MarketStar Blog

Key Insights

• While many organizations have transitioned from hardware-based data storage systems to cloud services, cloud adoption is still at its early stage

• It puts immense pressure on cloud salespeople to make a successful pitch

• Selling cloud solutions requires a definite change in how you approach your prospects who are looking for service providers

• You must emphasize the value to the business and not the underlying technology

When speaking with enterprise buyers about cloud solutions, you may have faced the same set of questions, repeatedly. Questions about compliances, security risks, and guarantees. 

Those involved in selling cloud-based solutions faced numerous barriers. 

In fact, the odds are stacked against them with only 18% of B2B buyers viewing salespeople as their trusted advisors.

If your buyers don’t believe in you, it would be a mammoth task for you to sell cloud solutions. 

But more and more enterprises are opening up to the idea of introducing cloud software to their environments. 

In such a scenario, you must proactively anticipate their concerns and address them. If you don’t, then you end up losing high-paying and reliable enterprise customers to your competitors. 

So, you have got your work cut out for you when it comes to selling cloud computing services. 

In this blog, we break down the best tips that will help you deliver results, from gaining a larger foothold in the companies out there or simply expanding your footprints in your existing accounts. 

What are Cloud-based Solutions?

Cloud-based solutions are any applications that can be accessed with an Internet connection through a provider’s shared cloud computing framework. 

On a pay-for-use basis, enterprises can get access to as many resources as they require such as storage space, software, networks, and other on-demand services. 

Consequently, you have three types of cloud-based systems at your disposal: 

• IaaS- Infrastructure-as-a-Service allows enterprises to rent storage, networks, virtual machines, and other resources from a cloud service provider

• PaaS- Platform-as-a-Service provides companies with a “space” to build, deliver, test, and manage various apps. The goal is to help such organizations to focus on software development and not the underlying infrastructure

• SaaS- Software-as-a-Service refers to the delivery of cloud-based solutions. In this case, cloud providers host the app as well as the infrastructure

6 Effective Strategies for Selling Cloud Solutions

With the COVID-19 pandemic, digital business transformation has entered a more urgency-driven phase. 

The sudden shutdown of offices, educational institutions, and enterprises has increased the demand for cloud-based solutions and services.

The cloud landscape is continually evolving. According to a report by Research and Markets, the global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from $371.4 billion in 2020 to $832.1 billion by 2025.

Sales organizations that make the necessary adjustments to successfully navigate through will benefit from the ability to capitalize on the growing market opportunities.

Let’s walk through some of the most effective tips for selling cloud-based solutions.

1. Start Small

Start with helping your prospects choose applications that are right for them and deliver the value they are seeking in the short term. 

This is especially important if you are dealing with an enterprise that has no prior experience in cloud implementation. 

For organizations not born in the cloud, the decision to bring off-premises technologies into the fold can throw up some challenges. 

Most enterprises, at this stage, can run into an overdrive– establishing business cases, scoping the project, and formulating the approach– leading to the cloud program tumbling down. 

When selling cloud-based solutions to such enterprises, identify and address any implementation-related challenges. Once your prospect starts seeing value in the investment, it becomes easier for them to ramp up. 

2. Know the Language that Your Lead Follows

Technology can be confusing to understand. 

Shifting your messaging and working is the key to selling cloud services to small businesses. 

If you assume your lead doesn’t know much about technology, you might come off as condescending. Your lead might also get lost in your jargon and feel overwhelmed or confused. 

Making a successful pitch will be incomplete without listening to your leads. Find out more about the cloud services that they are currently using. Know more about how they manage their data. Ask a few questions and listen intently. 

This way you will get to know where they are, and you can start using their language. 

This will also make your sales pitch more conversational and authentic, allowing you to connect with your prospects on a deeper level. 

3. Position Yourself as the Innovation Partner

Enterprises have many trust issues with those selling cloud-based solutions. This is why it is crucial that you showcase your innovative side and how your offerings are a mark above the rest. 

Your prospect wants to get a hold over the state of cloud adoption. Helping drive innovation requires approaching your clients and prospects with an empathetic understanding of the entire landscape. 

You can make this happen by regularly publishing authentic content that is tangible and actionable, helping you to be a trusted partner who understands the industry. 

When you do land your meeting, don’t just tell them the key features of what you are selling but speak about the entire cloud ecosystem. 

In this way, you can build a more future-centric approach to selling your cloud computing services. 

4. Work with Different Team Members

You must pitch to different stakeholders across various departments. It is not just one person who decides if your services are the right fit for the enterprise. 

Instead of seeing each member as a new obstacle to overcome, use this process to win more stakeholders and convert them into advocates for your cloud solutions. 

Additionally, work with stakeholders at all levels of your prospect organizations. 

A middle manager might have more understanding of the space than you can imagine since chances are that they are the ones managing such services on a day-to-day basis. 

5. Tie it to Concrete Benefits

You might be dealing with someone who doesn’t have an IT background and has limited knowledge about the cloud. 

In such cases, it is important to mold the pitch to their experience or something they would understand. 

Your solutions should make way for a better employee experience since poor technological solutions can lead to lower productivity, higher disengagement, and increased turnover rates. 

60% of workers said that new software had occasionally or frequently frustrated them in the last 24 months, according to a report by Gartner. 

Even if you pitch to a prospect who isn’t tech-savvy, you can still highlight the dangers of losing the very employees who are.

6. Alleviate their Concerns on Security

Most enterprises are deeply concerned about cybersecurity, creating unique challenges for selling cloud computing. It makes the job trickier when almost 52% of IT decision-makers whose company uses cloud services agree that their data is more secure on-premises. 

So, try out your cloud solutions as a strategic shift in risk and not as an additional risk. The idea is to help them understand that they are essentially putting the risk factor in you by choosing your services. 

The Way Ahead

Selling cloud solutions involves many challenges, whether security, risk, cost and lack of trust. These challenges are one of the few reasons why cloud adoption is still in its infancy. 

However, this does not mean that you can’t employ some effective strategies to turn the landscape to generate better results. 

To succeed in selling cloud services, be prepared with new services, combinations, and customizations. 

Keep a plan ready, and you can do it too!

Key Takeaways

• When businesses think of growth, they usually think about reaching out to more people and acquiring more sales

• Besides traditional marketing and customer acquisition strategies, it is brand advocacy that can help you keep your marketing costs low

• It is one of the most valuable marketing strategies where you tap into your happy customer base to spread the word about your brand

• There are numerous strategies that can help companies to harness the enthusiasm of their brand advocates for business growth

Getting new customers is good for any business.

But real business growth comes from existing customers.

In fact, a research by Bain and Company shows that return customers spend 33% more per order compared to new clients. Another study suggests that existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products.

Why is this important? 

In an era where it has become surprisingly easy for consumers to walk away from brands after a single bad experience, turning your customers into brand advocates should be at the top of the to-do list. This is more critical than ever since new acquisition costs have increased by almost 50%. 

Think of this as a fandom, like how major sports teams and musicians operate. 

Instead of buying out the tickets, these brand advocates will fill their social media feeds with news about your brand, helping move prospective customers through the marketing funnel. 

So how do you build brand advocacy? And what should be your brand advocacy strategy? 

As you get down to turning your target audience to brand advocates, remember it all starts with the efficacy of your customer success solution. Only when you deliver experiences that delight your customers will they endorse your brand in their network.

Let’s begin.

What is Brand Advocacy?

Did you know that a staggering 76% of individuals surveyed said that they have a deeper trust in the content shared by “regular” people than content shared by brands? 

Simply put, brand advocacy means that the people who are closest to your brand will continue to show their love and support for your product(s) or service(s) by promoting your organization organically to new audiences. While referring new customers, they also create content on your behalf. 

Your brand advocates can include your customers as they are not affiliated with your company which makes their support genuine and more influential. Your employees can be brand advocates too. Armed with deep insights into how your solution caters to clients, they can positively influence your brand through superior customer success management. 

Your business partners can also affect your customers’ purchasing decisions. These include charitable organizations and other companies affiliated with your brand. Lastly, you have influencers. A well-known influencer can extend the reach of your brand far and wide. 

Turning Customers into Brand Advocates: Why is it Important?

With brand advocacy, you will quickly find an increase in your revenue without increasing your marketing budget. Your fans will do a lot of word-of-mouth marketing for you on their social media platforms. 

Another good reason is that your happy customers will continue to return to you again and again. 

According to a report by PwC, 17% of consumers will leave a brand after just one bad experience. Since finding a brand that precisely caters to their needs can be challenging, customers who genuinely love a brand will stick with the company for a very long time. 

Strong brand advocates will increase awareness about your company beyond your immediate target audience. This will help you eliminate costs associated with customer acquisition strategies. 

For these reasons, both B2B and B2C companies have begun to focus their initiatives on developing effective brand advocacy programs. 

How Do You Turn Customers into Brand Advocates?

1. Know Your Customers

Despite the expansive power of brand advocates, this will still be a small portion of your overall customer base. 

Most customers will probably purchase from you once (or perhaps repeatedly) but will not engage with your brand as much as you hope. This means that you need to keep a steady eye on the ones who do and who are taking their time to spread the positive word about your product or service. 

A simple question such as “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend” can help you understand what makes your customers happy. Social listening can come in handy. Keep an eye on people who are speaking favorably about you on social media. 

2. Appreciate Your Customers

Your customers want to feel like a VIP when they do business with you. 

Deliver an enhanced and personalized customer experience at every touchpoint, whether it means optimizing your website for search engines to having helpful support, both chat and call options, in place. 

Having a happy customer base can also be achieved through giving extra perks. 

Loyalty programs can help deliver this value to your customers consistently. 

Rewards, discounts, promotions, and special events will demonstrate that your relationship is more than just transactional. 

3. Establish a Memorable Onboarding Process

Your onboarding process has a direct impact on your customer retention rates. It’s also a crucial facet of your brand advocacy strategy. 

In fact, 86% of consumers are likely to stick longer with a product if they experience a better onboarding process that gives a holistic education about the many offerings. 

So how do you do this? 

Start with asking your customers why they are using your product and what they want to achieve with it. 

Equipped with this information, guide them to the most useful features of your product rather than throwing all your product features all at once. This will also minimize friction points for your customers.

You can also give them templates so they can start using your product features at once. Additionally, develop an email sequence that educates your customers on the best use of your product. 

4. Give Them Exciting News

Turning customers into brand advocates means sharing exciting news, exclusive sneak-peeks, and one-time-only discounts to keep the excitement going. 

Hold special “fans-only” shopping events where customers have unique access to your products. This will encourage them to spread the word in their network. 

Amplify this word-of-mouth marketing with referral rewards for fans who successfully encourage someone to buy your product or service. Such rewards can be a free product, a discount, or even cash for their next purchase. 

5. Create a Customer-Centric Culture

Zendesk conducted a detailed study of more than 45000 businesses across 140 countries and found that almost 70% of customers expect companies to collaborate between different departments on their behalf. 

If your employees are transferring a customer to another BU for issue resolution, it can create a bad image in the eyes of your customers. 

This is where a customer-centric culture can help you. Brand advocacy can only be effective if you help establish a culture where customer satisfaction and happiness are at the center of all your key decision-making. 

Such a culture must be part of your core value system and every department should take the onus of effective customer success management.

6. Amplify Your Presence

While 70% of consumers expect brands to respond within a day of reaching out over social media, the average brand response rate stands at just 25%. The more active you are on social media, the higher your chances are to reach out to your potential brand advocates. 

Don’t be active on every channel. But you should be present in more than one. 

Conduct an analysis of the platforms where your customers are the most active. 

Once you have established the channels, it’s time to get creative. 

Encourage your brand advocates to create their own content. This can be through video submissions of how they are using your product for YouTube or images where they are using your product for Instagram Story.

Immersing your brand advocates with content development can help them feel like they are part of your brand and not just observers. 

Ready for Brand Advocacy?

Your job is not done when your customer has successfully transacted. Keep your customers engaged to turn them into brand advocates who will do a lot of the marketing work for you. 

Brand advocates play a critical role in driving sales for you. 

While in the age of 24/7 connectivity and social media, it’s not so tough to keep your customers engaged. The challenge, however, is to be consistent in providing your customers with first-class services. This helps to nurture your customers into brand advocates. 

Looking to make customers your best growth engine? Benefit from a world-class CS strategy at scale, Partner with MarketStar today!

Key Takeaways

• From content and marketing to promotion and buyer journey, MarTech provides deep insights and improves the parameters of marketing analysis

• MarTech enables you to understand potential buyers’ preferences, choices, needs, and interests more quickly

• MarTech tools can help you automate and streamline the marketing process significantly 

• MarTech can help you generate leads, enhance marketing efficiency, and increase ROI

Imagine a tech company without digital marketing or a marketing firm without technology.

Without either marketing or technology, how would a company survive? Seems impossible, right? This is where MarTech comes into the picture and plays a vital role in helping businesses sustain and grow.

MarTech is one of the hottest and most fast-paced industries today. With new technologies and solutions emerging daily, it can take time to keep up with the latest trends.

However, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the MarTech landscape to make informed decisions about the solutions you use in your business.

This blog will give you a crash course on MarTech, covering the basics, why it is essential for your business and some basic MarTech strategies.

By the end of this blog, you’ll have a solid understanding of MarTech and how it can be applied to execute successful campaigns and generate revenue.

What is MarTech?

Marketing technology (MarTech) is the software and tools marketing teams use to manage campaigns and strategies. This includes everything from email marketing software to social media management and data analysis tools. 

MarTech has become increasingly important in recent years as the marketing landscape has changed. 

With the rise of digital marketing, there are now more channels and touchpoints for marketing campaigns than ever before. This has created a need for marketing teams to be more organized and efficient. 

With the help of MarTech, businesses can create efficient and effective marketing campaigns.  

MarTech can help marketing teams automate tasks, measure results, and optimize their campaigns for better performance. MarTech can also help businesses track their return on investment and make necessary adjustments to their marketing strategies. 

Why is MarTech Important - The Benefits

MarTech is essential because it allows marketers to work more efficiently and effectively.  

As the marketing world continues to evolve, the technology marketers use to reach their target audiences evolves too. From social media management to marketing automation, there is a MarTech solution for nearly every marketing challenge. 

While some marketers may be hesitant to embrace new technology, the truth is that MarTech is essential to modern marketing. Here are a few reasons why MarTech is so important:  

Do more with less: Processes that would generally take your marketing team more time to complete can be automated. These include using marketing automation and machine learning technologies to automate repetitive operations like gathering data, converting file formats, and identifying assets.

Improved communication: MarTech enables you to improve communication and efficiency across teams, allowing you to make informed decisions. It provides a streamlined and transparent way to access information about projects, their progress, their results, and reports. 

Customer Relationship Management: One of the MarTech stacks that helps foster consumer trust and forge lasting relationships with customers—which will ultimately have sales—is customer relationship management (CRM). CRM utilizes your customers’ past behaviors, conversations, buying preferences, and interactions to help serve customers better.

Helps work smarter: MarTech tools allow marketers to collect data and insights and target their audiences more precisely. With the help of the latest tools, you can automate repetitive tasks and free up time to focus on more strategic initiatives. 

The context of MarTech focuses primarily on these six topics: 

1. Data 

2. Operations 

3. Transformation

4. Experience

5. Performance 

6. Management 

These six areas, bolstered with the latest technology, are MarTech’s recipe for modern-day marketing.

5 Best Practices for Developing a Winning MarTech Strategy

To level up your MarTech game, you need to understand the different MarTech strategies available. Here are five best practices for developing a winning MarTech strategy. 

1. Go Top-Down

Build a MarTech stack with a top-down strategy.

Start with your company’s overall business goals and strategy, and then funnel down to selecting the tools & technology you need to achieve those goals.

By thinking with high-level objectives first, you will make better decisions on what specific capabilities and measurements you need to help achieve your business goals.

2. Integrate All Data

Consider all existing data sources that should be included in your marketing plans to achieve your goals and ensure that the solutions you choose can work with those data sources. It is essential to have a comprehensive customer profile based on all the information available. 

3. No More Silos

Consider all the marketing and communication channels you require and those you anticipate using soon.  

Your MarTech stack will only allow you to maximize the overall customer experience if all channels, including email, SMS, on-site/in-app, online advertising, social media, call center, etc., are coordinated effectively. 

4. Continuously Measure

Monitor the effectiveness of your MarTech strategies and optimize them as needed. Don’t be afraid to reconsider your decision and make changes if necessary!

5. The Right Tools

While MarTech can be highly beneficial for businesses, it is important to note that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution.  

Different businesses will have different needs and requirements for their marketing campaigns. As such, selecting the right MarTech tools for your specific business needs is important. Our experts can help you choose the right tools that your business needs. 

Importance of MarTech in the Current Economic Scenario

The importance of MarTech has become increasingly apparent recently. This is especially true in the current economic scenario, where businesses are looking for an edge. 

Today, businesses are marked by high levels of competition, driving them to invest in MarTech to gain a competitive edge. 

MarTech can be used to improve a company’s marketing and sales efforts, and it can also be used to reduce costs. It can help companies uncover their customers’ pain points and target their marketing efforts more effectively.  

As the competition in the current economic climate continues to increase, companies that do not invest in MarTech will find it difficult to survive. If your business is not using MarTech, now is a good time to start.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, MarTech is a vital part of any modern marketing strategy.  

It allows businesses to automate and scale their marketing efforts, making them more efficient and effective. To stay ahead of the curve, businesses must invest in the latest technologies and partner with experienced providers.

Key Takeaways

• Some businesses not only survive recessions but grow during unfavourable times.

•  According to a survey by Nationwide, 70% of business owners expect a recession within the next few months, but very few are prepared to weather it.

• The best way to help your business continue to scale regardless of the state of the economy is to prepare far enough in advance. 

• Examining your expenses closely is one of the best ways to prepare your company for a recession.

There are always ups and downs in any business. During the good times, it is important to make sure that you are prepared for the bad times, meaning you must have a plan in place for when the economy takes a turn for the worse.

Choosing the right growth strategy during less turbulent times is one of the best ways to scale your business should it hit a recession. This will ensure that your business can weather the storm and come out of it unscathed.

Nevertheless, it’s never too late! With a recession looming over the horizon, if you don’t already have a backup plan, keep reading to learn more about choosing a growth strategy that will help you during a recession. We will also provide tips on implementing these strategies in your business. 

Why Scaling Your Business During a Recession is Important?

According to the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research), a recession is defined as a significant decline in economic activity that’s spread across the economy.

When scaling a business, many entrepreneurs think it’s best to wait until the economy is doing well. But in reality, scaling during a recession can be an excellent opportunity for businesses to grow.

For one, there are often more talented workers available during a recession.

With more people out of work, businesses have a larger pool of top talent to choose from. And since many businesses are scaling back during a recession, there’s often more room for companies still growing.

In addition, recessions can create new opportunities for businesses to expand.

For example, during the last recession, many businesses closed their doors. This created opportunities for companies that were able to move into those markets and fill the void. Additionally, recessions can also cause a shift in consumer spending. This can create opportunities for businesses that can offer goods and services that meet the new demands of consumers.

While recessions are undoubtedly challenging for businesses, they can also present new growth opportunities. Businesses that can identify and take advantage of these opportunities can emerge from the recession stronger than ever.

Businesses that scale during a recession are more likely to survive and thrive long-term.

Here are a few key reasons why scaling your business during a recession is important.

• It allows you to take advantage of lower costs

• It gives you a chance to build up your reserves so you can weather any future downturns

• It sets you up for long-term growth as the economy recovers

So if you’re thinking about growing your business during the current recession, there are plenty of good reasons to do so. Always do your homework, plan carefully, and seek expert guidance.

The Challenges of Scaling Your Business During a Recession

Economic downturns have been hard on businesses of all sizes. 

Many companies have been forced to lay off staff, slash expenses, and generally tighten their belts during a recession. Around 58% of business owners have explored areas to cut expenses in the last two quarters. 

A recession always puts a lot of pressure on businesses to scale back. But what about businesses that are trying to grow during this time? The challenges are even more significant for them – they need to keep evolving to survive and thrive. 

Scaling a business during a recession can be difficult for several reasons.

First, there is less money available for investment. This means companies must be extra careful about how they use their limited resources. They also must be more creative in their growth approach, as traditional methods may no longer be viable.

Additionally, customers may be less likely to spend money during a recession, so businesses must find ways to reach them and convince them to purchase their product/service.

So how do you scale your business during a recession? It’s possible to grow a business during a recession, but it does require the right growth strategy.

The key is to focus on efficiency and profitability. You need to find ways to do more with less and to get the most out of every penny you spend.

This may require making tough decisions, but it is possible to scale your business and increase sales during a recession if you are strategic about it.

How to Overcome the Challenges During a Recession?

The challenges can seem insurmountable for businesses that are trying to scale during a recession. But it’s important to remember that recessions don’t last forever, and there are ways to overcome the challenges and come out ahead. 

Here are a few tips to overcome the challenges and scale your business during a recession: 

– Diversify your revenue streams: Don’t rely on one income source. Diversify your revenue streams to cushion the blow if one dries up. 

– Cut costs: Take a close look at your operating expenses and see where you can cut costs. This will help you stretch your resources further.

– Preserve your cash flow: Cash flow management is one of the most important aspects of surviving a recession. Keep at least three to six months of expenses in an emergency cash fund. 

– Look for opportunities: Think of innovative offerings or loyalty programs that you can promote to expand or diversify your brand without increasing business expenses.

The Right Growth Strategies During a Recession

Here are some top strategies for growing your business during a recession. By following these strategies, you can give your business the best chance to succeed. 

1. Increase your marketing efforts: Businesses need to work harder to reach potential customers during a recession. You can increase your marketing budget and use more creative marketing strategies.

2. Focus on customer service: Receiving positive reviews and word-of-mouth marketing can be more important than ever during a recession. So, offer your customers top-notch service during these tough times. 

3. Focus on existing customers: During a recession, people are more likely to stick with brands they know and trust. So, make sure you’re giving your existing customers the best possible experience. Customer retention during a downturn can be achieved by value-added services such as discounts or loyalty programs. 

4. Look for new markets: A recession can open up new markets that were previously unavailable. So, if you’re looking to expand your business, this is a great time to do it. 

5. Don’t forget your employees: They are your most valuable asset, so invest in their development. Investing in your loyal employees will position your company for success even during a recession.

Conclusion

Recessions are challenging for businesses, but with the right growth strategy, you can continue to scale your business.

This article provided an overview of why scaling your business during a recession is important and the five main growth strategies.

Businesses should carefully consider their options and choose the right strategy.

To learn more about how to scale your business during a recession, get in touch with our experts. 

Key Takeaways

In recent times, we have seen a shift in how companies think about revenue. According to SiriusDecisions, B2B companies that have already implemented revenue operations (RevOps) are well-poised to thrive in the next three to five years, compared to organizations that haven’t. 

Key Takeaways

Ad ops was quite straightforward in the pre-digital days, with media companies selling ad spots that ran during TV programming. The landscape has changed.

B2B businesses should have instant access to the data of every customer and transaction. It’s necessary to find out who is buying what and the drivers for such decisions. 

Data-driven customer understanding, when shared across teams such as marketing, sales, and customer service, can help organizations move away from departmental silos to a cross-functional work set-up. 

It is also vital to carefully analyze first-party data of your customers as well as third-party data to create a tangible picture of how your customer base views your brand. Key Takeaways 

Key Insights

• On-demand delivery services are slowly becoming a part of everyday life, with half the urban population expecting same-day deliveries

• While such a model has innumerable benefits for businesses, it does come with its own set of challenges

• The inability to identify and properly address such challenges is one of the reasons why on-demand operations fail

• Any business looking to establish or grow its on-demand offerings must ensure that they are in tune with its current and future projections. They must weigh the pros and cons of such a model before putting a plan in motion

It’s 2022 and it has never been easier for customers to get what you want with just a few clicks. From a cup of coffee to a slice of pizza to a ride to a concert, there’s an app for everything. 

Needless to say, on-demand delivery services are booming. 

Websites and application-based digital platforms are major drivers of its rapid growth. A report by Statista highlights how the revenue from platform-to-consumer delivery is expected to reach US$96,864 million by 2024. 

Technological innovations are not the only drivers. 

Evolving customer expectations, the need for instant gratification, convenience, cost-efficiency, and the emerging gig economy markets are all playing an integral role in its boom.

With on-demand delivery services witnessing a rapid uptick among business owners, it is also vital to understand how such a business model can play a pivotal role in improving customer experience.

Hop on the Ride or Be Left Behind

One of the finest examples of a company nailing the on-demand service model is Instacart.

The American company revolutionized the grocery shopping industry by bringing groceries right to the customer’s doorstep. Instacart’s partnerships with big names such as Whole Foods, Costco, and others went a long way in piloting the company towards success.

Instacart’s tremendous success can be attributed to its focus on omnichannel to close the customer experience gap. This is also a leading reason why more and more businesses are making an on-demand delivery service model their first choice for a business model.

There are several opportunities to enhance the customer experience with an on-demand delivery business model. 

1. Customer Base: Compared to traditional brick-and-mortar outlets, on-demand delivery services help brands to reach out to a larger customer base, spanning both local and international locations.  

2. Access to Customer Insights: On-demand delivery services leverage advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to better understand the buying patterns of your customers. Consequently, this improves the chances of upselling and cross-selling products.

3. Customer Loyalty: More than 57% of respondents in the 2021 Loyalty Barometer Report by Merkle said they stayed loyal to a brand despite the events of 2020. Tech-savvy brands that are taking advantage of logistic tools to enhance customer experience and provide personalization are benefiting from a customer base who act as brand advocates.

4. Reduced Manual Dependencies: Speed and the ability to ensure quick turnaround time are important facets of an on-demand delivery service model. This requires the automation of manual delivery processes. These include delivery scheduling, task allocation, route planning, roster management, and dispatching.

What are the Biggest Challenges in On-demand Delivery Services?

It is always a good idea to keep up with changing market dynamics. However, some businesses may find it a daunting exercise to identify the challenges of an on-demand delivery service model.

While it is difficult to start something new and capitalize on opportunities, understanding the obstacles can help you find ways to resolve them.

1. Inventory Management

A report by Statista highlights that 56% of global retailers experienced moderate disruption in their supply chain in 2020, while 12% faced heavy collapse. 

With the global supply chain making a brand-new start, it is vital for manufacturers to re-architect an existing business model towards an on-demand delivery service app to stay afloat. 

Addressing such challenges in customer experience means designing effective, resilient strategies by investing analytics in the supply chain management system. 

2. Real-Time Visibility

Customers want to see prices for various fulfillment options at checkout as well as view order progress in real-time.

Logistic providers require visibility into contracted fleets to ensure that Service Level Agreements (SLA) between shippers and consignees are being met. Similarly, retailers need visibility into not just inventory, but also how customers are interacting with the brand.

As challenging as it may seem, this instant, granular level of visibility across stakeholders requires reliable integration between systems as well as effective information sync, so that the data is easily digestible at any point.

Many names in e-commerce fulfillment have achieved this level of visibility in order to close the customer experience gaps. Think of Amazon, FedEx, and Walmart. 

3. Fitting In

Consumer behaviors have changed since the pandemic disrupted industries across every sector. 

Today, people rely heavily on new online shopping experiences. 

In fact, 60-70% of consumers are shopping in an omnichannel way with social media becoming a new form of window shopping, according to a McKinsey research. 

We also see a focus on value-based purchasing, convenience, and availability. Where to shop, the quality of products and the purpose of purchasing have all become the drivers of consumer decision-making. 

To compete in such market dynamics, brands can find a better fit for themselves through an on-demand delivery service model.

4. Automation, All the Way

A leading issue with the on-demand delivery model is that there is a very short period between when customers place their orders and when those orders are sent out.

With over 27% of shoppers abandoning their carts when delivery options are not fast enough, there is little room for errors with on-demand delivery.

Such services work when all processes have been automated to be completely seamless and on time. Solving CX challenges in on-demand delivery, along with adopting a mobile-first CX strategy, will be successful with the automation of logistics. 

5. Competitive Market

Despite the clear wins, the on-demand delivery service model is not suitable for every industry and geography.

You should carefully select your niche based on factors such as your expertise, tech background, users’ needs, budget, and legislative and regulatory framework.

Additionally, the model that you deem fit for your business might require tweaks, now and then.

Starbucks is a fine example of this approach.

The Seattle-based company changed its reward program to enable people to earn points through payment methods. Previously, this was only possible through the Starbucks card. And it paid off. The company’s active member base increased to a record 21.8 million in Q1’21.

6. Maintaining Customer Satisfaction

A Mckinsey report shows that over 60% of US consumers have experienced out-of-stock items in the last three months of 2021. When this happened, only 13% waited for items to be restocked. 

To stay in demand, brands should reconsider their offerings. 

A strong brand image and corporate reputation will go a long way in creating a credible online environment where your customers will be more inclined to keep coming back. 

7. Third-Party Delivery Services 

On-demand delivery service means the ability to meet customer demand, irrespective of the time or day. 

Addressing CX challenges in this model requires you to react quickly to customer needs. This is where third-party delivery solutions come in. 

Adding third-party delivery solutions to your existing fleet management tools will help you optimize your on-demand deliveries, enhance brand awareness, and help you deliver a stellar customer experience while keeping customer satisfaction on a high note. 

8. Enhanced Customer Communication

With customer expectations at an all-time high, businesses must put customers at the heart of what they do.

The success of an on-demand delivery service also depends on how well you relay messages to the customer. Delivery apps can give your customers different levels of visibility into their order’s status and location.

Additionally, look for solutions that can push notifications to customers when their orders leave the warehouse or to the store when they arrive.

It’s All About Convenience

The success of any on-demand delivery service can define the value of a brand. 

Personalization, convenience, and good performance, mixed with a dash of strong branding, will help you not only close the customer experience gap but also enable you to win repeat customers. 

This is the second installment in our series on Unique Challenges where we look into the hurdles faced by businesses in different industries and their game-changing impact on business growth.

Introduction

The tech sales industry thrives on growth and innovation, but achieving these goals requires focus, agility, and access to top-tier talent. This is where tech sales outsourcing comes in, offering a strategic advantage for companies looking to scale their operations and reach new markets. 

Key Takeaways

One of the most effective ways to build brand credibility is to craft long-term customer relationships by understanding their customer journey. According to a PwC study on the future of CX, 1 in 3 customers will walk away after just one bad experience, ensuring a smooth and streamlined customer service journey needs to be a top priority for businesses.