In a new technological reality 4.0, digital tools have appeared that can completely transform commercial interactions. In B2C, the success of online sales is undeniable. As a result, the management of customer data has become fundamentally important: the content they consume on social networks, their online searches, their purchasing patterns, etc.
But how has this transformation been in the B2B, where human contact, the salesperson's visit to the customer, has always been of paramount importance?
Transformations in B2B sales
Does traditional selling work? This is the question posed by Pere Tura, CEO of CatalogPlayer, last October at Social Selling Day 2022.
To answer it, in his presentation «Sales Enablement: how to increase your customers» engagement", he reviewed some of the realities that B2B businesses face today, and that should be taken into account if we want to improve sales.
The new reality of B2B sales presents a hybrid buyer, who comes into contact with the brand through many different channels beyond the in-person sales visit and who wants more independence to carry out some parts of the purchasing process on their own. As a result, digital content and information management become priority issues in interactions between companies.
However, most B2B businesses do not have a strategy adapted to this reality.
This is what Pere Tura recounted, reviewing some very illustrative statistics:
Does traditional selling work?
As we can see, one of the problems these companies face is the lack of use of the content created by Marketing, with this underuse reaching 70%, according to McKinsey.
To solve this, it is key the alignment between marketing and sales should. This should be a priority for all companies, since the marketing department plays an essential role in attracting new customers, especially today, when content has become a decisive factor for B2B sales.
Not only can new customers come into contact with the company through the content they receive or consume online, but, in addition, the quality of this content during the sales visit is decisive for distinguishing ourselves from the competition and ensuring engagement.
Disconnection between Marketing and sales
New digital tools for this new reality
The solution to these issues is provided by digital tools. For the company, it would be interesting to opt for an integrated Sales Enablement solution.
An integrated platform, accessible to the different departments, allows for a fluid exchange of information between the sales and marketing team, which could also be reviewed by senior management for business decision-making.
At the same time, it is interesting to acquire an integrated digital tool that allows the sales team to manage all stages of the sales cycle from a single channel. In this way, real-time information can be gathered on what happens during the sales visit, a moment in the process that, traditionally, has been managed with a great deal of ignorance. At the same time, the unification of the channel facilitates adaptation to hybrid sales processes without losing information along the way.
As Pere Tura explained in his presentation, this control of all stages of the sales process, without losing continuity, is the key to increasing customer engagement and ensuring more sales.
