Content has been the name of the game for the last few years. Here's five reasons that train won't be slowing down anytime soon.
If you’re out there selling products in any space, but especially the B2B space, you know that the world has changed slightly when it comes to a sales cycle.
Suddenly, being booked for a Zoom meeting means you have a great opportunity to close the deal, whether the person on the other end turns their camera on or not!
For some of us, it was hard to even get in front of those we were selling to, and when we did, we were covered up with masks 10 inches deep behind bullet proof plexiglass.
Whether for better or worse, the pandemic changed sales and marketing forever. And sales and marketing in the B2B space are going to continue to change in a digital direction whether you’re still cold calling or door knocking – whether you like it or not.
So, see below for 5 reasons content and content marketing can and will help you continue to make B2B sales in the new age of digital selling!
B2B Digital Commerce Transactions will overtake B2B Direct Transaction by the end of 2021.
Because of the ease of B2C transactions, for instance, I can purchase a yearlong subscription to a certain product straight from Instagram, B2B digital commerce transactions are going to follow suit.
The same consumers (us!) who purchase products from various websites all day long without talking to a customer sales representative want the same experience in the B2B space.
The only problem is that many B2B companies do not offer the ease of transactions, or the amount of content required to assure the consumer that the product will solve their problem and their company’s problem.
You may never purchase a service on behalf of your company without talking to a sales rep, but a young person entering the workforce is perfectly happy watching content, listening to podcasts, and asking a few specific questions to a webpage chat bot before making a purchase.
Like it or not, these young people are taking over the industries (and populating the sales cycles) all our companies are operating in! We must begin creating sales cycles centered around explainer / education content and frictionless digital conversations and transaction.
An overall average of 43% of Baby Boomer, Gen X, and Millennial customers prefer a rep-free experience.
Everyone has been on the car lot and been hard sold on the Wagoneer. But the trend is growing, even the baby boomers are on board.
A frictionless approach to product discovery without being hard sold on anything over the phone, in a zoom meeting, or in the lobby of your office, is the preferred method for almost half the consumer purchasing your products and services.
Therefore, the only way to engage with these potential clients is, that’s right, Content, Content, Content.
You must be constantly communicating everything you have to offer, being transparent, showing how it works, how to fix it, how you’ll help fix it, EVERYTHING.
Yep – that’s a lot of content. Get to work.
Your content shows what problem your company can solve.
In short, any economy is based on one eternal principle - You love your neighbor by providing a product that solves their problem. When your neighbor has a problem, the first thing they do is search for the answer if they don’t know anyone that can solve it for them.
When you’re creating content for your business, you are NOT trying to convince someone to buy your product, but you are showing everyone what problem your product or service solves.
It’s a huge difference. This is why communicating once a quarter on social media isn’t generating much traction – not enough people with the problem you solve know that you can help!
When a consumer that has seen your content (potentially never engaged, no, not even once) has the problem that they know you can solve, you’re at the top of the call list – before Google!
Digital Sales Rooms are coming!
Once upon a time, if I had said to you, almost every sales call you make will be done via Zoom, you would have called me a lunatic. But the future of salespeople will be in a digital environment running demonstrations via pre-made CONTENT.
Imagine a powerpoint slide presentation in an immersive digital environment that you’re walking your potential client through.
A good way to get ahead of the game is to be creating content now. You need to get in a rhythm of content production. Because a time is coming, or perhaps it’s already here, when you’ll do nothing but create content and show that content in real time.
Content is a 24/7 Salesperson.
With the advent of remote work, some companies have begun to allow their employees to work whenever, however, on a task-related basis.
That means, someone in a department somewhere might be researching products and services you sell at 2.a.m.
A good question to ask yourself is, what presence does my company have on the internet at 2.a.m?
Are there explainer videos on Youtube?
Is LinkedIn and Instagram alive with daily content providing insights?
Are you hoping the researcher is going to take down your number and call you in the morning?
The more content you have, the more salespeople you have. And those salespeople are all over the world, working around the clock to educate potential consumers that your products and services can adequately solve their problems.
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