With the emergence of new AI features, everyone is now assessing the state of B2B sales.
Where is it all heading, and most importantly, what’s going to truly gain momentum in 2023?
We realise that it’s becoming hard to understand which direction to sail in. Especially with so many platforms that appear like mushrooms after the rain (along with experts and content).
Here are some of our thoughts as to the upcoming B2B sales trends.
Product tours and interactive demos for the discovery stage
According to LinkedIn’s 2022 State of Sales report, nearly 40% of sellers have closed deals over $500,000 without ever meeting the customer face-to-face.
Implementation of interactive demos & tutorials can go a long way. An interactive product demo that walks customers through the product, showing them its key functionalities and how it can solve their problems can become a game changer. Interactive experiences can include an interactive calculator to showcase the ROI of products, quiz to drive leads, 3D product visualisation, etc.
Even more value placed on customer service
Customer success teams that know product in and out can become very demandable. Onboarding experiences and the reputation of a company that cares about customers still things that tip the scale. Finding the new ways of showing how you can help your customers achieve their goals — whether with onboarding videos, or through thorough guides is something to double down efforts on.
AI, hyper-automation and feature consolidation
Currently, the major players in the tech market are tools that leverage AI. With its help, sales & marketing teams can utilise the information collected from the customer journey, employ data-driven insights and improve buyer-seller interactions.
Hyper-automation refers to the process of complete automation of all routine lead gen activities. Tech savvy companies and ambitious startups will also compete to consolidate all their approaches into a single platform. All sales channels, analytics, and activities should be integrated into one place, eliminating the need for multiple channels like CRM and other tools.
The quality of B2B data vendor
Here are 3 key features that one should consider when deciding on a data vendor, as we see it:
- Data accuracy
The accuracy of your data has an enormous effect on your business’s growth. Unreliable data not only doesn’t help you get ahead, but drags you backwards.
- Data coverage
Having complete data over a large area will help you tailor your content and reach out to your projects with confidence, knowing you’re making data- and research-based decisions.
- Customization options & filtering intricacy
Company data providers are there to source data for you in accordance with the depth and breadth required by your business.
More intricate and highly specific filtering criteria directly contribute to greater lead generation.
Double down on content quality
We think that favouring the creation of high-quality content over mass production is the way to go. Choose short-form content over long, unspecific texts, and invest in high-quality video production to deliver pleasant viewer experiences.
Simplification is also still in trend. Depending on your audience’s specifics, you may want to omit technical and over complicated terms in favour of clarity and simplicity.
Real value, nicely wrapped
People still want to recognize the real, tangible value behind your market positioning. It’s crucial to articulate and distil only the real value your product delivers, rather than going “bells and whistles”.
However, wrapping your sales offers, digital presence and content in an aligned picture of your brand identity is the move worth taking as well.
It means you’ll more likely be memorized by potential customers, and be portrayed as the right image, as opposed to when you create fragmented experiences with faceless content.
Let your brand image stay the same across different channels.
Let’s not forget that customers who develop emotional connection with brands, drive a higher LTV.
Unlock unique ways to stand out from the crowd
With the emergence of AI’s new features and lots of things that can be automated, there is a global trend to follow trends.
However, with such an approach, the internet becomes flooded with duplicated content and similar, almost identical products.
What the crowd really craves is your personality. People want to hear stories and your opinion. Reading a story created by a person who put in a little bit of effort and shared real experience is like a grasp of fresh air.
That was our list of predictions. Have something to add? Don’t hesitate to reach out.)
