Buying behaviors have changed drastically over the last few years. The traditional tactics of Sales do not come in handy every time. Sales professionals are presented with new challenges on a daily basis.
By this time, organizations have already understood the need for offering personalized services/products. It’s good to observe that many companies have realized the importance of investing in Customer Success and are taking active steps towards it.
But what does the future hold? What will be the face of SalesTech in 2020? This Primer has the answers!
Top 5 SalesTech Trends for 2020
1. AR and VR Will Be at the Forefront
Nowadays, a lot of property-listing sites are utilizing Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to provide customers with the first-hand experience of the properties right from the comfort of their homes. By enabling customers to visit the properties without getting off their couches, they add to the customer experience and save a lot of commute time.
Recently, Toyota came up with its Augmented Reality shopping experience. It enabled users from across geographies to check out the exteriors of 10 different car models, without even downloading the app. This was made possible by using transformative 3D and AR technology, wherein the customers had the option to see the most important features of those cars.
AR will be highly beneficial in curbing the rate of product returns. The average return rate is 25% at this moment and retailers feel this affects their overall functioning negatively. Allowing the customers to experience the product in AR will make sure customers understand the products better before buying.
Providing Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality experiences will be a major requisite in 2020.
Read Also: Why Is Sales Enablement Important?
2. AI and Analytics to the Rescue
No industry is devoid of the touch of Artificial Intelligence today. Advanced AI and Analytics even form part of the Gartner Hype Cycle, 2019. SalesTech is no exception to the movement. Chatbots, in particular, are helping Sales professionals establish a primary level of communication with prospects and customers. Advanced Analytics continues to impact major business decisions. 25% of the Sales leaders agree that chatbot is a key differentiator in their Sales processes.
In the upcoming years, AI-powered chatbots will become the faces of Sales departments and engage with customers on an introductory level – answering their queries, registering complaints, etc. Sales teams and customer service departments may take the conversation further ahead from there.
Digital Assistants will have a significant role to play in the near future of Sales. With a Sales professional in the form of a chatbot available 24X7 on the website, visitors will get instant answers and make decisions faster. AI can help brings more qualified leads to the funnel and help organizations with their lead prospecting and lead tracking efforts. Voice search is an emerging trend and companies not optimizing their UI and UX in compliance, will sadly fall behind.
3. CRM Will Be a Necessity, Not a Luxury
Every company, big or small, has leads, prospects, and customers. An age-old method of keeping track of leads and opportunities was recording the interactions in spreadsheets. But we all know that’s not the most efficient way to streamline the Sales process. Imagine the time and efforts lost in the process, and hence the revenue lost as a result.
Organizations of all sizes need to make use of CRM to modernize their customer relationship initiatives. CRM has the ability to take care of numerous activities that include Account Management, Lead Tracking, E-mail Tracking, Contact Management, Sales Reporting, and a lot more. Furthermore, CRM systems of today are also mobile in nature. This enables Sales teams to work on the go, irrespective of their locations and time-zones.
There are various types of CRM software available to serve the needs of companies of all scales. Salesforce CRM, HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, Nimble, Freshsales are some of the renowned CRMs out there.
Read Also: Role Of CRM In Retail Environment
4. Communication Will Continue Being the Key
In a world where every business decision has to be taken based on Data Analytics and insights, the role of channeled communication is also crucial. With a variety of intelligent data available at the fingertips, how to make the best use of it is a point to ponder.
Companies worldwide are collecting data every second to make informed decisions. But they struggle with analyzing available data and deriving conclusions out of those.
Most of these companies fail while communicating the data effectively between departments. Due to the lack of a proper communication channel, divisions within companies don’t know how much data is available internally.
Marketing and Sales teams form the backbone of any organization and clear communication between them is a must. In order to make the best use of available information, it is mandatory that Marketing and Sales teams communicate better and beef up the final numbers. Putting data at the center of Marketing and Sales decisions had proven to improve Marketing ROI by a lot. The trend will continue being a major game-changer in the days to come.
5. Focus on Gen Z
With an attention span of 8 seconds, Generation Z that is expected to form 40% of all customers by 2020 has got quite some influence. And this could swing both ways. Any organization that is not catering to their specific requirements and is not “digital” enough for them, will be left wondering what went wrong.
Compared to Millennials who are inclined towards tech and are collaborative in their approach, the next-gen is quite different. Gen Z is tech-savvy and takes privacy and security concerns more seriously. They have a sense of competition amongst themselves and have different shopping behaviors.
Companies have already started shifting their focus to this generation that possesses a buying power of $44 billion. The figures move up to $600 billion if you consider the influence they exercise on the spending behaviors of their parents. Sellers of the future will need to lay special emphasis on the demands and preferences of Gen Z if they have to succeed in selling to them.
SalesTech in 2020 will be an answer to the changing consumer behaviors globally. Companies in the run will have to employ a blend of the latest in technology and human touch to win it all. Data, AI, and of course, the consumers will be the major drivers.
Read Also: What Is Lead Tracking?