve more and better sales. Likewise, any type of tool with which the customer has contact must be personalized. The purpose is that the customer knows that you are addressing him and that you are solving that problem he has.

Additionally, it is ideal that you offer acceptable and viable solutions for your client. The idea is to solve the problems they present quickly and efficiently, this is how companies manage to gain the trust and loyalty of people with the good service they offer.

How to implement WhatsApp correctly within the tools for B2B customer service?
Communicating via WhatsApp is much more effective than using other methods. Mail gives more formality, it is true, but it has important limitations in terms of speed, immediate interaction and response times. In addition, the integration of WhatsApp to a company’s website provides a very accessible means of communication, which greatly facilitates B2B customer service.
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About the author: Hello! I am Alan and I am the marketing manager at Callbell, the first communication platform designed to help sales and support teams to collaborate and communicate with customers through direct messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and Instagram Direct