Omnichannel and personalization have become the two major factors that determine B2B (“business to business” or business-to-business) sales, according to the report “The Global Pulse of B2B Business” by the consulting firm McKinsey& Company. Added to this scenario is the trend that has been consolidated in recent years in B2B relationships and sales: data-driven decision making.
The study dictates that these businesses are in full transformation and customers are changing the way they interact, placing greater importance on flexibility through channel adoption and finding more personalized and seamless buying experiences. “They are better positioned to meet their customers’ expectations, improve business performance and achieve a step change in their growth,” notes McKinsey. This goes hand in hand with a survey by Forrester that revealed that 41% of shoppers believe analog channels have become less important than digital. It should be noted that the pandemic has also caused this process to accelerate.
This means that, today, companies that do not provide their teams with the necessary tools to work more efficiently and productively, such as access to new technology platforms or improved data access, have a clear problem. With respect to omni-channeling, it is worth noting that 72% of B2B companies that sell through seven or more channels increased their market share. This new omni-channel standard translates into the use of ten by more channels in three interaction models.
The Value of Data in B2B Sales
The rise of virtual selling has meant that B2B sales-focused organizations are increasingly willing to use the latest technologies to support their strategic decisions on data.
According to a Gartner study, by 2026, 65% of B2B sales organizations will move from the traditional model of intuition-based decision making to a data-driven plan. The goal is to leverage technologies that are able to bridge workflow, data and analytics. In addition, due to the modernization of virtual sales strategy they will be able to create a support designed to improve customer engagement, support salesperson actions thanks to data and simplify salesperson workflows.
Given the importance of data, Gartner experts recommend that organizations evaluate two types of B2B transactions:
– One based on volume and velocity, in which sales cycles are shorter (less than three months), are related to smaller deals (less than $25,000), with a small buying committee, consisting of fewer than six stakeholders, and generally for products of less complexity.
– Another model of larger businesses running for longer periods, six months or more, with larger deals, which can be over $125,000, have a purchasing committee of between eight and 11 stakeholders, and are typically for complex products.
Simplify workflows
Automating routine tasks that consume a lot of salespeople’s time is essential. This will allow them to focus on more important tasks and thus improve their performance, leaving the more mechanical tasks aside.