You\u2019re hearing this so often, because transforming your business and offering better digital experiences is where you\u2019ll find the competitive differentiator for most companies and the most promising way to influence future profitability, customer satisfaction, and speed-to-market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McKinsey reported in the article \u201cHow B2B digital leaders drive five times more revenue growth than their peers<\/a>\u201d that B2B companies aren\u2019t on par with B2C companies in terms of digital maturity. The average digital maturity score (DQ) for 50 surveyed B2B companies was 28, compared with 35 for B2C companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s not the most striking part about this research. What\u2019s most interesting is that B2B digital leaders in the top quartile generate 3.5% more revenue and are 15% more profitable.<\/strong> Improving on the digital front must become a strategic priority:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n You may say that you are already embracing digital. You have digitized back-office workflows and resource planning and modernized your IT infrastructure. While you may have managed to reduce your internal cost and increase process efficiencies, these initiatives are not impacting the areas where the real growth is: sales and the customer experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But what exactly can you do to deliver on the new expectations in B2B commerce? We have 3 tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Forrester<\/a>, six out of 10 B2B buyers would rather use your website than talk with your sales force. They expect the same level of ease and convenience that top B2C portals offer them. Yet, most B2B selling models still primarily rely on offline interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask yourself: Is my business dependent on sales tactics executed by sales pros to turn a profit? Am I working to transform key selling tactics into a digital experience? Are we leveraging technology advances to expand our company\u2019s ability to serve our customers and improve the efficacy of our sales resources?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a seamless digital B2B experience, buyers need to be able to navigate through the crucial stages in the decision-making journey on their own. They need to be able to familiarize themselves with your business and products to almost reach the point of purchase without your personal input.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n B2B companies are increasingly offering Digital advice as self-service solution on their websites to inform, educate and move leads through the sales funnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download the free Guide \u2013 Digital Advice for B2B Commerce<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Omnichannel is another requirement for B2B companies to keep buyers moving seamlessly through their decision-making process. B2B buyers today are much more comfortable conducting research, finding information and making purchase decisions online. An average B2B buyer uses six different channels during the course of their buying journey. They switch between online and offline channels, moving smoothly from face-to-face interactions to the online environment and vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suppliers with rigid selling models that rely on disjointed channels need to take account of this shift in behavior and be more flexible in how and where they interact with prospective buyers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The demographic change is playing a major part in this behavioral shift. You\u2019ll find that your buyer is increasingly the \u201cmobile millennial\u201d. According to The Economist, millennials occupied 34% of business positions in 2015, compared to 29% for baby boomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The millennial generation of B2B buyers is way ahead on the digital curve. Not only do they use mobile for most of their online interactions, it is also notable that in most cases, mobile is the first step in their buying journey. More than 90% of B2B buyers use a mobile device at some point in their decision-making process. Yet, less than 10% of B2B companies have a compelling mobile strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most significant area where digitization and sales process automation supports your business is in empowering your sales executives. The role of a B2B sales executive has undergone a paradigm shift in the wake of technology, so much so that Forrester predicts the death of a (B2B) salesman<\/a> in the upcoming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What it really means is that the age old tricks of conventional salesmanship will no longer be effective in this digital scenario and sales executives will have to take on a more sophisticated role in a customer-centric environment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n B2B buyers expect simple, fast and inexpensive transactions during procurement. At the same time, there is a demand for highly complex solutions that can meet the needs of sophisticated, international buyers. Today, sales reps must be Jacks and Jill’s of all trade and Master of all. They need to able to sell different products and become specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Generate_image_for_my_blog_post_blog_post_title-6.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1) Develop a Comprehensive Digital Self-Service Strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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2. Provide a Compelling Experience \u2013 Online and Off<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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3. Empower your Sales Force<\/h2>\n\n\n\n