New B2B Sales Reality Means Digital Strategy Must Change, Too

B2B brands must keep certain considerations in mind when reimagining their digital experiences to better capitalize on the ways their customers research and buy from B2B brands.

By 2020, consumers will manage 85% of their transactional relationships with brands without ever interacting with a real person, according to Gartner. This trend is becoming increasingly evident in the continuing commodification of the B2B enterprise-level products and services selling sector.

That being said, personal interactions with brands are still extremely important to the B2B buying process. However, these buyer brands are seeing less value in their direct interactions with front line sales than they have in the past.

On top of this, the B2B product buying cycle has changed dramatically in recent years. Rather than moving sequentially through a linear top-down funnel, buyers are seeking out more in-depth research digitally to make purchase decisions. An example of this change is how much more of a reliance Millennials (an increasingly influential group of decision makers) place on self-directed research for product purchases.

With this new B2B sales reality, the role of digital engagement must also change, resulting in a digital strategy that simultaneously supports both the needs of the customer brand and the seller brand.

While we move toward brand-consumer relationships run by bots and programmers, brands’ digital experiences are even more crucial to consumer perception of, and emotional connection to, the brand. If the digital realm is the primary way customers are interacting with a brand, companies must invest time, research, and financial resources in this area. As the B2B marketing space continues to evolve, B2B brands must keep many considerations in mind when reimagining their digital experiences to better capitalize on the ways their customers research and buy from B2B brands.

Adjust Your Brand Positioning

For example, if a B2B brand wants to evolve the nature of its customer relationships from purely transactional (product selling) to a more consultative environment (solution selling), more often than not the existing brand strategy and positioning must also change. Becoming a “digital brand” means adding value to (potential) customers in a more direct manner (how can we help you), versus traditional “offline” branding that is more focused on the brand’s key messaging (who we are, what we believe, what we do).

When you evolve your brand strategy—and consequently your digital strategy—in this manner, you may find that your target customer actually changes. A successful revamp of your strategy means understanding how to connect with your new audience on an emotional level in an appropriate manner.

A potential outcome of doing this successfully is how it may also change the type of customer you’re interested in attracting and how to connect on an emotional level with this new audience in an appropriate manner.

Balance Your Content Strategy

B2B brands should develop a content strategy based on the needs of their various customers—and that strategy should manifest itself in a seamless and engaging digital experience.

Where longer form content is required, seek a design solution that breaks out the content into short, digestible elements. This allows customers to quickly skim the key content, while also empowering them to drill deeper into information when they choose to. It meets the needs of those with the time to dig in and research and those seeking only the high-level information.

Keep a balance between content types from written to visual that showcases product knowledge from a variety of perspectives, and when possible, invest in video as a method of clearly articulating the brand’s offering. Different customers absorb and process information in different ways, and balancing different types of content will ensure that your brand is communicating with consumers in the most effective way possible.

Site Design And Navigation Is Crucial

Having a purposefully designed web and mobile site that takes into consideration the various ways that customers search for product and solution information, especially if solutions are industry-specific, is key for B2B brands.

Consider the right ways to inform prospective customers beyond product features, meeting specific user needs based on customer roles or industry sector applications. For example, enterprise B2B organizations like McKinsey & Company now place emphasis on content-driven, design-led, and customer-centric websites that provide users with self-serve access to narrative content that focuses on selling value.

As the B2B buying process evolves, it’s more important now than ever for brands and the agencies they work with to deeply understand their customers’ needs and design digital experiences accordingly. Placing emphasis on solution selling through sound content strategy and site design is crucial to creating digital experiences that inform and convert prospects to customers. This focused approach to considering the needs of the B2B buyer and the specific role of digital channels within the B2B sales cycle will help B2B brands win in the digital age.