Business-to-business sales and marketing strategies of the past are becoming outdated
In today's fast-paced business world, B2B companies are increasingly required to adapt to the digital preferences of their customers. SMART Technologies, a leading player in the industry, has taken a significant step in this direction by redefining its sales process.
The company has dismantled its traditional sales, marketing, and support teams and reconfigured them into a unified Commercial Engine (UCE). This transformation was driven by mapping customer journeys across the technology purchase process. The UCE team identified the five common buying patterns and established teams to support each one, and created centres of excellence where they consolidated efforts across traditional boundaries.
A key part of this transformation is the pod system. This system is a response to the shift in B2B customer preferences, seeking sales reps early in their buying process but preferring digital channels for building requirements. Each pod leader is responsible for ensuring their team receives support, and the team deployed staff across pods, each supporting one of the five buying patterns.
The pod system is a part of SMART Technologies' reconfigured Commercial Engine (UCE). It is also a part of the broader trend of B2B businesses needing to adapt to digital tools to add value across all communication channels. The example of pods and the UCE dashboard is an illustration of overcoming functional myopia in the traditional B2B sales process.
Today's B2B buyers rely on digital information to progress in their buying journey, becoming largely agnostic to where they find information. Helping customers buy is an information challenge, with sellers who provide information that buyers urgently seek, through channels they prefer, in a better position to gain customers.
Effective strategies for aligning B2B sales and marketing processes with modern digital buying patterns include Sales and Marketing Alignment, Intent-Based Segmentation and Dynamic ICP, AI-Powered Personalization at Scale, Omnichannel Orchestration, Value-Driven Content for the Messy Middle, and Closing Feedback Loops Between Teams.
By implementing these strategies, SMART Technologies aims to provide a seamless and personalized digital experience to its customers, aligning the old world commercial process with the new world of B2B buying. This shift towards digital-first sales processes is a testament to SMART Technologies' commitment to staying ahead in the ever-evolving B2B landscape.
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- To better cater to the digital preferences of their customers, SMART Technologies is employing state-of-the-art strategies in finance and technology, such as Sales and Marketing Alignment, AI-Powered Personalization at Scale, and Omnichannel Orchestration, aiming to offer a seamless and personalized digital experience in their business transactions.
- In the rapidly evolving B2B business environment, SMART Technologies recognizes the importance of integrating technology into their sales processes, redefining their commercial engine to include a pod system and a UCE dashboard, all geared towards providing value across digital communication channels and overcoming traditional functional myopia.
