There are many companies that have Australian customers but no staff in the country. Often this is because they can’t quite justify the cost of a full-time salary, office rent, a phone number etc. But then the question is, how do they look after and nurture their Australian customers? Often they aren’t or they are doing it badly. It is difficult to visit Australia, as it is far from nearly everywhere else in the world, so even if they are able to visit here twice a year, that is not really enough.
Even trying to keep in touch with your Australian customers over the phone is challenging. The time zone differences are a huge impediment. For example, in the Australian summer, there is virtually no overlap with New York. Australians don’t want to speak to suppliers late at night or early in the morning; they want to speak during our business day.
Have you also considered cultural differences and language barriers?
If you are company headquartered in San Francisco, London or Tel Aviv, you need Australians on the ground to Account Manage your customers in Australia. Don’t kid yourself saying you’ll do it remotely over the phone and Skype. You really think you can visit twice, three times a year? I doubt it. And even if you do, there will be months between visits. You need to speak to your customers face to face at least once a month. Your customers need to be able to contact you by voice, Live Chat and email during their business day.
I know what you’re thinking, we don’t quite have the revenue in Australia to justify full-time staff members there yet. One day we will hopefully, but how do we get there? By using a shared Local Account Management and Sales service (LAM). This type of offering allows you to use and pay for only the hours you need. It might be as little as three hours a week. By doing this, qualified people will be trained in your products and offerings. They will regularly visit and keep in touch with your customers. They will report back to you what your customers like, and what’s bugging them (literally if you are selling software).
Don’t let the first time you hear of a customer being unhappy occur when they cancel your service. Use a LAM to be your eyes and earns on the ground, your early warning system in case of customer dissatisfaction. By looking after your existing customers in this way, you have a much better chance of them:
- buying more from you
- acting as champions for your brand
- referring you to other potential customers
- fully utilising your product
- writing testimonials
- being more willing to be a reference site
Not only that, the LAM will also let you tap into their network and sales pipeline, giving you plenty of opportunity to grow your customer base in Australia. Then it won’t be long until you do have the customer numbers and revenue to justify full time staff in Australia.