A couple of weeks ago at work, I received a mail from one of our partners, the content of which, in my eyes, provided the best proof that value creation is not just a matter of salespeople.  Earlier that week, two of my colleagues from the after sales department paid a visit in our partner’s premises, resolving issues and providing technical training to their staff. 

The visit was obviously a success, as according to the client, these two people “were first-rate professionals with extensive experience” that showed “great desire to make an effort to understand our needs as customers”.   

There was no obligation from our partner’s side to make this move, but even if that was the case, they could just send just a typical “thank you” letter.  Instead, they chose to send a lengthy mail full of praise for these people, so the question that immediately came into my mind was what actually drove them to do that.

The conclusion that I finally came to is that everything is linked to value creation.  It is imperative for companies to understand that value for the customer can be created in a number of ways and that is not solely the accountability of sales teams.  In Business to Business (B2B) environment particularly, the relationships between customers and suppliers are becoming more and more complex and multi-layered, so a different approach must be adopted.

Having the above in mind we need to comprehend that value for the customer can be created from everyone in an organisation, especially from people that work in the “first line” and have direct communication with the customer.  So, we are not only talking about salespeople, but also about after-sales specialists, technical experts, even about people answering phones at the call center.

Therefore, it is absolutely vital for companies to make clear to all these employees how important is their role and to invest in their training on customer experience.  For sure, processes and products are essential for the success of a business, but after all, people can provide the so much sought-after differentiation that is difficult to be copied from the competition and leads, eventually, to value creation for the customer.