If you’re a business owner, you know that constantly evolving the sales process. Technology has changed the way consumers buy products and services, and it’s had a similar impact on the B2B sales process. Find out how technology is changing B2B sales and how you can adapt to stay ahead of the competition.
1. Lead Generation
It wasn’t easy to find new prospects without your in-house army of sales reps. Now anyone can utilize the Internet and social media to generate leads for free. But it’s not easy! The increased competition has increased conversion rates, so you need to stay on top of your game. Here are a few trends to help you with this:
– Paid advertising platforms — Whether Google AdWords or LinkedIn, the more competitive keywords are getting very expensive. This means that if you want to be found on these sites, you need to ramp up your paid advertising dollars. And be sure to track the conversions of every lead!
– Social media — Building a solid social presence can help your company get more leads, but be careful how you’re spending your time online. Social sites are great for creating relationships with potential new customers, but they’re also very good at distracting you from your work. If you need to decrease time on Facebook or Instagram, do it. Your business will thank you!
2. Lead Scoring
Lead generation used to be difficult because businesses didn’t have a system for evaluating potential sales leads consistently. Now that companies can track company size and revenue in a spreadsheet, you can score your leads to sort the most viable prospects from the rest.
– Are they potential clients? — Do they have a decent amount of money? Do they have at least one decision-maker available during regular business hours?
– Are you able to close them without too much effort? These are all factors that determine whether or not you should spend your time trying to get in touch with a prospect.
3. Lead Nurturing
Before digital marketing existed, salespeople would focus on converting them as quickly as possible when they got leads. Now that businesses are generating more leads with paid advertising, social media, and other channels, these marketers are applying the concept of lead nurturing to all potential clients. This means they are staying in touch with each person who might become a new client over time, rather than trying to push them into making a purchase immediately.
– Keep it consistent — You don’t need to make daily or even weekly calls if that’s not your style. As long as you stay in touch regularly, you’re making progress. If you’ve been nurturing a lead for years, and they finally become a new client, you can bet that it’s because of your consistent outreach!
4. Video Conferencing
Before, the only way to conduct business was by meeting in person. That meant salespeople needed to travel everywhere, which was expensive and time-consuming. Now that there are so many more options for video conferencing, you can conduct video calls with customers around the world if necessary.
– Video is excellent — Video conferencing has made it much easier for marketers to pitch products to potential clients in other parts of the world. And if you can’t travel, this is a great way to give prospective customers an in-depth view of your company culture and products.
5. Marketing Automation
Most companies didn’t have a system to stay in touch with their clients and nurture leads over time. Now that marketers are using lead scoring and lead promoting strategies instead of just trying to push sales immediately, they need a way to organize these leads and track which ones might be ready to buy.
– Marketing automation is essential — These systems help marketers see who is at each stage of the buying process, so they can send tailored messages as needed. This means that if you’re nurturing a lead, you’ll know when they’re about to become a client so you can prepare.
7. Analytics
Long gone are the days when marketers could rely solely on gut feelings about which campaigns or strategies will be the most effective in bringing in new leads. Nowadays, tech PR firms specializing in the B2B sphere can track open rates, click-throughs, and conversion rates by sending out a single newsletter or email blast.
If you want to succeed with digital marketing, learn how to use analytics tools like Google Analytics and Hubspot so you can keep track of everything your company is doing online.
8. Personalization
Before digital marketing existed, businesses had no idea who their customers were or how they found out about the company in the first place. One way marketers personalize their marketing is by encouraging customers to upload photos or create videos about how they use the company’s products or services.
Give your followers a voice — If you encourage people to contribute content about your business, each piece of media created will be more authentic. Showing prospective clients that real people use your products or services will enhance your brand image and prove that you’re a trustworthy company.
As you can see, the Internet has made it easier for businesses to connect with new customers. Now that companies focus on lead scoring and marketing automation, marketers need quality content to form relationships with potential clients online.