What is your strategy this year? Here are some sales trends to set you up for success in 2024

The start of the year is a good time to set goals, as we have the feeling of closing a chapter and feel particularly motivated to take on new challenges. But today, instead of new year's resolutions, we want to talk to you about new year's trends.

Well, how are we going to meet our goals if we don't know where to start?

At CatalogPlayer we want to help you. So, if you are in charge of a sales team or you own a company and you think it's time to boost sales, stay and read our list of the 5 sales trends you should follow in 2024.

5 sales trends

1. Data analysis: data-driven personalisation

Previous years have already shown it, but the trend is still on the rise: data is essential for marketing and sales.

It is clear that the priority must continue to be the continuous improvement of the customer experience. In this sense, data analysis is our key to understanding customer behaviour, so following data analysis trends will be essential in 2024.

Only if we have enough information about our customer can we ensure a personalised experience, with precise segmentation of our customer base.

2. «Phygital» experiences: the union of the physical and the digital

Were you familiar with the concept of «phygital»? Phygital strategies are the new marketing trend that achieves the fusion of physical and digital experience. Many companies have already joined this trend, as it offers customers the best of both worlds: the more personal and emotional experience of buying in person, with the convenience of online shopping.

In this, the essential thing is to bet on the connection between the two spheres, so that the customer has an improved experience, but also a seamless one throughout the Customer Journey.

In the case of B2B sales, the phygital trend is key. Face-to-face meetings with the customer are essential, whether in person or in virtual format, and it is interesting that the information exchanged in these meetings is aligned with the digital processes with the company, as well as offering the customer the opportunity to track the process from their own devices.

3. Omnichannel: everything at once and in one place

In a company, it will be common for there to be an exchange of information in different directions, whether internally or from the brand to the customer. Therefore, unifying communication is a fundamental step and a trend that is here to stay.

Firstly, it will be essential that in 2024 companies commit to boosting the connection between marketing and sales. Omnichannel allows information to be centralised in one place, so the commercial content shown to the customer will be more aligned with their purchasing needs.

Furthermore, omnichannel allows the customer to contact the company through various channels, without losing information and reducing the errors that multichannel can generate if it is not well managed. This provides a better, seamless customer experience.

With omnichannel, your company can manage its commercial and marketing actions from a single platform. In the case of the CatalogPlayer platform you will be able to access all your commercial content from one place and in close connection with marketing.

4. Automation: efficiency on the rise

Automation is already a reality that helps many companies efficiently manage their activity, resulting in significant savings in time and resources.

In 2024, maximising the automation of routine and repetitive processes continues to be a trend, so that each department can focus more on its specific objectives and on everything that requires a human touch.

The latest innovations in Artificial Intelligence can help us take advantage of automation in more specific tasks and solve problems more appropriately and quickly.

5. Customer Centricity: the importance of providing value

As we have seen in the previous trends, people do not cease to be important with the arrival of new technologies. In fact, on the contrary, the functions that only we humans can perform gain a new value, especially when it comes to offering the customer a memorable experience.

Currently, people talk about «value selling», that is, with a focus on generating value for the customer through the product or service offered. In this way, instead of focusing on the characteristics of our specific product, sales teams should focus on the customer's needs. And not only that: their desires, motivations and the objectives they pursue with the purchase.

In other words, if you are not already doing so, 2024 is the time to offer tailor-made solutions, with value propositions, to start selling more and better.

Key data for 2024

Below, we also present some data of interest that highlight the importance of these trends and can help you focus your sales strategies in 2024.

• In retail, 80% of companies have already invested in omnichannel (PWC)
• 82% of customers expect to receive a response to their query in less than 10 minutes. (ServiceBell)
• It has been shown that sales automation reduces the error rate by at least 20% (LeadSquared)