Traditional business-to-business (B2B) interactions are becoming a thing of the past.

A recent Gartner report stated that by 2020, the customer will manage 85% of its relationship with an enterprise without interaction with a human (gartner.com). Backing this up is another survey claiming that two-thirds of B2B customers actually prefer self-service over speaking to a customer service representative (nuance.com).

So you're wanting to offer a better customer service and your customers want fast and accurate answers to their questions? 

Providing your customers with access to a self-service online portal could be the answer. Teamed up with seamless integration to an ERP system, such as Sage 200, an online customer portal gives your customers 24/7 access to their own account information. Not only that, your own employees that don’t have access to Sage can also improve their productivity.

Here's how an online customer portal that integrates with your accounting system could help.

1) Increase customer satisfaction
With this self-service approach, it empowers the user to find information out for themselves. Whether its customer or an employee, there’s no need to rely on asking someone else. If they need to request a copy invoice, query a transaction amount, view a past order or even check stock and place an order, they can use the secure online portal to do it. In turn, improved user experience can lead to better customer engagement and loyalty.

2) Gain competitive advantage
By enhancing communication channels between you and your customer, you can aim to deliver a higher level of service than your competitors. Customer experience is likely to overtake price and product as a key factor for choosing a supplier as found in a recent report (source: Customers 2020 Report) so it’s more important than ever to gain a competitive advantage.

3) Reduce phone calls and emails
Taking calls and responding to emails can be time-consuming and prevents staff from working on more important tasks. On average, 5% of invoices have a request for a copy invoice and it takes approximately 15 minutes to locate and email the correct document. This represents a total of 1,125 minutes per month to deal with each query. Eliminating this task can reduce costs and improve staff productivity for both your company and your customer.

4) Improve staff productivity
Having immediate access to the information they need means your employees can do their jobs more efficiently. Queries from customers can be quickly responded to, field staff can check accounts before and during meetings and with no data re-keying for orders submitted online, orders can be inputted directly into Sage 200.

5) Always open for business
Your customers may have different office hours, working night or day or at weekends. If they need to make a query, waiting for a reply can cause delays in providing quotes to their customers, placing orders and making payments to your business. With a self-service portal, you are always open for business, letting your customers help themselves to what they need when they want it.

6) Enhance your company image
Your portal can be branded with your own logos and colour schemes, so customers can feel more engaged with your company and are assured they are in the right place. With the tools to promote offers, it can also be used to help your marketing activities as well.

Spindle Self Serve from Draycir offers businesses an online portal that integrates with Sage 200, to benefit both employees and customers in accessing real-time financial and accounting information.

To find out more, contact Draycir or your Sage IT Partner.