So sustainable growth isn’t just about having a scalable marketing and sales strategy. It’s also about having a strategy for client- or customer-led growth. So let’s talk more about this in today’s video.

If you’re committed to being the best, chances are you also think you’re delivering a superior service to your clients. 

Now the thing is, most companies assume that they’re doing a great job at this and giving their clients exactly what they want. 

But in a survey conducted by Bain and Company, out of 362 firms, 80% believed they delivered a superior service. Yet, when they asked their clients, only 8% were really delivering. 

So this gap between 86 and 8% doesn’t happen because companies aren’t client-focused; it happens because companies are often too focused on transactional relationships instead of transformational relationships. 

Now, in a transaction, it’s a process where you give me money, I provide a service, and I’ll ensure you’re satisfied. 

But there’s nothing special in just having a satisfied buyer. Anytime somebody does business with you, they expect to be satisfied. 

So in a transformational relationship, you’re going beyond satisfied to ensure you give a greater-than-expected experience. 

Now, this type of transformational relationship is hard to build. And it requires you to go that extra mile to do things that don’t generate an immediate return. 

However, it does fuel repeat business, referrals, and clients who are willing to spend more money with you. 

You see this type of transformational relationship more often in the B2C world, like Zappos who’s widely known for going out of its way to ensure a wow experience with rushed shipping and a generous return policy, etc, etc. 

But you see this much less in B2B, which means when this happens in a B2B situation, it’s even more appreciated because you seldom experience it. 

And it’s the little things you can do that help build a relationship. 

So, for example, if you’re an agency, instead of just having a project manager, simply do the reporting of the results, just make sure the project manager is going out of their way to establishing a personal connection with the person at the company. 

If you’re a smaller company, you could even have the CEO reach out once a month to your top clients to see how they’re doing. Make sure their experience is awesome etc., etc. 

See, I’ve got a B2B relationship with a company where they’ll send me little gifts in the mail, a handwritten note, and they’ll remember important dates in my life. 

Now, that makes me feel like I’m not just a cog in the wheel but that they actually care about me. They know the result I want, and they’re constantly striving to hit it and do better. 

You see, with more competitors that are coming into the marketplace, every single day trying to steal customers and clients away from you, going from transactional to transformational working on that relationship is closing the gap between what you strive to experience and what your client actually experiences. 

This is an important strategy for decommoditizing the buying experience and creating sustainable growth. 

So take a look at your business and find ways to turn satisfied buyers into ecstatic ones.