We have all seen the B2B landscape evolve this year and one thing remained constant- buyers are increasingly demanding that same personalized, omnichannel purchasing experience of the B2C market. No longer are deals being won by sitting in the right market, offering a superior product or service, or simply being the lowest-cost producer. Buyers expect more, and B2B companies are reacting by putting customer-centricity and experience at the heart of their strategy.
This year, we expect to see many B2B companies continue to react but anticipate more companies will come out strong by eliminating problems before they have a chance to appear. B2B companies have a chance to create a true competitive advantage for their future growth during this time. Echidna's team of experts is sharing several key strategies that will help B2B manufacturers stand out and see success now and future looking.
- Break down organizational silos
In order to build a culture that prioritizes the customer and is proactive, you are going to have to work towards creating transparency amongst teams and improving efficiency in order to innovate and evolve with buyer demands. To do this will require breaking down organizational silos, which largely intertwine themselves with a digital transformation because more times than not requires the integration of new technology in order to create such visibility and communication. However, breaking down organizational silos is just one part of allowing the business to become customer driven end-to-end and one piece of a larger transformation.
- Focus on the customer.
In 2022 this means things such as enhancing digital personalization capabilities, adopting an eCommerce marketplace model, and even automated/self-service capabilities for the buyer. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and loyalty, you will find that your digital channels will need to be leveraged more and your traditional sales, marketing, and customer service team roles will evolve into more meaningful personal relationships with customers in large part thanks to the data you are (hopefully) able to gather from their digital interactions.
Our client, Jessup Manufacturing, has seen a 150% increase in conversions by focusing on their digital customer experience and by updating their eCommerce.
- Use data to understand the customer better
That was the perfect segue to our final key strategy for B2B manufacturers going into 2023. By focusing more on the customer you will be inclined to improve their experience with your brand, beyond that of even digital interactions. Data offers you the ability to better understand the customer and continually make their experience with your company meaningful and worthwhile. This can touch on everything from improving your product offering, realigning and personalizing content using key insights, and reevaluating how you promote products.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It is easy to see that all these strategies intertwine, and are huge steps in a larger digital transformation strategy. The actual transformation is a profound change in a B2B manufactures business operations, competencies, and business models which allows the organization and individuals to leverage all digitization efforts fully. With that mindset then, when we talk about a digital transformation it’s actually not about the technology, but the customer. B2B manufacturers who are serious about becoming customer-centric and pushing forward amongst a sea of competitors need to be able to master these strategies in order to pivot and evolve with ease.
Watch and listen as Echidna's President, Mike Pierce, discusses how our focused team works to help the B2B market innovate with modern commerce solutions to fit their needs and maintain a competitive edge and contact us to start a conversation about your own business at info@echidna.co.
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