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Corporate Consumer”, the individual in the organisation who buys the
Cloud service to solve their problems or get their job done.
Every buyer will still buy by searching for the options. They will then qualify,
evaluate, purchase and activate a service. If you want them to buy your
service, you will have to clearly demonstrate the value it is going to deliver –
and set yourself apart from the competition.
However, the process does not finish with the activation of a service, in fact
that is the halfway point. Customers then need to be able to manage their
service, if this done well, there may be opportunities to up‐sell the customer
to a higher level of service and eventually, to drive referral business through
them. Eventually, if there are enough referrals, enough users, and
widespread adoption of your solution, it will be irresistible.
Crucial moments
You can also think of this cycle in terms of moments in which decisions are
made; during the search and evaluation stage, there are ‘now or never’
moments; in the acquisition phase there are ‘make or break’ moments; in
the management and support stage, there are ‘keep or lose’ moments and
finally in the referral period you get the ‘multiplier moments’.
It’s in these moments that the decisions made will make the difference
between success and failure for your Cloud business, and those decisions
are typically going to be made on the basis of how you differentiate your
business. You need to do this not by being different for the sake of it, but by
delivering great service as well as a great customer experience. Of course,
this need to be heightened during the “search‐try‐buy” phase of the cycle,
but it’s what you deliver that really counts. Deliver on service and customer
experience and you have more to feed into the next buying cycle.
Exceeding expectations
You will need to not only meet but exceed expectations, as well as think
much more about the customer and how they view you and what you are
offering. You’ll need to put yourself into their shoes and come up with value
propositions and messaging that will appeal to them at an emotional level as
well as a practical level. You need to make sure that, in those crucial
moments when decisions are made, the chances of them going your way are
maximised.
You will need to use social media as well as traditional marketing and sales
methods and turn customers into supporters and fans of your business.
That’s why it’s so important to give the customer the best possible
