While businesses are struggling to exceed their previous achievements, there is a hope in B2B sales segment. For those who are not aware of terminology B2B is Business to Business. Other segment is obviously retail. Simply to get an understanding of how big B2B market is consider below 2 figures - 1. Advertising spending for U.S. B2B companies amounted to $8.68 billion in 2020. 2. B2B e-commerce had revenue of $6.7 trillion in 2021 in USA alone.
B2B is typically small business selling to large business for business consumption. I started my career after MBA as a B2B sales guy. I was successful right from the beginning ( I mean meeting targets etc.-). I can not forget B2B sales because there was a pain in my neck. I mean physical pain. I still remember it every day as it still pains. I used to lift projector bag on one shoulder and laptop bag on another. Those days projector was close to 5 Kg and Laptop was 3 Kg or so ( & plus weight of diary, and another marketing material ). It was my problem as I was just 55 Kg and starved. (Who would do a laborious job otherwise ?).
My close friends and people I knew used to admire me. I used to spend almost all my salary on my professional looks. I used to be tagged as man in suite/tie. But no one knew pain in … . I am writing it today after almost 20 years. Point is B2B sales is a real hard work first.
Now let’s discuss few strategic stuff and smart insights. Before making any statement I pick up few reputed sources to check on their views. Below are few points taken from an article by Forbes which predict B2B trends and suggestions -
AI would evolve & form a part of marketing decisions Its already started in B2C or retail. Using it in B2B is difficult but not impossible.
Video marketing has untapped potential for B2B sales While it might be a failure in B2C, B2B is quite a matured market. Video marketing means marketing calls over a call on video meeting.
Marketing messages are required to be personalized B2B already started automated marketing messages. Eg. Birthday wishes to key contacts etc.- It may not be in a text you type. It can be simply in a time at which its sent. Every decision maker has few slack hours when he/she might be little relaxed. Smart marketers always use these time slots.
Do not jump in to content marketing without research Content marketing something I am doing right now. Though I agree the point, I have nothing else to do today. So why not enlighten my audience. I have not done detailed research of my linkedin contacts. For me managing 5000 contacts is a huge job today. Because 90% of these people I don’t know personally. My business comes from non linkedin contacts. But if you got a real customer base on Linkedin, detailed research and mapping would certainly pay off better.
Account Based Marketing is though rewarding is not for everyone. As I started its all pain, not the physical labor of traveling, but meeting expectations of key decision makers is a tough job. Larger organizations can have 5 plus decision makers and influencers.
Third Party Marketing and Social Media Marketing are key in building trust.
Third party marketing refers to product review websites and forums. It includes tagging products or organizations. Few words of appreciation from our direct or level 1 contact certainly makes us trust the brand. And reverse is also true.
As per research published by IDC -
1.Almost 60% of B2B sales team on field would shrink due to increased digital engagement. 2.Though ecommerce is common in retail, its surprising to see 61 % of corporate buyers (B2B) saying they would prefer ecommerce if given a change. So B2B self serving e-commerce stores is a future. (Though difficult to build).
Change is everywhere. Change is there in typically traditional B2B sales too. So get set change.
Reference: B2B Marketing Trends: The Top Seven Focus Areas - www.forbes.com 27 Vital B2B Statistics - zippia.com
Abhijit
