What Do You Look Like When the Tide Goes Out?

“It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.”
I love that quote from Warren Buffett. 
It is summertime, which means many folks are enjoying the sun and sea. So, is your company the swimmer who is naked or clothed when the tide goes out?
During an economic downturn, it is imperative that executives take steps to strengthen their companies. The companies that do not take the time to create strategic blueprints for helping customers succeed with their solutions, will be exposed and unfortunately for some, they will drown.
Here are three steps you can adopt to limit your exposure:
Align the Leadership Team: Investment in customer success is imperative, and your CEO must be willing to shift business priorities and redirect investments. Long-term investment is needed to nurture the success of your customers. Executives must agree upon how they plan to increase sales and drive operational efficiencies and product innovation.
Guide the Customer through Value-Centric Sales and Service: Most companies have silos of information on their customers. Tapping into this information is crucial in understanding the buyer's mindset and behavior exhibited during their buying cycles. Problems are opportunities, so determine how to capitalize on them. Company metrics must be aligned to adoption and customer value objectives. Put the customer relationship into your marketing and sales framework. Create a repeatable call-to-action architecture. Map a conversion strategy to accelerate your pipeline and track the ROI from your online marketing and sales campaigns. Track this information to define success.
Investment in Sales and Marketing Automation: Future growth is often driven from current customer successes. Revisit your marketing and sales processes. Look at your online world, and learn how to adapt your programs to decipher your customers’ intentions. Use this information to develop messaging that maps to what is top of mind for your customers. Understand their pain points, what motivates them and where they go for validation. Create messages that will drive adoption and effective usage of your products. Adopting these three steps will provide peace of mind knowing your swim suit will stay put once the tide goes out.