How LoyaltyLoop Helps Buyers and Sellers of Businesses
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
Selling a business is a daunting task. So is buying a business. Often times, the needs of the buyer and seller are at odds with each other, and finding alignment can be difficult. But did you know that LoyaltyLoop can be extremely helpful in the process, regardless if you are on the buy-side or the sell-side?
If you are the seller, you want to ensure you maximize the value (price and terms) you receive for your business. As the seller you will need to find ways to justify the value they seek to any buyer. This will take the form of historical and projected revenues, cash flows and related. Typically, the seller will need to provide due diligence documentation, so the details surrounding the business can be verified by the buyer. Often times, this process is uncomfortable, awkward, and can feel like a visit to your oral surgeon.
The buyer is also in a difficult position. They do not want to overpay for the business, and they do need to verify what the seller tells them, hence the request for reams of due diligence info. Ultimately, the buyer is seeking transparency into the seller's business. It is the proverbial process of "kicking the tires" and "looking under the hood". But unlike buying a car, the buyer and seller are in no position to allow "test drives". This inherently puts both parties are in a difficult position to achieve their objectives.
What if there was an easy and transparent way to for the seller to help demonstrate the value they seek for their business, and a transparent way for the buyer to help validate the value? That's where LoyaltyLoop comes in.
If the buyer has been using LoyaltyLoop, and executing continuous improvements to deliver increasingly better customer experiences, the seller's customer experience (CX) metrics will likely reflect this. The seller will likely have a high Net Promoter Score (NPS), indicating a higher likelihood of repeat business from loyal customers. In addition, the seller has a documented system chock-full of real customer feedback and comments to leverage during the sales process. This same data can be extremely helpful to sellers and buyers alike. Here's how:
1. LoyaltyLoop Provides High Value To Sellers
The data in the seller's LoyaltyLoop account can help demonstrate the value of the business to prospective buyers. In one single dashboard, a buyer can see how customers view the business, and how happy they are. This can provide reassurance to the buyer they are making the right decision to acquire this company at the seller's stated value. Buying a business with a high NPS, reinforces the quality of the asset (customer base) that the seller is selling, and the buyer is buying.
The seller, as a user of LoyaltyLoop, will promote their business via fresh customer Testimonials and Reviews to prospects. Promoting these comments to buyers is equally powerful. But, giving all your customer details to prospective buyers is not always wise, and can feel like undressing in a room full of strangers. No problem. In LoyaltyLoop, go to your Feedback section and download all your customer survey responses. Open that file, and delete all the customer identifiable details, providing just the sanitized surveys responses such as the date of response, response to questions, comments, needs for other services, etc.
2. LoyaltyLoop Provides High Value To Buyers
LoyaltyLoop provides a clear and transparent view into the most valuable asset of the target business - the seller's customers. For both seller and buyer, having easy access to customer feedback can help the seller with due diligence, and help the buyer understand what they are buying.
In addition, all the customer data residing in the seller's LoyaltyLoop is also an asset of the business. The seller's LoyaltyLoop account can be easily transferred to the buyer. For a buyer, it is extremely helpful to have historical feedback from their newly acquired customers for the transition period and beyond.
3. Transferring a LoyaltyLoop Account from Seller to Buyer is Easy
The seller's LoyaltyLoop account can be transferred to the new owner per the seller's instructions while the account is active. The seller or Admin User on the seller's LoyaltyLoop need only notify our support team of the change in ownership, and LoyaltyLoop will work with the new owner to update their survey to their brand and details (no additional cost).
Now the buyer will have all the historical feedback and can continue to receive feedback and reviews going forward. While gathering feedback all the time is important, it is especially important when there has been a major change in a business, like a change of ownership. New owners have so many things to manage during the post-acquisition process, hence using LoyaltyLoop to keep an eye on customer attitudes and experiences is absolutely critical. Otherwise, the buyer may wake up one day to realize those newly acquired customers switch to another company for your products and services.