Win Loss Analysis Best Practice Series: Seven Marketing Best Practices to Increase Competitive Win Rates
No matter which industry you’re in, sales evaluations play a major part in your company’s success. While product features and functionality are usually the most important aspects in an evaluation, buyers still consider company reputation, service and support, and future direction in the final decision.
Here are seven best practices you can apply to increase competitive win rates for your company.
Increase Competitive Win Rates
1. Highlight and demonstrate your company’s deep expertise in the customer or prospect’s industry.
Because experience in the client’s industry is critical to buyers from an overall company perspective. Make sure you’re well aligned in the opportunities you’re pursuing in terms of your company’s background and expertise.
2. Vet customer references.
Ensuring that your company has solid customer references will help to assuage any concerns customers may have about your experience in and commitment to their industry. Look for promoters who can help to evangelize your company and the strategic direction in which it’s heading. Case studies, user conferences, co-webinars, and joint customer-vendor presentations at industry events will help to showcase your most successful customer accounts.
3. Share future direction.
It’s important to share product road maps, strategic vision documents, long-term planning, and other evidence of your organization’s future direction with your customers and prospects. Ask recipients to sign non-disclosure agreements if necessary but make sure your customer base is excited about the strategic direction in which you’re headed.
4. Improve service and support.
Understanding what changes need to be made to offer customers outstanding service and support will help make your company stand out in the eyes of your customers. Leading organizations target improvements in customer experience as a competitive differentiator to ensure their customers stay loyal over the long term and don’t defect to competing vendors.
B2B Vendor Success eBook
Since company perception does affect a buyer’s purchase decision, the B2B Vendor Success industry report details the key factors buyers consider when evaluating vendors. This Industry Insights eBook highlights three key findings in how winning and losing vendors are perceived by their buyers as well as important recommendations for leveraging this buying criteria.
5. Understand ratings for your firm and vertical.
Make sure you understand the ratings for your company specifically, as well as your industry overall. How are buyers judging you in terms of your industry expertise, in terms of your customer references?
Also understand what’s important to buyers in your industry and how your industry is doing overall in terms of company-based attributes.
6. Leverage areas of strength; correct areas of weakness.
Look for areas of strength you can leverage, along with areas of weakness you can correct. If you know you have weak customer references, look for new accounts you can solicit as references. If you know you’ve got a solid reputation or that you consistently deliver what your sales team sold, advertise that as a key selling point.
7. Look for best practices in other industries.
Go beyond your own industry to seek out best practices that you can adopt from a company-attribute standpoint. Unlike the solution capabilities, most company-related attributes are the same, making cross-industry comparisons easy and straightforward.
