B2B Marketing & Sales: major overhaul

In B2B, traditional marketing and sales are no longer effective. What do you mean, that’s too bold a statement?

Here are 3 stats to underline the need for a major overhaul:

1) In up to 70% of the buying process, prospects do not want to be contacted by a salesperson yet;
2) 80% of all leads put aside by Sales will buy in the next two years;
3) 90% of all marketing assets is not being used by Sales.

Time for a new perspective on B2B marketing & sales.

Let’s face it. Budgets are under pressure, customers are increasingly elusive and the social and mobile revolution both a tsunami of data and new opportunities. Customers and prospects in B2B more and more rely on social networks, the web, peer reviews and other 3rd party information when looking for new answers and solutions.

Time for the head of sales and marketing director to team up. And show they truly can be held accountable for jointly closing the loop.

‘Br@inbound’ combines inbound marketing & sales with insights into the buyer brain.

Inbound marketing is a smarter approach to attract relevant visitors and convert them into happy customers. Sharing relevant content such as blogposts, whitepapers and video helps to offer the right advice and information at the right time. That should do the trick just fine, would it not?

Alas, the rational customer however does not exist. As neuroscientists agree, up to 99% of all human decisions are made subconsciously. Disseminating relevant content is especially effective when combined with insights as to how the buyer brain works.

New digital marketing & sales technology helps marketing and salesprofessionals alike to build a fact-based approach. Which instruments and channels account for what percentage of all MQLs (marketing qualified leads), SQLs (sales qualified leads) and business?

Fact-based B2B business has but one drawback: one needs to first gather sufficient data and look BACK to draw relevant conclusions. Wouldn’t it be great to predict what customer response would be triggered by a specific campaign or instrument and look FORWARD?

Here’s where neuromarketing may just help commercial teams out. EEG-based research undertaken by DutchmarQ with US-company NeuroSpire showed new insights into the effective use of B2B online video (in scope: 11 videos by Exact, SDL Tridion, HubSpot, and a sample of 23 respondents).

The book ‘Br@inbound Marketing, new online sales strategies in B2B’ provides new inspiration as to how to improve customer understanding, drive effective lead generation and boost customer retention. And makes clear how to use digital, use personal communications in the customer and prospect dialogue.

The book reveals new insights in buyer response, and covers new technology such as marketing automation to better record, interpret and use prospects’ and customers’ digital body language in the marketing & sales process.

See the presentation for more information, or contact me at @phasselsmonning.

Note: Br@inbound Marketing is available in dutch only in 1st edition. This article was also published on exploreb2b.com.