Keeping an Eye on Your Customers

Digitalization and automation present immense challenges for established medium-sized businesses today. Start-ups and large corporations are setting new standards—standards that are increasingly expected by all market participants. The former do so through innovation, the latter through capital. But how should companies respond to this development?

Before we answer that question, let’s first take a closer look at how these new standards come about.

 

Where Do These Standards Come From?

You’ve probably experienced it yourself: you place an order in an online shop and are surprised to find no tracking information. “But I always get this with Amazon—how am I supposed to know when my package arrives?” Or you’ve submitted a product complaint and had to explain your issue multiple times instead of receiving a fast, seamless resolution via a ticket system.

Today, both large brands and new businesses have perfected customer-centricity. For large enterprises, it’s a necessity due to their size and complexity; for young companies, it’s often built in from the start, thanks to modern software tools and fresh processes. As a result, consumers develop certain expectations—sometimes without even realizing it. These expectations, in turn, carry over into the B2B world and force companies to view customer experience not just as a nice-to-have, but as a critical factor for long-term success. And that experience must be continually optimized.

The good news: there are systems to support you in this endeavor. Let us share some suggestions on how you can create a positive and lasting customer experience.

 

There’s a Better Way

• Contact Management: In many companies, important information is still jotted down on paper and handled by a single person. If that person is busy or the note goes missing, the issue is likely forgotten. A CRM system like TOPIX makes things easier: colleagues have access to the same records and can step in if needed. From first contact to payment reminders, all touchpoints and processes are documented and traceable. Unified workflows elevate both internal collaboration and external communication to a new level.
• Sales: Whether you’re nurturing a lead or maintaining a long-standing client relationship: tone matters. A salesperson who knows that open tickets or unresolved issues exist can tailor their approach accordingly, creating a more authentic and relevant interaction. This leads to improved efficiency in your sales team and stronger customer relationships, since clients feel understood and supported in their current context.
• Marketing: Gone are the days of glossy brochures and endless debates about brand colors. Today, data-driven insights lead the way in marketing. Analyzing customer data and aligning marketing with sales enables targeted content and perfectly timed campaigns. When data is captured consistently and tied to revenue figures, marketing performance can be measured more accurately. This shifts budget allocation from gut feeling to data-backed decisions.
• Automation: AI, automation, and digital tools are everywhere—but where should you start? A great place is with repetitive tasks that drain time and energy. Sometimes small improvements—like an extra required field to ensure data accuracy or an automated status report via email—make a big difference. We’ve featured many such examples in our newsletter. Don’t be afraid to let automation take over. You’ll soon realize how satisfying that can be.
• Mobility: Real-time data access and flexible work—by location and schedule—are more important than ever. Whether managing home office, virtual teams, or hybrid work environments, shared calendars and centralized scheduling tools make coordination smoother. When everyone can clearly see availability and timelines, calls and replies can be planned more efficiently—helping your team make better use of their time.

 

Conclusion

Chances are you already recognize many of the challenges and suggestions outlined here. But we still want to encourage you to put even more emphasis on optimizing your customer relationships in the future. TOPIX provides the tools to help you do just that—with powerful features and full process automation, allowing you to work faster and more efficiently.

By doing so, you’re not only keeping pace with the latest trends—you may even stay one step ahead of your competition.