How COVID-19 has disrupted B2B sales (forever)?
2020 is a historic year. It marks the first pandemic of a globalized economy, where it is easy to track its evolution with a wealth of data and statistics.
As a result, governments chose to impose a new paradigm: lockdown and the near-obligation to telework, where possible.
Sales forces, particularly those of printers, converters, and packaging manufacturers, went overnight from being in the "field" or in the office to being "at home." Were they ready for this? What was the impact on them? How did buyers and customers experience this new commercial relationship?
Finally, what has this new work organization definitively changed in commercial practices and the expectations of professional buyers?
This is what McKinsey Company attempted to analyze and understand through a unique study (1) conducted in 11 countries, across 12 different sectors of activity, and with more than 3,600 companies that sell products and services to other businesses (i.e., in B2B or Business-to-Business).
1. Professional clients are increasingly in favor of a digital commercial experience
The study shows that professional clients prefer an online experience (via a website, chat tools, video conferencing) to traditional interactions (in-person meetings, trade shows).
On average, across the 11 countries covered by the study, clients are twice as likely to want to interact with their suppliers via digital tools as they were before COVID-19.
The trend is even more pronounced in Spain and the United Kingdom, where they are three times more numerous than before the health crisis.
2. Professional clients are working more on mobile
Professional clients are indeed using their mobile phones (smartphones) to order from their suppliers.
COVID-19 has accelerated the trend, as the study notes that they are now 30% more likely to prefer using mobile to place orders, and consequently, the study observes a 250% increase in orders from mobile applications between professionals.
3. Offer a complete digital experience to your clients to record more orders
Offering a successful digital experience to professional clients guarantees new orders. The study shows that a company that has invested in an effective digital acquisition channel is twice as likely to record new orders.
What is a successful digital experience?
- It is not limited to a "selling" or e-commerce site. Indeed, some companies offer products or services that cannot be sold "from a catalog." This is, in fact, the whole point of the HIPE technology that we offer to packaging manufacturers who, for some, sell almost exclusively custom packaging.
- It starts with the first contact and can or even should go as far as after-sales service. From identifying the prospect to transforming them into a client with the first order, and then building long-term loyalty with this new client.
4. Omnichannel sales, the new norm of B2B commerce
The McKinsey study highlights that the trend of omnichannel sales is accelerating with the health crisis. Almost 80% of B2B companies report accelerating their investments in this direction.
Omnichannel sales is the mix between:
- "Offline" sales, including the management of incoming calls and messages, "cold calling," the presence of sales representatives in the field, and trade shows.
- Online sales, for example, a site that "captures" new prospects and new commercial opportunities, or even a selling e-commerce site. But also the use of digital tools to automate certain commercial tasks.
5. Faced with this observation, how to launch the digital transformation of your sales processes?
Identify your added value
Optimize your website
Identify what matters most to your customers and targets: speed, transparency, expertise?
Once that's done, build your tools accordingly.
Whether it's sales-oriented or not, offer your customers and prospects a pleasant and easy-to-use experience.
Make sure your site is integrated with the other tools needed for good sales management (CRM, emailing tools, project management, etc.).
Eliminate customer frustrations
Automate yes, dehumanize no
Avoid the errors that generate the main frustrations of your customers: too long to obtain a quote (recurring in the world of packaging for example), too long ordering process, difficulty in finding products, technical problems on the site...
Bring the touch of "human commercial relationship" as soon as the customer or prospect needs it in their purchasing journey.
Train your sales representatives
Optimize the customer journey
Create a group of digital experts to train and support your sales representatives in using the new tools and optimizing the new processes.
Identify, track, and measure how customers use the new journeys you offer them.
Optimize them constantly!