b2b buyers mandate a new charter for marketing and sales

B2B Buyers Mandate A New Charter For Marketing And SalesAccelerate Alignment Or Get Left Behind

Mary Shea, PhD – Forrester, Principal Analyst

2© 2016 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Why haven’t we cracked the code with marketing and sales alignment?

© 2016 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 3

Stronger Alignment In Planning And Preparation

Note: Very Strong combined with strong, very weak combined with weakSource: Forrester’s Q1 2017 International B2B Marketing Panel Survey

“On a scale of Very Weak to Very Strong, please characterize the relationship between marketing and sales for the following activities.”

Defining & executing field programs

Identifying target segments & accounts

Define value propositions

62%

65%

66%

"Strong" relationship in early stage activities


Weaker Alignment In Execution And Reporting

Note: Very Strong combined with strong, very weak combined with weakSource: Forrester’s Q1 2017 International B2B Marketing Panel Survey

“On a scale of Very Weak to Very Strong, please characterize the relationship between marketing and sales for the following activities.”

Sharing knowledge about customer's buying process

Managing customer references & advocates

Reporting results of joint activity

44%

46%

49%

“Weak" relationship in later stage activities


Misalignment Persists

Source: “B2B Buyers Mandate A New Charter For Marketing And Sales” Forrester Research, Inc., January 10, 2017

“Which of the following statements best characterize the relationship between marketing and sales in your organization?”

Marketers participate in pipeline reviews

Metrics closely align with sales

Base: 93 B2B marketing professionals


The Modern #B2B Buyer


B2B Buyers Are More Empowered

Source: “B2B Inside Sales: ”’Inside Or Out?’ That Is The Question” Forrester Research, Inc., January 6, 2016

“Two years ago we coined the term ‘new age seller.’ The buyer’s journey has changed for the sales rep. Control has shifted away from the sales person, as sales is no longer the sole provider of information.”

— Linda Connly, VP Global Inside Sales, EMC

InstitutionsCustomersPrice Location

Information

Before

InstitutionsCustomers

Price Location

InformationTechnology

Now


B2C B2B


Source: Q4 2014 Forrester/Internet Retailer B2B Buying And Selling Online Survey* Q4 2012 Forrester Global Executive Buyer Insights Online Survey

What Your Sellers Face

53% of B2B buyers find

going online superior to

interacting with a salesperson

74% of B2B buyers say purchasing from a website is more

convenient

90% of executives won’t take a

cold call

75% of B2B buyers use social networks to

learn about different vendors

92% of B2B

purchases start with search*


More Complexities In The Process

We don't face any of these challenges listed

Buyers/customers don't want to meet in person anymore

Buyers/customers already know about our product/service capabilities

Buyers/customers want to meet in person less

Buyers/customers that view interactions with sales reps as "low value"

Buyers/customers just want to talk about pricing/product

Buyers/customers won't take sales phone calls from sales reps

Buyers/customers are taking longer to make their decisions

Buyers have multiple stakeholders involved in decision process with different agendas

5%

5%

13%

16%

21%

26%

28%

49%

78%

What are the top three challenges your field sales reps face with regard to buyer/customer engagement?

Source: Forrester’s Q1 2017 International B2B Marketing Panel SurveyBase: 120


B2B Buyer Engagement Preferences

Self-DirectedAccess social networks

Ongoing EducationAttend a capabilities meeting

Personalized EngagementInnovate and co-create

ENGAGE

ASK

USE BUY

EXPLORE

DISCOVER


What Buyers Want From Their Reps

Source: “B2B Inside Sales: ”’Inside Or Out?’ That Is The Question” Forrester Research, Inc., January 6, 2016

“Buyers don’t want to be told what they already know. They want a consultative partner. And they want value and insight at at every point in the sales process.”

— John Evarts, Chief Financial Officer, Mediafly

Weave customer data/insights into discussions.

Teach them something new.

Show how products/services measurably affect their business performance.

Pivot conversation to talk about what matters to them.


B2B buyers want a frictionless exchange or a high-value interaction.


The Modern #B2B Seller


“Salespeople have to take the stage more than they used to. Before the product used to be the star, but now sellers need to be the stars and they need to learn some of the skills marketers have.”

– Meredith Bell President, Azalead Americas


Is B2B salesperson: Dead? Alive? In need of a reboot? Source: “The B2B Sales Force Digital Reboot” Forrester Research, Inc., October 19, 2015;Graphic source Sales For Life “The Resurrection of the B2B Salesperson

1millions

The REVIVALof the B2B

SALESPERSON

Sales jobs will go to extinct by 2020

But is the salesperson dead or just in need of

a reboot?It’s certainly time to adapt as many buyers are increasingly leveraging digital channels like search engines and social networks within their purchase process.


Seller And Buyer Archetypes

Source: “The Death of A (B2B) Salesman” Forrester Research, Inc. April 13, 2015

ExplainersBuyers says “show me”

ConsultantsBuyers says “enlighten me”

Order TakersBuyers says “serve me”

NavigatorsBuyers says “guide me”

Complexity of the buyer dynamic

Complexity of product/servicer

High

Low

High Low


The 6 Traits Of A Consultant

Source: “The B2B Sales Force Digital Reboot” Forrester Research, Inc., October 19, 2015.

Embraces technology

1

Shares new ideas

2Exhibits business acumen

3

Communicates effectively

4Seeks

collaboration

5

Leverages data

6


The #New Charter

23© 2016 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited© 2016 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Source: Michael Coghlan/Flickr

Alignment is now a buyer-driven edict.


#Pursue Attention Currency


Do Your Research

Source: CharlieApp Dashboard

Customizable filters Contact’s recent activity history

Company stats

“The last few years were about volume of outreach or ‘spray and prey’. The next couple will focus on’ attention currency’, or how much of this person’s time has my message bought?”. — Aaron Frazin, CharlieApp, CEO


Know Who You’re Dealing With


17

Customize Your Interactions

“Pieces of the the customer story are being told without having to ask because we can see what the customers are consuming. We can create a dialogue with them rather than always trying to sell them.”

— Chris Morse, manager of global event marketing for Red Hat

Source: “Turn B2B Buyer And Seller Data Into Insights” Forrester Research, Inc., August 23, 2016

Content consumption patterns, event activity, buyer personas, social engagement, search data, firmographics, demographics…D

ata

Ana

lytic

s

Sales Rep

• Understand needs and pain points• Indicate propensity to purchase• Inform messaging• Enable consultative interactions

Insights


#Embrace Social Selling


Marketers Rate Social As A Key Channel

Source: “Add Social Selling To Your B2B Marketing Repertoire” Forrester Research, Inc., February, 2017

B2B marketers rate social as one of their three most effective demand generation tactics


B2B Social Sellers Outperform Their Peers

Source: “Add Social Selling To Your B2B Marketing Repertoire” Forrester Research, Inc., February, 2017

“It’s going to be ubiquitous and it’s going to be required versus optional.”—Danielle Hall, senior manager of global sales operations event marketing for Genesys

72%of B2B social sellersoutperform their peers


What Kind Of Social Sellers Do You Have?

Source: “Embrace B2B Social And Meet Buyers On Their Terms” Forrester Research, Inc., May 25, 2016

• Creates and shares visionary ideas• Influences across broad networks• Shares thought leadership monthly/quarterly• Follows influencers from other brands

• Engages in research and social listening• Shares buyer-specific educational content• Responds quickly to client and prospect posts• Integrates social activities into daily cadence

• Prefers to use traditional methods• Shares pre-curated content• Engages in post-program rollout• Learns from social selling leaders in own organization

• Doesn’t understand the value of social connections• Uses familiar sales tactics• Doesn’t need social connections to exceed goals

Celebrity

Expert

Social Novice

Non-Participant


#Operationalize ABM


Account Selection Is A Joint Effort

Source: “Retro Yet Revolutionary: Demystifying Account-Based Marketing” Forrester Research, Inc., September 19, 2016

Dependent on firm’s strategy, accounts are selected based on:• Fit• Intent• Combination of both, using predictive solutions

Select and Target

Gather Insights

DesignEngagement

OrchestrateInteraction

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Set strategy, prioritizeaccounts, and identifyand target contacts

Identify key issues,develop insights,and set the communication plan

Create assets,messages, orplays to engageaccounts

Execute alignedactivity, captureinteractions, andtrack progress

Assess, revise, repeat


Collaborate In New Ways With ABM

Source: “Account-Based Marketing Brings Sales And Marketing Into The Same Orbit” Forrester Research, Inc., September 21, 2016


Collaborate and coordinate to align with current and future buyers.


Take A Buyer Centric ApproachPersonalized engagement:• Engage in joint account

planning for ABM.• Segment and stratify

accounts for ABM.• Innovate and co-create.

Self-direction:• Package content for social

selling.• Use predictive tools for

targeting.• Embrace micromarketing

for remote selling.

Ongoing education:• Share behavioral data to inform interactions.• Leverage guided selling tools to enhance seller capabilities.• Centralize content management platform to facilitate collaboration

forrester.com

Thank you

Mary Shea, PhDTwitter: @sheaforr

#B2BMX