Customer Marketers, Here’s How to Use Your Customer Marketing Skills to Navigate the Downturn – Let’s Make Lemonade

The downturn presents a unique opportunity – a chance for you to lead the evolution of B2B marketing, focusing on customer satisfaction, retention, and value creation. So step up and take charge, forging a future where your customer-centric approach stands as a beacon of excellence and resilience amidst uncertainty and change.

Evolution is a force of nature that is fueled by crises, and it’s crunch time. The financial crisis, coupled with the fact that B2B marketing has been long overdue for a revamp for some time now, has led to mass layoffs and budget cuts across our industry. But for customer-led marketing leaders and customer marketers there is an opportunity here. 

In February, Forrester analytics said it flat out: “Bottom line: We agree that being customer-led/customer-obsessed is the path to predictable, sustainable growth.” 

The same piece went on to say: “The challenge is operationalizing [customer] obsession — answering questions about “Who should do what?” “How long will that take?” and “How much might it cost?” — and then crafting the right strategy based on your company’s strengths and what your customers truly value.“

These are all questions we get answers to on the 2023 Obsession CLG Tour. But the big question we will focus on answering on the Obsession Tour is: “How does customer marketing impact revenue?”. We will get our answers from top CLG strategists and customer marketing practitioners, who have already done some great things with their programs (and made mistakes you can learn to avoid). 

We are gathering in 3 locations to help push customer marketing through to its next evolutionary stage: Measuring your impact in $$$ (and letting the world know!).

Customer obsessed industry leaders that were early to catch on are seeing their customer marketing programs influence retention, acquisition and retention, and the numbers just can’t be overlooked:

• A HubSpot case study reports its customer referral program has helped the company generate more than $2 million in new business
• According to research by Forrester, customer advocacy programs can increase customer retention rates by up to 5%
• According to a study by Bain & Company, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%
• A survey by Accenture found that 75% of B2B customers are more likely to make a repeat purchase from a vendor that offers personalized recommendations based on their past purchases
• A study by Gartner found that companies with high levels of customer engagement and experience outperform their peers by 26% in terms of gross margin and 85% in terms of sales growth
• According to Zendesk’s case study, its Champions program has helped the company increase customer retention by 33% and generate more than 5,000 customer referrals.
• A Salesforce’s case study shows that its MVP program has helped the company generate more than 23,000 product reviews, resulting in a 20% increase in customer acquisition.

Forward-thinking marketing organizations of all shapes and sizes are already adjusting their strategies according to the changing environment, emphasizing more on customer needs instead of pushing their products or services. And as a customer marketer, you are the one that knows that by understanding the pain points and aspirations of your customers, you can better serve them during these difficult times and emerge stronger as a result. You know where to start and you know the end goal. You are that team or team member that knows what to do to stay afloat. 

We are taking the B2B industry’s Customer-Led Growth conference on tour because we believe that customer-led strategies will be the new face of B2B marketing – and you are at the helm. When we started to plan this year’s event, we quickly realized that with so many members of the community currently unemployed, and so many under strict travel restrictions, we have to come to you! 

We’ll be kicking off with a 3-part series of single-day events at affordable prices in San Francisco, Boston and New York because we want you there. The Obsession CLG Tour is the place to sharpen your skills and broaden your knowledge. Because regardless of your current situation, being customer-obsessed, and investing in becoming a more skilled customer marketer, is how you can come out of the downturn in higher demand. 

As a customer marketer, you have a profound impact on your organization’s trajectory, especially during challenging economic times. By evangelizing customer-led strategies, you will become an indispensable asset, driving not just short-term results but long-standing growth and success for your business.

Customer-led strategies are the lifeboat of any B2B organization now and into the future. Obsession is where you will learn to navigate that boat and grow stronger than any demand generation focused marketer. 

☄ Join us at an Obsession Tour location to gain hands-on knowledge that will make you the MVP of every season.

Get your single-day event ticket here: https://lnkd.in/dpfhPrmD

P.S. If you’re between jobs, this is a great place to sharpen your skills. Reach out and we’ll give you a ticket. obsession@base.ai

(P.S.S I had that marketing vs legal moment that made me remove Beyonce from my posts but please let’s think of her when we think of coming out stronger!)

#customerledgrowth #customermarketing #b2bmarketing #beyonce