Professor Chris LoDolce defines smarketing as “the sales and marketing team's common goal around the business or organization, focusing on increasing revenue.”
These two teams have traditionally been disconnected, at least internally as two separate entities. They tend to cross the goal, but the evolution of the B2B buying process has changed the game and the business has to adapt.
Let's see why collaboration between sales and marketing is necessary for B2B's health and how to use them to help them.
The journey of the customer buyer has changed
The B2B buying process is a collaborative process, and the goal that marketers need is not just key decision makers. The consulting peers on social media play a role in the buyer's process, but the company's internal colleagues are spread across many departments and complete the entire team. Targeted marketing information must be extended to every stakeholder in this influencer's circle.
The difficulty lies in the different personal motivations, priorities and decision criteria of each individual or department, which makes it difficult to establish a general consensus.
Because many stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process, everyone has information from different sources, so buyers are hard to buy. More than three-quarters of the B2B users interviewed told Garner that they found the last purchase difficult or complicated.
These dynamics are struggling for buyers. But figuring out how to streamline the procurement process can be the key to overcoming this challenge.
In-rising smarketing – and – – why – you – need – it – taking customers as buyers
Six B2B purchase jobs
Historically, you can draw a straight line from the beginning to the end of the sales process, and the buyer goes from one step to the next until the purchase is completed. Now, this process is by no means linear. The Gartner study identified six different purchase “work” customers must complete before completing the sale.
- Problem Identification – “What we need to do.”
- Solution exploration – “What can solve our problem?”
- Request for construction – “What do we need to do?”
- Supplier Selection – “Does this meet our requirements?”
- Verification – “We think we know the answer, but we need to be sure.”
- Consensus creation – “We need to get everyone involved.”
Make it easier for customers to buy
These steps give the illusion of linearity, but in fact, the customer participates in all of these steps at the same time, “looping” around the process and at least revisiting each job once. If you can reduce this tax process and provide buyers with information that will help them complete these steps, you will increase your chances of gaining business.
The key is to take proactive steps to streamline the purchase process as much as possible. Studies have shown that buyers are more likely to feel that they have entered a “high value, low regret” transaction when they get information to help them move forward.
You must provide the right information to the right people at the right place, at the right time.
Customer self-study
The promotion of immigration marketing has led to a shift in buyers' consumption of content, making informed purchasing decisions, and interacting with salespeople.
By the ability to find information almost immediately, sales typically enter the game at the back end of the buying process, sometimes not at all.
According to a Forester Research survey, 70-90% of the process has been completed before contacting the seller.
As companies create and distribute so much content, buyers can understand the products that best suit their needs and make informed decisions without additional help. Salespeople are rapidly shifting from suppliers to sales promoters.
However, customers expect a seamless, personalized and high quality experience, and content is their first interaction with your brand, business or product – the consistency between sales and marketing is more important than ever.
Teamwork makes dreams come true
Historically, marketing has planned a journey of customer purchases, focusing on the initial stages of potential customer generation, and then handing these potential customers to salespeople. But content now plays a major role in designing and executing customer purchases, not just at the beginning.
98% of companies find suppliers online, and 62% say they can make business decisions based solely on online content. The role of marketers has expanded to ensure that buyers are actively involved and nurtured to the final purchase.
When sales and marketing work together, the company sees significant improvements in key performance indicators. According to the Harvard Business Review, “the sales cycle is shortened, the market entry costs are reduced, and the cost of sales is reduced.”
sources (references)
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