Today’s customer is an intimidating breed. Thanks to the internet, they know more about products than ever before, and they’re almost always influenced by easy-to-find online reviews. They don’t talk to salespeople until late in the sales cycle, and at that point, they’ve often already made a decision. Their knowledge and independence makes the modern customer challenging for salespeople and marketers alike.
Today’s complex customer is hard to keep up with. Salespeople understand their motives and needs, because they’ve spent time in conversation over social media, email or the phone – they’ve got the human perspective down. Marketers bring science to the table by sharing what web pages customers visit, what content they like and what drives their internet browsing – actions speak louder than words. Neither team can fully understand a customer with their given set of data, but together, they complete the puzzle.
After working together to understand the customer from every angle, combined sales-marketing teams have the power to develop strategies that really work. Again, the salespeople provide the personal connection, while the marketers meet them in the middle with creative content, useful data and keywords. A hybrid team has the power to sell effectively to the customer of the digital age – and look towards the future.
No matter how complex your B2B product is, today’s customer expects a friendly, relatable brand voice. Social media and the internet are partly to blame, but this can work in your favor. Some B2B companies that used to feel inaccessible are now thriving in customer relations, thanks to the internet. Aligned sales-marketing teams are best equipped to greet customers with a friendly – yet no less strategic – voice.
Image via (cc) Shlomi Fish
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