Today in the category of applications we would never have thought of… a curious POV from one of our partners. With the help of our platform, he discovered that audience intelligence can aid remote B2B selling. Since we’re not having many IRL meetings, he suggests that AI personas can fill that gap.
As B2B marketing moves online, so, too, should lead gen research
Fueled by COVID-19 limitations and restrictions, B2B selling is moving online. And with it comes significant changes in the way that marketers will need to get to know their customers.
According to McKinsey & Company, 96% of B2B sales teams have shifted fully or partially to remote selling due to the pandemic. And 65% of respondents said that remote selling was either equally effective or more effective than what they were doing before the pandemic hit, it presents some significant challenges when it comes to how marketers have traditionally worked to understand their customers.
As the tried and true sales axiom goes, “make them your friend first.” But that can be hard to do when you can’t meet your customers face-to-face to get to know their likes, interests, and values and build relationships for both short-term and long-term sales.
So how can you get to know your customer in the digital marketplace?
While you may not have the same opportunities as you did through personal contact, you can still learn much about your target audience by using audience intelligence. Helixa’s platform uses AI to identify what your audience cares about and how they live right now.
Establishing relevance and connections through a personalized sales approach has always been the underpinning of successful B2B sales efforts. And while the shift to remote selling deprives salespeople of the conversations and direct contact that pre-pandemic efforts were centered on, AI analysis can gain critical insights.
B2B selling may be moving online, but the core principles that govern success have not changed. You need to make your customer your “friend” first by understanding and relating to their unique interests. The face-to-face contact that drove this discovery may have decreased, but the same tools that make selling more effective can also aid your understanding and insights.
The means of “know thy customer” may have changed, but its importance to the B2B sales effort is as critical, if not more than it has ever been.
