Advice from a Toronto Business Consultant: Leveraging CX Experience to Rejuvenate Sales in 2021

The new year is finally here. As a business consultant in Toronto, one of the top inquires has been—how do I revive sales in 2021? My answer is always CX experience—improving your customer’s engagement even before they become a customer.

The pandemic caused many organizations to drop projections for top line growth. Before attempting to play catch-up, it is necessary to have a reliable system that allows you to gather insight into what potential customers are thinking. Without such a system, your organization will quickly run into trouble.

Utilize Your Existing Sales Funnel

One of the easiest ways to improve CX experience is to tap into an existing sales funnel. What does this mean? While the most commonly understood function of a sales funnel is customer acquisition, as a business consultant, the data provided by a properly constructed funnel offers the insights businesses need to streamline CX experience during those critical days before they sign up to buy your product/service.

How are you consistently reaching potential customers? How many of those leads turn into sales? How many get their need fulfilled elsewhere and drop out of your funnel? A good sales funnel provides data on leads, maturation, sales, and drop-offs. It is a vital feedback tool that offers insight into what potential customers think about you and ultimately the velocity of sales.

Construct a Virtual Customer Journey Map

Your digital presence is a great source on how customers are changing. There are many tools to help you track how a customer moves from an inquiry to a sale. When set up properly, a sales funnel is a tool that offers incredible insights, including:

•  data from the customer’s point of view
•  insights on how to minimize barriers to your product/service
• the timing and triggers of customer movements
• data on volumes and velocity at each stage of the sales process

In time, by analyzing the data and adjusting accordingly, you will be able to consistently exceed customer expectations. When your CX experience reaches top tier, your funnel transforms into an hourglass. Customers become your greatest sales force, influencers, and advocates. This is where businesses need to be to consistently meet and exceed sales targets.

One last piece of advice: be sure to keep sales and capacity in tandem. If these fall out of sync, you will either end up overspending on stock or frustrating customers with unfulfilled or late deliveries. Either scenario is sub-optimal, but for organizations already in survival mode, it can be disastrous.

Work with Leslie Barker

Looking for a business consultant who can help improve your sales funnel? Leslie Barker is a Toronto-based business consultant who provides services across Canada and the US. As a CX consultant, Leslie works with businesses to implement funnels that enhance supply chain capacity to optimize both margins and inventory levels. Learn more at leslie@leanexpansion.ca or 416.528.7990.