MAIN INSIGHT 37
Matthew Pierce
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Has the global pandemic changed the expectations of B2B buyers?
The pandemic has made buyers more self-reliant than they were beforehand. Not being able to connect as easily with sales people, particularly if they were used to face-to-face interactions, forced their hand in undertaking more research on their own. As a result, when buyers do now speak with salespeople, they have a much clearer idea of what they're looking for and require less guidance.
As a result of the supply chain issues that affected many businesses as emerged from the pandemic, transparency and honesty have become more important to developing positive relationships with your customers than ever before. The businesses that have retained their customers through this tricky period are those that have made the effort to communicate regularly, even if it’s not positive news. Even from a B2B perspective, trust is only built through human interaction. If negative news is delivered via an email or on a website, the people who read it have a natural reaction to question the credibility of the company sharing the message. By at least having a conversation with customers to let them know about any supply chain issues, you can turn a negative into a positive and continue to build the relationship.
How important is segmentation in modern business?
Understanding your customers is the most important thing any business can do, and the first step in achieving this is to segment them. Once you’ve identified the different types of customers within your business and segmented them accordingly, you can then understand what conversations to be having with them and more importantly, predict the right time to have those conversations. This creates a positive journey for your customers by making it easier for them to buy from you.
Segmentation will also help your sales teams to create accurate sales pipelines. It’s no secret that sales teams can be overly optimistic about potential customers, often anticipating a higher close rate than is actually feasible. Collecting data through appropriate technology, such as a CRM system, on how likely different types of prospects are to convert into customers will give a far more accurate sales forecast for your business.
Once you’ve identified the different types of customers within your business and segmented them accordingly, you can then understand what conversations to be having with them and more importantly, predict the right time to have those conversations.
Keeping in regular contact with customers and making sure that there is enough trust in the relationship so they share their challenges with you will help to ensure that they don’t look to your competition for future solutions.
Do sales and marketing teams work better together or in silo?
Somewhat surprisingly, telemarketing teams and sales teams are often slightly opposed to each other. There needs to be more cultural understanding between sales and telemarketing teams, with sales teams expressing concern that telemarketing teams aren’t actually supporting their sales efforts in the best way possible. A great way to overcome this challenge and prevent both teams from working in silo is by giving your telemarketing team the opportunity to meet some of your customers face-to-face. This will allow them to understand customer challenges first-hand and empower them to have more meaningful conversations with prospects at the start of their sales journey.
Digital marketing is extremely powerful when it comes to delivering personalised communications on a large scale by using the power of data to design segments within your audience. The attributes within your data are also useful for assessing what different segments of your customer base are looking for help with. But when a customer has been with you for a few years, it becomes harder to understand how their priorities may be changing. This is where a great salesperson adds real value to the business. Keeping in regular contact with customers and making sure that there is enough trust in the relationship so they share their challenges with you will help to ensure that they don’t look to your competition for future solutions.
APP Wholesale Ltd is a national distributor of central heating, hot water, and plumbing products serving thousands of customers daily throughout the UK. A leading supplier within the industry, offering an unrivaled service and fulfillment prospect, supported by a dedicated and knowledgeable team located in nine strategic locations.
