Vendors fail to shoot fish in barrel by not replying to customer questions

Chart of the Day: Work-related customers are rarely having their questions answered

84% of B2B customers don’t expect to hear back from companies when they have a purchase-related question.

Not a third. Not half. 84%.

This research has been revealed by intelligent appointment scheduling company TimeTrade, who polled B2B buyers about the purchases they make for work. When asked how frequently they don’t hear back from a company after asking a purchase-related question, 59% replied “frequently” and 25% said it was “all the time”.

It’s ludicrous that companies are so often missing a golden opportunity to communicate with prospects who are likely close to converting. Your sales teams can spend weeks or months nurturing leads until they convert, so why not give that same attention to the people actively getting in touch with you?

Defining your lead generation strategies and nurturing prospects through the purchase funnel are both important but shouldn’t come at the expense of responding to customers who find you organically. The research suggests that companies may also become complacent once they’ve already secured a sale, as the response rates of customers’ post-sale questions were only marginally better.

Every time a customer gets in touch with you with a question, you can bet that 10 other people have had the same query and settled for another product instead. Invest in answering the questions you receive as quickly as possible and if you find common problems between customers, create a list of them and brainstorm solutions you could implement so that prospects can always find the information they need.

Imagine the scenario: a prospect has taken notice of your media presence and they’ve heard a positive endorsement from one of their former colleagues. They’re now researching your products and think they’ve found what’s perfect for them. They need one final piece of information to decide on their purchase and try to ask you a question.

I’m not a salesman, but I know an opportunity when I see one.

• Source: Time Trade, via marketing charts
• Sample: 301 B2B buyers (varied functions, industries, and company sizes)
• Recommended resource: Online customer acquisition plan guide