B2B
B2B
Historically, sales-driven B2Bs were less inclined to focus on capital-B Branding. But that’s all changing so we explore Client Engagement, and now sharing how B2Bs can shift their mindsets to grow.
There’s a change afoot in the B2B world. Once known for their buttoned-up cultures and button-down collars, these historically sales-driven enterprises have begun to adopt the emotional tools of brand-building to stay competitive and grow their businesses. We’ve noticed this trend in our own case study of Client engagement. It is quite evident that change is gaining momentum.
We thought it might be a good time to take a beat, collect our thoughts and better define what we’re seeing, why we’re seeing it and what it means for professionals looking to reorient their efforts and create modern B2B brands.
Selling vs. Branding
In the past, B2Bs have relied on a well-oiled sales organization to drive sales and business growth. Sale professionals employed lead discipline and people skills to build relationships and generally be in the right place at the right time when a customer was ready to buy. In this way, sales teams often become the main face for their company, and thus carry the weight of the company’s reputation.
But changes in customer behavior are requiring modern B2Bs to rethink traditional sales approaches. Successful organizations are complimenting sales activations with modern brand-building as a way to expedite sales cycles, soften the top of sales funnels, create consistency and synchronicity from rep to rep and, ultimately, invest in long-term growth.
How Branding Became Key to the Modern B2B.
- Digitally native (or close to it)
- Social media adroit
- Brand savvy
- Values-driven
- Work/life blending
These sensibilities are producing new buying behaviors and, similar to the scramble made by consumer brands over a decade ago, B2B brands need to overcome their institutional inertia to catch up to their customers. So, let’s catch up.
Clients Do The Research Digitally.
When you’ve grown up with search engines, research is second nature, whether for an Science information or a sneaker purchase. This behavior has dramatically changed the level of information required to begin a purchase journey, as well as when, where and how information is accessed.
If the company sales rep is the source of information for a company’s product then its time to update that websites and social media channels have knocked reps out of the top spot—and if yours aren’t brand-aligned, you’re missing out on a huge competitive advantage.
Clients are Comfortable Buying Big-Ticket Items Online.
Being digitally native doesn’t stop at search engines. This group has grown up in a world of increasingly sophisticated e-commerce and they are more comfortable with purchasing bigger online ticket items than their older colleagues. One survey found that 70% of B2B buyers are comfortable spending as much as $50,000 without the assistance of a company representative. Elegant self-service is actually preferred over the messiness of navigating a conversation with a “pushy salesperson”.