The Logistics of Logistics Building a High Growth, Customer-Focused 3PL with Betsy Westhafer
Joe Lynch and Betsy Westhafer discuss building a high growth, customer-focused 3PL. In Betsy's experience, the difference between a high growth company and a low growth company is customer focus. The companies that build their entire business around the customer and customer engagement become market leaders. Betsy is the CEO of The Congruity Group and has years of experience in helping other companies improve their customer focus. Today, she'll outline the strategies your company needs to adopt for success today.
About Betsy WesthaferBetsy is the founder and CEO of The Congruity Group. The Congruity Group works with CEOs and private equity firms to increase the value of their companies by accelerating recurring revenue, customer retention, and account expansion. Betsy is passionate about helping companies establish strategies to facilitate deeper connections with customers. Betsy attended Western Kentucky University where she studied Journalism, Public Relations, and Business Administration.
About The Congruity GroupCongruity means alignment, and The Congruity Group was formed to help organizations reach this alignment. They use strategic conversations that will give a greater insight into customer needs and facilitate a deeper relationship with client bases. The Congruity Group offers in-person and digital customer advisory boards tailored to your company to help you achieve your goals.
The Have-Nots (Not Experiencing High Growth)- The have-nots are not seeing growth, because they lack customer focus and alignment despite their belief that they know what their client base wants and needs. They only know their customers on a superficial level.
- The market changes and evolves quickly. What worked a few years ago may not be working for them now, but they have yet to see the need to update their strategies. This leads to unimaginative marketing strategies.
- Lack of communication with the day-to-day staff causes a disconnect between them and the senior management. This leads to ineffective sales teams because they are trying to sell something that customers don't necessarily want or needs.
- The haves (customer-focused 3PLs) understand their customers on a deeper level, so they can build breakthrough value propositions and superior products.
- They understand the need for deeper relationships with their customer base and use them to create new insights and innovations that fulfill their needs.
- The haves show alignment with their customers by demonstrating marketing, values, onboarding, and sales in sync with the customer.
- [5:14] In your experience, what's the difference between the companies that are winning and the companies that are not winning?
- [16:15] The haves understand their customers and align with them so talk about that.
- [19:37] Talk to us about a process that helps us get these deeper insights.
- Senior management should commit to a process for understanding the customer. Recognize that it takes time and effort to develop a strategy for better understanding the customer.
- Consider a neutral third party to offer advice. It is often hard to see what needs to change when you have been making decisions in a bubble for so long.
- Ask questions of the customer and accept feedback. Take their feedback and use it to implement change.
- Maintain strong lines of communication with the customer. Keeping them updated builds trust and deepens the relationship.
- Leverage your relationships with existing customers to create a base that will advocate for you when trying to expand.
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