Thoughts from the CEO
Tim Bond
said it's more important to entertain and capture the imagination of prospective buyers
This is our second Market View focusing on the evolving role of human engagement in B2B sales, continuing the conversation we began in July 2022. In the wake of new disruption to the economy and the soaring cost of doing business, we conducted a new poll in October, this time with 33 senior marketing people in leading tech and professional services organisations.
Some of the trends we witnessed back in the summer are even more acute now. In July, 84% of our interviewees said that it was becoming more important to entertain and capture the imagination of prospective buyers: that proportion is now 96%. And today, 92% of senior marketing professionals see B2B and B2C approaches blurring, up from 84% in the summer.
To companies still relying heavily on face-to-face sales meetings, glossy brochures and generic messaging, this is a wake-up call. This is not the way business customers want to buy, and that’s especially true as ‘digital natives’ move up through the workplace, expecting to engage with brands very differently, and in a way that resonates with - and is convenient - for them.
To respond to this, B2B brands need to become better at listening to what their differing customers want, and how they prefer to engage. And the great news is that, if they do that, they can make every touch point, every interaction, count.
Gartner predicts that, by 2026, 65% of B2B sales organizations will transition from intuition- to data-driven decision making. Certainly, the technology to help with all of this is very sophisticated now. You can harness chatbots to ask powerfully direct questions such as, “What do we need to do to win your business?”, allowing marketing and sales functions to capture – via simple automation - individual buyers’ priorities and barriers to purchase, and prepare accordingly.
Since the pandemic, everyone has found it harder to make time for meetings or live Zoom or Teams sessions. Especially if they’re working from home and juggling family commitments.
So it’s up to marketing and sales teams to be more creative in reaching out to them, with exactly what they need, so that by the time there is a live interaction it will count for both sides.
Influencer marketing has changed the face of marketing.
SHAMARK NUR
Senior Performance Marketing Manager
Astound Commerce
‘Snackable’ content can have a big impact, here. Just as an online message or voice note is less intrusive than a live call, a short personalised video message can be powerful in getting across a tailored message or short explainer, which the buyer can digest and share in their own time.
“Influencer marketing has changed the face of marketing,” noted one of our interviewees this time - Shamark Nur, Senior Performance Marketing Manager at Astound Commerce. “Millennials just don't trust traditional marketing any more.”
To address this generational shift, companies need to “get more involved with social causes, and partner with thought leaders, industry experts and brand ambassadors - to really showcase their company and reach their audience,” he said. And not just across the web, but by harnessing video and social media.
I completely agree that it’s never been more important to have a range of tools in your kit, for all eventualities and preferences. At Network Sunday, we conduct targeted buyer research; we produce crowdsourced content publications, and we use meetings and events as appropriate as part of a strategic hybrid model of engagement.
It’s where we all need to be. McKinsey estimates that hybrid selling will be the most dominant sales strategy by 2024 due to shifts in customer preferences and remote-first engagement. Get really good at this, and the rewards can be rich.