In these months of pandemics, companies have been forced to go digital. Today, many of the changes that have been implemented have already taken effect, although B2B companies are still looking to optimize their processes, tools and organization.
Teleworking and the limitation of ‘live’ social and business contacts have massively increased digital interactions as a means to maintain effective communication with influencers and customers.
The B2B marketing strategy is therefore facing new challenges. Here are the five most important points to consider, according to the late 2020 Salesforce report.
Capture customers’ attention in real-time
At a time when companies are looking to build connection and trust in these uncertain times, the user experience, whether it’s the end customer, reseller, installer or specifier, has become more important than ever. A previous Salesforce study from June 2019 already claimed that 84% of customers believe that the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services, up from 80% in 2018.
But mindset change and execution are two very different things, and many professionals struggle to align operations with aspirations. To achieve a positive and personalized digital experience, we need to provide answers in real-time, in a practical, simple and innovative way.
Innovate, innovate and innovate again
Innovation is essentially about anticipating new needs or meeting existing needs better than others. This is essential these days.
It is not only a matter of innovating products or services but also of adapting internal processes to be able to react adequately to market changes. It is time to implement new tools to work better in a radically different environment. They must also allow us to analyse the results in each area. The implementation and use of a CRM, more or less sophisticated, can make a big difference for the sales team. In marketing, taking the time to define clear and measurable objectives, properly implement evaluation criteria and follow up on the actions implemented allows for greater efficiency and performance. Communicate more and better, in all the sectors to which we have access and which are relevant to our targets. Measure results to optimize action plans.
Delivering consistent and creative customer experiences across channels and devices
Marketers recognize the challenges of achieving their goals. Customer data must be unified and operationalized to deliver consistent experiences tailored to customer needs in real-time.
Marketing transformation involves more than just enhanced collaboration and additional ways to connect.
In 2020, the focus has been on what needs to be done to drive audience segmentation and personalization.
Today, digital experiences focus on individual touchpoints. Personal concerns must be addressed and tailored experiences offered, independent of the overall process.
Unification of customer data sources
Emotional intelligence is a core competence. Now more than ever, it is essential to understand the entire customer journey. The key is to create consistent experiences, from the moment a potential customer discovers the brand to the moment a positive review is posted.
Share a unified view of customer data across business units
Multi-channel marketing is not new, but it has never been more relevant. Today’s customers are increasingly seeking new types of information about brands across more and more types of channels. They expect companies to engage with them in a dynamic and personalised way.
Inter-departmental interactions have become paramount. In the B2B environment, it is especially important that marketing and sales teams share a unified view of customer data, processes and goals. Tactics vary, but the strategy is common and shared.
The horizon: delivering meaningful digital experiences that drive valuable conversions
These are just a few of the challenges that industry professionals surveyed by Salesforce identified as steps to take to continually optimise and improve their B2B marketing strategies.
We must strive to connect with our customers and provide dynamic and meaningful experiences that result in valuable conversions for the brand.
Therefore, simple initiatives such as database optimization, establishing and optimizing recurring processes, and using analytics to understand where website traffic is coming from, among others, always have a great impact and add value.
ZEKLUU’s objective is to help design, draw and implement the strategy, actions, resources and marketing tools that best fit the level of development, size and resources of each company, in order to best enhance your brand.
For more information, contact us here.