August 30, 2024 | Blog

It’s a business delight when customers are satisfied with your products and services. Business relationships are built. And, at some point in your customer’s buying journey, it becomes a personal relationship. Years pass, and business grows. The market is now more competitive than ever, and pursuing your niche market and courting them to say yes to your products and services becomes a game of who is the best suitor for their needs and wants.   

Also read: IT Group, Inc. Celebrates 21st Anniversary in the Tech Industry

Business relationships, like personal ones, are also hard to maintain. Most organizations, however, need to establish a long-lasting relationship with their customers. Some are short and not sweet. Others only stayed, settling at best. Others are toxic, where customers experience a traumatic journey, leaving a bitter-sweet taste on the company’s customer satisfaction. The case shouldn’t always be the same. Whether you’re a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-customer (B2C) organization, your company should always protect and nurture customer relationships in whatever stages your buyers are currently in.

 Aftercare Sales Build a Strong Customer Service Relationship

1. 1. Why Invest in Aftercare Sales?

   2. Holistic Brand Awareness

   3. Customer Satisfaction

   4. Earn Loyalty and Steady Growth

   5. Customer Relationship by Venturing Together

Why Invest in Aftercare Sales?

When engaging with customers, the main goal is always to drive sales in the company. Hard, direct, cold, and aggressive. Shoot your shot. Lock on to your go-to-market and let those who will buy–buy. In retrospect, it gives a straightforward and transactional approach. Nothing but a “no-string-attach” experience. Plain and simple. You give what they need; you get what you need in return. Building a great customer experience lies at a secure and steady pace. Although some customers prefer no attachment, just direct business, others prefer genuine commitment toward customer engagement, especially if your goal is to create a solid and long-lasting relationship. One of which is aftercare sales.

Also read: ITG Story: Meet Our Unsung Heroes and Know Their Inspiring Stories

According to the report of McKinsey and Company, there is a market for aftercare sales. “We have found that aftermarket services are an execution game. It does not require a new strategy or a dedicated business function. Companies that improve their sales force effectiveness—by understanding their customers’ relative propensity to buy services—will win,” they said.  Aftercare sales are part of a holistic marketing and customer management approach; thus, the impact of it will last longer than any big sales you’ll ever make.

Holistic Brand Awareness

The business game is no longer about products and services. It’s about the product and services, the whole buyer’s journey, and the customer experience from beginning to end. What many businesses don’t know or take for granted after getting the sales is the continued support customers yearn for. Aftercare sales do that. It builds reassurance and creates genuine trust. A trust that says,” We are not after your money; we’re here to help you.” It is a holistic way of building brand awareness of who you are as a company and what name you want to develop for your business in the long run.

In the tech industry, where new creations of software and tech often come and go, the only reliable thing to depend on is a company you can trust through thick and thin, like the leading IT Solution Partner in the Philippines and ASEAN region: IT Group, Inc. (ITG). As a company that provides digital transformation, ITG has over 20 years of expertise in providing services for digital transformation, business consulting, service delivery, certification and training, subscriptions, and licenses.

Customer Satisfaction

With ITG’s renowned tech partners over the years, ITG has built its name through trust and excellent work. Aftecare sales is one of many facets where ITG excels the most: its overall customer satisfaction with its services and connection with its customers, partners, and people. “Everyone wants satisfied customers. We want them to repeat their business and share their positive experiences to inspire others. For that to happen, we must understand that their satisfaction measure of “meets” or “exceeds” slides up and down based not only on their experience but on their expectation,” Christine Barney said in her Forbes article Why Expectation Drives Customer Satisfaction.

Also read: Business Mindset B2B and B2C Experience: Importance and Difference

According to the McKinsey & Company report Experience-led growth: A new way to create value, customer satisfaction is directly related to and proportional to a company’s growth and revenue. “A strategy focused on improving the experience of existing customers can deliver breakthrough growth for incumbent companies—often more than double that of their industry peers,” they said. “Growth outperformers are much more likely to know their customers personally, to have a compelling growth story to tell their employees and shareholders and to use predictive analytics to deliver the right messages to the right customers at the right time. A clear focus on long-term growth makes them outliers, as most companies optimize for shorter-term profit.”

Earn Loyalty and Steady Growth 

As your business relationship grows with your customers, the next move is to level up their experience. Aftercare sales will lead to better customer impressions, but consistent and committed efforts to engage your customers will ensure loyalty to your products and services. “Leaders of companies executing experience-led growth strategies start by painting a vision—often three to five years in the future—that describes how they will deliver on their brand promise, “ McKinsey & Company said in their Experience-led growth: A new way to create value report. Not only all companies, however, do offer aftercare sales. 

Also read: GUIDE: When is The Best Time to Invest and Upgrade Software?

That’s why there is a specific market that capitalizes on it. Imagine it like big car companies as an example, like Toyota, Nissan, Ford, etc. All of them prioritize selling the actual car; however, they also get revenue in terms of repair care. The revenue they can get can equalize their sales as cars need maintenance to last long. So, authorized third-party and independent contractors built an opportunity to make deals with excess or unreachable customers to be their partners, whether selling parts or doing an actual repair.  From there, your name still creates engagement with or without direct contact with your company as they seek trusted partners they can rely on.

Customer Relationship by Venturing Together

IT Group, Inc. has been the leading IT Solution Partner in the Philippines and ASEAN Region, with regional offices located in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, helping 200+ clients across the ASEAN region on their digital transformation journey and has a solid portfolio of 250+ successful projects. As a company that values customer relationships and business partnerships, ITG is your partner you can rely on, from sales of renowned software solutions to aftercare sales. As Jop Cornelio, ITG’s Managing Director for PH said in his ITG story:  “We are venturing together [with our clients] because we are inheriting part of their business—from them purchasing the solutions to training their people, to supporting them when they have problems. They just call us, so it’s a full cycle [and genuine] partnership [with us].” 

Also read: Customer Centric: Why Businesses Should Always Listen to Their Customers

Moreover, ITG’s president and CEO, Cris Gamboa, shared the importance of valuing customers, partners, and its people. “We value our people so that they can value our customers. ITG adds value to our clients by how we work and co-create solutions that fit and are tailored to their business needs. Our people have a deep understanding of this,” he said during ITG’s 20th anniversary celebration feature. “Technologies will change, and industries will evolve, but I’ve learned one of the greatest lessons in this business. Finding the right partner is the best [decision and] investment you could ever make. With the right people and partners, you can withstand many trials, and that’s why we are here today,” he said.