How Listening First Leads to Better Customer Solutions

How Listening First Leads to Better Customer Solutions

Listening is an essential part of the customer journey at CorrBoard. In fact, when the business chose to take a relationship-based approach to sales back in 2022, the team saw first-hand what a difference this seemingly small change made.

Since then, not only has the company retained many of its customers, some that have been with the business for over a decade, but they have developed these relationships while also attracting new clients too.

Sales Director for CorrBoard, Paul Broderick, comments:

“The relationships that we have with our clients are a real differentiator for us. When compared to others in the market, it’s clear that the approach we take – which starts with listening – is not common practice.

“Rather than setting up a model that is largely transactional, we chose to focus on a longer-term strategy. This starts with listening and then asking questions, so that we can come up with the solution our customer is looking for.”

Meeting with customer expectations

As customer expectations have changed, with increasingly complex packaging requirements, CorrBoard has made sure that the processes it has in place are flexible enough to meet with these needs.

Paul continues:

“For several years now, we have worked hard to put in place a process that starts with listening. The first stage of any order is for the client to share their requirements. Rather than having a rigid product offering, we are very open to having discussions about exactly what the customer needs so that we can explore the options.

“This ensures open and honest communication from the very start. It’s not just about a client knowing the progress of their job, it’s more than that. It’s ensuring that they get exactly what they need and that they order from us again.”

Beyond delivery  

Once a delivery has been made, CorrBoard make a point of following up with each client. While it would be easier to move on to the next order, the business has seen the value that it can take from qualitative feedback for all involved.

Paul comments:

“Once an order is complete, as the sales team, it’s up to us to follow up and to find out if the experience our clients have had is what we all expected. Again, rather than send an email, we take the feedback to each of them individually.

“Sitting down together means that we can share details and collate qualitative insight that, where necessary, will allow us to make changes. While collecting feedback in this way takes longer than an email, it is far more useful.

“We must remember that people still buy from people, and when you work in a niche market like we do, it matters to understand exactly what your customer needs.

“It’s a myth to suggest that doing everything from a screen is more efficient, that just simply isn’t the case.”

Continuing to add value

Having witnessed the benefits to the approach it takes, CorrBoard is not going to go back to transactional relationships any time soon. In contrast, the team are working on other ways that they can add further value to their clients through the meetings that they set up.

Paul concludes:

“As anyone that works in sales will tell you, even when you have relationships in place, there is still a job to be done. That’s why we spend time looking at ways in which we can enhance the experience our customers have.

“It’s important to us that after all of the work we’ve done, we continue to deliver. Listening is a big part of that, and we are very pleased to see that this change has delivered such a profound impact on our customers and our company.”

For more information about CorrBoard or to book a visit to the site to meet with the team, please call: 01724 781668.