The trends that is changing sales
Companies need to blur the line between marketing, service and sales
The accelerated speed of communication and customers ability to access information with just a few keystrokes is changing everything – including how customers make purchase decisions. Those companies and sellers who adapt to these changes will thrive, and those who don’t will perish.
Content marketing an integral part of how companies sell
The hardest thing about B2B selling today is that customers don’t need a salesperson the way they used to. In recent decades sales reps have become adept at discovering customers’ needs and selling them “solutions” – generally, complex combinations of products and services. This worked because customers didn’t know how to solve their own problems, even though they often had a good understanding of what their problems were.
60% of a prospect’s buying decision happens before they even talk to a salesperson
But now, customers are spending hours researching solutions before they even starts a conversation with a potential supplier. Research shows that up to 60% of decision-making in B2B is made before the decision-maker approaches the supplier – researching solutions, ranking options, setting requirements, bench-marking pricing, and so on.
This means that companies have to produce enough content so that the customers can see the company as a thought leader. This makes content marketing an integral part of how companies sell, today!
Gartner predicts that by 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationships with enterprise without interacting with a human, indicating decision makers will count on content more than ever
Create content that describes the problems the company solve for customers. Suggest ways to solve the challenge – be sure to deliver value. The question is what is that customer reading? Where are they reading it? How can the customer be reached? Through which channels?
Customer words make brands – Word of mouth’s growing importance
A brand is no longer what the company tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is. As online communities increase in size, number and character, companies have come to recognize word of mouth’s growing importance.
The lines between sales, service and marketing will blur – The game is changing
No matter what product or service a company provides, the top priority should be to ensure that the customers have a great experience with the brand. Customer loyalty – and, by extension, referrals – will follow naturally from there.
Trust as an integrated part of strategy
Both elements have to play an important role in the journey towards “The Trusted Company”.
Trust as an integrated part of strategy. The importance of strong customer relationships
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Hi Torben Rick
“Research shows that up to 60% of decision-making in B2B is made before the decision-maker approaches the supplier – researching solutions, ranking options, setting requirements, bench-marking pricing, and so on.” True that!
The only looser in above situation is that brand that doesn’t have online presence, a presence that is made out of rich, actionable, authoritative content, content that a potential client utilizes for decision making prior to contacting a supplier.
Here is a little fact: According to a research the average annual revenue of a small business without a website is $3.6 million and $5.03 million with a website.
The Content is a king! If you want to reach people via your website you must think about high value text!