A new Forrester report points to the way forward for digital sales strategies to remain effective in a market where B2B customers have increasingly more control over the purchasing process. Although this is a trend that already existed before the pandemic, the investor phone number data events of 2020 have only accelerated it, forcing the adoption of new sales tactics and tools.
One of the key findings of the report is that sales and marketing teams need to work closely together. A collective effort is needed to identify which approaches are most effective at each step of the sales process, as customers can need up to 24 interactions (human and digital) before completing a purchase.
The study divides these interactions into two categories: digital exchanges of information (emails and communications on social media or the brand's website) and virtual exchanges (video conferences, chat conversations or online events).
Analyze your customers' behavior to discover what they need
Considering that, according to Forrester’s 2021 B2B Sales Report, customers’ first interactions with a company are mostly autonomous (56%), the most effective way to extract behavioral signals from buyers is to analyze their digital footprint.
Your company can gain a significant competitive advantage by interpreting these signals well, which requires:
Monitor customer purchase intent data.
Using digital purchase intent signals to identify sales opportunities.
Analyze the results to provide useful information to the sales team.
By following these three steps, you can collect valuable information throughout the entire purchasing process, which is especially important in those processes where the first interactions may be “invisible.”
Aggressive selling no longer works
If you want your social media strategy to be effective, it can no longer be based on aggressive sales. One of the keys, according to Forrester, is credibility: conveying honesty to your customers and getting them to trust your brand is, in the long run, much more effective.
Your sales teams should spend time analyzing what is being said on social media, paying special attention to the groups, channels and hashtags that are most relevant to your company. At the same time, they should collaborate with the marketing department to ensure that social media content focuses on customer needs and not self-promotion.
If your brand wants to position itself as an expert in its sector, it is important that it dedicates itself to generating information of interest to customers and leaves behind the most aggressive advertising content. In addition, it is necessary to participate in the conversations of potential customers to influence them and generate engagement.
Forrester argues that brands must constantly evaluate the type of messages they send to their audiences to identify which ones are most effective and continue creating content along the same lines.
Virtual communication skills are essential
As Forrester explains, many B2B customers prefer the convenience of virtual contact with suppliers , so knowing how to navigate this context is key. Role plays , for example, are quite useful for exercising teams' virtual skills. Another technique that can serve to boost the effectiveness of these communications is to continue holding online meetings even after resuming face-to-face work, so that the habit of working in a virtual environment is not lost.
