Customer preferences are changing towards e-Commerce and Digital self-serve.
The business world has gone through a transformation over the period of the pandemic. While organisations grappled with changing work environments, the buyer-seller dynamics were also changing, given the inability to have face-to-face interactions.
Based on a study done by McKinsey and Company, it is now evident that buyers are using in-person, remote and e-commerce channels for making business-related purchase decisions. Started in 2016, this study was designed to understand the thought process behind finding a new supplier, building and fostering relationships with them and choosing what and how to buy and reorder with suppliers.
The pandemic forced the pace of change and shifted customer behaviour, favouring video conference interactions and e-commerce. Customers today are demanding more digital, consumer-like interactions with suppliers.
Key points from the latest B2B Pulse Survey of McKinsey and Company state:
— Ninety-four percent
of respondents view today’s B2B omnichannel reality—in which customers buy face-to-face, remotely, and online—as being as effective or more than before COVID-19.
— B2B customers
now regularly use ten or more channels to interact with suppliers (up from just five in 2016).
— Buyers
are more willing than ever before to spend big through remote or online sales channels, with 35 percent willing to spend $500,000 or more in a single transaction (up from 27 percent in February 2021). Seventy-seven percent of B2B customers are also willing to spend $50,000 or more.
— Suppliers
will have to fight hard to retain loyalty if customer needs are not met: for example, eight in ten B2B decision makers say they will actively look for a new supplier if performance guarantees (e.g., a full refund if a certain level of performance is not met) are not offered
How we do things for ourselves drives our behaviour when working for the organisation. The B2B buyers today are more inclined to conduct their own research online, whether they turn to webinars, social media content, review sites, industry experts or peer recommendations. The number of marketing channels has increased substantially, and each of these channels has a strong influence on the buyer. The marketing teams must recognise the importance of each channel for their product or service and create content that ringfences the buyer. This can be daunting because omnichannel outreach is only as effective as the quality of available data. Keeping your data clean with routine data cleansing is critical to this activity.
As a marketing unit, how would you identify buyers across channels? The consensus way forward is through intent monitoring, a data strategy that allows marketers to find out who is digitally searching for their solutions. From search engine queries to repeat website visits and content downloads, intent monitoring uncovers digital signals that a prospect is potentially in-market. Typically, these signals are generated weekly or monthly and can provide valuable insights that, when coupled with high-quality contact data, allow marketers to target potential companies that have shown an interest in solutions they provide — at scale.
Additionally, intent data can be used to identify buying group members by tracking IP addresses mapped to the same company.
Many platforms with targeted advertising options have developed complex algorithms to provide intent-based targeting options. This has helped marketers improve ROI on spending and get better lifetime value from existing accounts. Engaging buyers at multiple channels ensures high visibility and recall. The challenge is to identify buyer behaviour and determine which channels are most effective for what part of the sales funnel. Once you have established this, content creation and structured data monitoring will help build a strong funnel.
The self-service side of buyer behaviour is also a growing space and is critical to existing buyer-seller relationships. The pace and ease of transaction are driving this mode of buying. The buyer enjoys much more control and is starting to appreciate the flexibility this brings to a business transaction.
B2B sales and marketing models are changing, and a key force behind that change is omnichannel as a preference for today’s B2B buyers. Many channels and modes which were developed for the B2C space are now finding a strong footing in the B2B space. Now is the time to start if you’re not already employing a multichannel strategy.
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