Discover how a customer-centric approach can distinguish your proposals from the rest and why it's crucial to appeal to both the logical and emotional aspects of your evaluators.
Crafting proposals that resonate with customers is more essential than ever.
Recently, Graham Ablett had the opportunity to spend a day with a team of subject matter experts, focusing on enhancing their ability to write with a customer-centric approach. We spent part of the day exploring the critical importance of understanding and addressing the customer's needs and emotions in proposals.
What does good look like?
Why is it important to appeal to the logical and emotional sides of the evaluators?
How do you make your content more customer-centric?
We looked at examples of previous proposals and played with how we could make them more customer-focused and then we built some answers based on a relevant scenario. It was a really fun and engaging session.
On my way home, I received an email from our water company that made my heart sink as they managed to get their customer focus so wrong and in so many different ways.
The email was filled with placeholders that hadn't been filled in, and it referenced a problem we weren't experiencing – classic boilerplate content.
This communication left me feeling undervalued as a customer, worried about my data, and questioning the company's competence. It was a credibility-crushing piece of communication, especially given the already poor customer service we had experienced.
This incident highlighted the striking similarities between customer service communications and the emotional side of proposals. In both scenarios, showing empathy and understanding of the customer's situation is paramount. We must communicate in a tone that resonates with the customer and use language that mirrors their own. Tailoring our boilerplate content to the specific needs and context of the customer is essential. Without this level of personalisation, we risk losing credibility and trust – and ultimately, the bid – even if these factors aren't explicitly listed in the evaluation criteria.
Effective communication in proposals goes beyond just meeting the technical requirements. It's about connecting with the customer on an emotional level, demonstrating that we understand their challenges and are committed to helping them achieve their goals. By doing so, we build trust and credibility, which are crucial for winning bids.
What are your thoughts on this? Have you had similar experiences with customer communications or proposals? I'd love to hear your insights.
