In today’s digital age, the world of B2B is undergoing a significant shift, changing the way businesses operate and grow. The traditional way of doing business is fundamentally changing, leading to new trends and developments in the industry. Companies should consider reviewing their budgets to invest in activities that meet these changing needs.
For example, the processes and techniques used to market and sell products and services to other companies have fundamentally changed over the past five years. Most of the time, marketing strategies are aimed at arousing customer interest in order to get sales to close those deals. This was the conventional way of building income within an established company. The digital erahowever, has changed the way customers explore and consume solutions, forcing a change in this traditional paradigm.
With the advent of digital engagement, this approach has been transformed. There is a major role reversal in the sales and marketing models used in the B2B world. “The demand for digital customer engagement has led to a need to take a more customer-centric approach to both marketing and sales,” said Gavin Finn, CEO of Kaon interactivean interactive sales and marketing platform for large enterprises.
As customers now use digital channels to engage and learn on their own, they are no longer bound by the limitations of traditional selling. This shift to online has pushed consumers to buy in the blink of an eye, which can result in increased revenue. It has now become critical for organizations to adjust their budgets to allocate funds to activities that help them remain competitive in the digital age. Managing how you invest using the tips below will make all the difference to a healthy return.
Table of Contents
1. Budget for less personal, more digital interactions
Traditional sales methods such as face-to-face meetings and fairs incur significant costs, from salaries to booth fees to travel-related costs; the numbers can add up quickly, making ROI nearly impossible in today’s digital landscape. Channeling money to online channels offers a more cost-effective way to reach a wider audience. Investing in website chat assistants, virtual trade shows, and webinars can be valuable alternatives, just to name a few.
Historically, B2B sales have relied heavily on long, detailed sales cycles with multiple touchpoints with potential customers. However, the digital age has changed the way people research and buy products and services. Buyers now prefer self-service purchasing, researching and making decisions without sales interaction.
The rise of ecommerce platforms like Amazon Business is a clear example of how digital technology has impacted the B2B sales process. Companies are now funding the adoption of more customer-centric alternatives by offering online marketplaces, digital content and self-service portals to facilitate sales.
Giving the purchasing power back to the consumer can be quite lucrative to increase ROI. This is evident from research by Statistical, nearly 20% of all retail sales were conducted through e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon. That number is also only expected to increase, with an estimated growth of more than $8.1 billion spent through e-commerce by 2026. This proves the value found in rethinking sales from traditional routes to more online-focused digital marketplaces.
2. Invest in effective digital routes to sales
Historically, it was common for B2B companies to opt for expensive advertising and company-specific marketing efforts, such as conference presentations, flyers or direct mail. In the digital age, buyers are more informed and informed. They do personal online research. That’s why it’s more important than ever for companies to allocate resources to marketing efforts that provide informative, detectable routes to sales, likely with even lower overheads than traditional marketing.
By investing in buyer-centric marketing, companies can respond to the concerns and needs of potential customers. Videos, case studies, white papers and webinars are accessible to potential customers and provide them with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.
Interactive engagement with an omnichannel approach has become critical to tell complex value stories in today’s B2B landscape. “Digital channels are most effective when the customer is engaged in a multi-sensory way,” says Finn. “They control how the story is revealed, much like how a video game works, rather than a linear video or a slideshow.”
The highest ROI comes from driving customers to a landing page across channels. According to a study by Gartner, by the year 2025, an estimated 80% of B2B sales interactions will take place through digital channels. Financing innovative ways to remove purchase barriers after one or more points of attention leads to more sales and healthier income.
3. Set aside money for internal communication and productivity tools
As B2B sales and marketing play more advisory and informational roles, their roles become more tight fit. In the digital age, sales and marketing are no longer independent functions operating in separate silos. Instead, they should work together to produce content and information that is relevant, informative and motivating to the customer.
For a profitable B2B sales and marketing approach, it is essential to allocate resources in the budget to integrate both functions. In a digital landscape, marketing and sales are a click away from each other; therefore they must work in harmony. There’s no better way to do this than by allocating money to internal tools that drive visibility, communication and productivity.
Sales-enabled marketing tools ensure that the sales team has the tools, messages, and resources they need to convert leads into sales. Marketing-influenced selling combines marketing and sales practices to generate revenue-driven results. Such tools, as well as standalone CRM tools, task management systems, and instant messaging platforms, can incur significant costs, so setting money aside in the budget is critical to finding the right solution.
Factors involved in the need to reallocate funds
B2B companies are rethinking their budgets, mainly due to the technological changes of the past few decades. There are a number of peripheral factors to consider in the need to reallocate resources to compete in the digital age. Technology is not the only thing at play; the changing attitudes around technology are just as important.
Technology
First, it’s important to address what exactly has changed in the tools we use to do business. The increasing sophistication of mobile devices or PCs has allowed access to a digital marketplace that is available 24/7. Consumers no longer have to work around schedules to squeeze into a meeting with a salesperson to discuss purchases. Even at the company level, this shift is palpable: people are enjoying the freedom of time.
This change can be significant advantageous yes for companies. Never before has it been more necessary to have a high-quality ecommerce landing page for consumers to conduct business at their convenience. This keeps the proverbial sales floor constantly open. In addition, collecting data about sales is much more efficient through online purchases. And the organization is faster and more streamlined than personal.
The collective shift to a digitally focused platform has strong potential for high ROI. Aside from the early overhead of changing focus to outdated sales tactics, the digital marketplace works for pennies on the dollar. With the lightning pace of online purchases, the ability to let consumers choose when and where to buy will certainly increase revenue.
Postures
In recent years, individuals have seen profound changes in the way people behave online. Post-pandemic saw employers and employees embrace remote working en masse. In addition, online communication became commonplace. Most companies are still feeling the effects of a remote existence, including a virtual trend in purchasing power. This trend is spearheaded by younger and digitally literate people who already exist online.
Forbes Business Council member Marielle Dellemijn explains digital shift. “A generational change is taking place. Millennials are taking up decision-making positions, which means an increase in virtual sales practices,” writes Dellemijn. “…Millennials in B2B roles often prefer online buying experiences through a digital-first approach, without contacting sellers.”
Dellemijn then describes the sales data behind this shift. “…more than 44% of millennial B2B buyers prefer to close a deal without interacting with sales professionals. Up to 17% of the total buying process occurs in direct contact with sales…” Gartner conducted this research out, The Future of Sales: Transformational Strategies for B2B Sales Organizations And 5 ways the future of B2B purchasing will rewrite the rules of effective selling.
Changes in the digital age call for budgetary changes
The B2B sales and marketing roles are changing. This indicates that companies need to adjust their policies financial plans to the digital age to stay competitive. Prioritizing funds to implement new technology and techniques that enable better buyer engagement and provide value is essential to developing a healthy ROI.
The digital age is changing the way B2B companies sell and market their products. Business leaders need to embrace the trend and prioritize spending that puts the customer first. By doing this, companies can build trust, strengthen relationships and ultimately drive revenue growth.
Take away food:
- Plan for the changing landscape of the digital era of sales and marketing. As technology brings people online, funding digital experiences is essential to closing a sale.
- Marketing communication methods change with the digital landscape. Investing in high-quality digital marketing activities that lead to sales is now more important than ever.
- Sales and marketing now work more closely together than ever before. Putting budgetary emphasis on the importance of internal communication and connectivity between both functions to develop an approach to ROI is now more necessary.
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