The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted all aspects of business, including B2B sales. There are significant changes regarding the preferences of B2B customers.
Here are seven changes the pandemic has caused for B2B operations and sales.
1. Remote Is the Way to Go for Post-COVID Sales
The pandemic has negatively impacted global health and economic production but created a virtual environment for effective sales. Many decision-makers even believe that going remote can be more effective than the environment before the pandemic. It is now easier to schedule and hold meetings and less preparation is required for a virtual appointment. This enables businesses to set up more sales meetings and get an opportunity to convert more leads. Businesses need to make communication with leads and customers easier on virtual platforms to get maximum benefits from remote working.
2. B2B Customers Now Want to Interact with Sales via Chat
Live chat can be incredibly beneficial for businesses. It provides the convenience of quick services without having to schedule calls and meetings. Live chats can also be done using AI chatbots which can reduce the workload of sales representatives while offering quick responses to customers and visitors. You can incorporate live chat in your website to help visitors navigate their way through and get assistance with their concerns.
3. B2B Customers Are Now Preferring Mobile Sales & Service Options
B2B customers have now become comfortable making purchases using their smartphones and tablets. Businesses should ensure that their customers can interact with them on mobile devices and use SMS texting and email campaigns to engage with them. Many customer relationship management enables businesses to manage mobile-friendly sales campaigns. In addition to this interaction, the business website must also be mobile-friendly as most people use their smartphones rather than computers to access websites.
4. Video Calls Are Being Preferred for Sales Meetings and Team Collaboration
Video conferencing has taken over in the last two years. Even as the pandemic starts to get over, video conferences are still the first choice for meetings. When moving to video conferencing software for your business, you should include video meeting best practices in your sales training.
5. B2B Sellers Are Using Social Media for Customer Insights
More B2B businesses are now making use of social media to understand the requirements of their customers. This social media research helps businesses gather information and learn about their customers. Some social monitoring tools can help you track what the customers and leads are talking about and their interaction with your posts on social media. This information can be used to strengthen strategies and identify hot leads.
6. Increased Resignation Rate Is Affecting B2B Sales Turnover
While there were a lot of layoffs at the beginning of the pandemic, the tables have now turned. Many employees are now resigning for various reasons but mainly because of burnout. Increased resignations are forcing sales management to streamline their hiring processes, and focus on employee experience and retention. Employee experience can be improved by improving the organization’s culture, improving compensation, automating tasks and workflows, and outsourcing some parts of the sales process.
7. There Is Now a Gap Between Beliefs & Action
The pandemic has changed the way we think and act. As the priorities change, the ways and actions change too. There is now a huge difference between what business leaders think they should do and what they’re doing. The best way to resolve this conflict is to act on the present data and gain a competitive advantage.
