“The importance of immediacy: developing ‘real-time’ culture in B2B”

B2B sales and marketing is a dog-eat-dog world. We’re in the midst of an increasingly-rapid digital transformation, and competition has never been so strong. One quick search for a desired product or solution online and potential buyers are greeted with hundreds — thousands, even — of perfectly suitable options. Not to mention the way buyers are evolving — a third of millennials are able to sign-off on large-scale enterprise purchases, yet buyer journeys are growing more complex, with as many as 90% of B2B buyers repeating stages of the buyer journey. And, what’s more, as many as 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds to an inquiry first, according to Google and the Corporate Executive Board.  

In an overcrowded space like the B2B market, immediacy is what separates you from the rest — and ultimately enables you to win the race to business success.

• Immediacy: at the center of your customer-obsessed culture

Be honest — how long does it take your sales team or lead generation specialists to respond to potential customers? Minutes? Hours? Days? It’s simple — instant and on-demand communication is the only way to deliver a truly customer-centric approach. Your buyer is human — and it’s only natural for them to be impressed by a short inquiry to contact time, and delighted by exceptional customer experience from the first touchpoint. According to Forbes, the average business takes 46 hours and 53 minutes to respond to a lead — just shy of two days. And still, only 27% — less than a third — of leads get contacted at all. So, let’s learn from the average organization.  

To be extraordinary, you have to get over the first hurdle quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, before your competition. If you haven’t already got immediacy and customer-centricity deeply rooted within your wider business strategy, you could be losing vital opportunities to one of your thousands of competitors.

• Empower your business with automation

The only thing more impressive than doing something quickly is doing it automatically — in real-time. With robust automation software empowering your team, sales and marketing functions will experience a bounty of advantages. More timely communications, increased opportunities, and the ability to save time are just a few of the key benefits, according to Adestra. Whether you’re removing the need for on-site form fills to generate leads on arrival to your website, executing automated lead nurture to share regular, high-calibre content to potential buyers, or automating optimization, social, content curation or lead management seamlessly in the background of your business — automation delivers results.  

• Develop an intelligent technology stack
  

With longer buyer journeys, shorter attention spans and higher expectations than ever before, it has never been more vital for B2Bs to adapt to a culture of immediacy. In turn, investing in the right solutions in the now takes care of people, customers and processes in the future. So, if urgency is missing from your B2B sales and marketing approach, consider designing a technology stack that not only supports your business, but revolutionizes it. With only 9% of businesses employing a fully utilized martech stack, you’re presented with an opportunity to make your processes exceptional — opt for advanced automation, seamless integration, enhanced efficiency, strategic alignment and hyper-fast results.

Web Insights cuts out the noise to deliver critical insight to B2B organizations, precisely where and when it’s required. Our premium software solution is a world-class business growth enabler, assisting brands to become more efficient and effective, capitalising on every website opportunity in real-time. Automated, intelligent lead generation, immediate website visitor insight and seamless integration — everytime.