They say cross-channel is the new normal for B2B sales teams. Is it? Let’s try to decode it here.
Considered one of the key trends, cross-channel sales and marketing has cast a spell on B2B sales strategies, and for good. The term cross-channel refers to the concept of multiple-channel sales that work in an integrated fashion to deliver a seamless experience to consumers. Cross-channel sales is a different form of retailing where the retailers work independently of each other.
B2B marketers perceive the benefits of cross-channel selling in multiple ways. From e-commerce and banking to other sectors, cross-channel is welcoming every industry with wide open arms.
As we say, sales and marketing keeps evolving, and every B2B marketer must adapt to these changes in the market. The modern-day sales and marketing campaigns must revolve around the needs and requirements of customers, and each campaign is planned to reach out to the pain points of consumers.
Read More: SalesTechStar Interview with Gary Sangha, CEO at LexCheck
If someone doubts why modern consumers will vote for a cross-channel sales approach, here are a few reasons backing its benefit:
- A cross-channel sales model offers flexibility and modern consumers demand the same. Any enterprise sale involves multiple buying influencers each of whom will have some or other information to share. Consumers enjoy receiving different pieces of information through different channels and thus, it doesn’t make any point in forcing consumers to engage via a single channel.
- Companies who are looking forward to satisfying those different and peculiar needs of consumers can utilize cross-channels with different skills, knowledge, and methodologies. All these resources are not available in one channel.
Thus, it makes sense that B2B marketers embrace the concept of cross-channel sales to add more flexibility and build a model to deliver the experience consumers want.
Let us see how marketers and sales people can boost their ROI with cross-channel sales practices:
1. Try to go as simple as possible
As a B2B marketer or sales leader, you are likely to hop into the bandwagon of cross-channel marketing, and that’s great. However, you must not overdo anything. At the onset of your cross-channel sales campaign, avoid anything that looks complex. Keep things simple so that people can understand better.
For example, a customer visits your website through his smartphone, and you direct him toward your business app so that he can enjoy a seamless purchase experience.
2. No obsession with one channel
Cross-channel sales entail using many channels such as websites, social media, emails, and more. As you progress with your cross-channel selling strategy, there will be one or two channels that will perform better than other channels. Despite this fact, you must not carry any obsession with one channel. Channelize your cross-channel selling efforts in all directions for better results.
3. Define the ideal prospect
Identifying your prospects is the first step to start selling. It makes no sense to waste your time and efforts in attracting the wrong customers. Your target audience must include customers who are fit to use your products and services. So before you take into consideration different channels for sales, determine your target audience first.
4. Try to add value to the Consumer
Cross-channel selling should never solely focus on selling. Introduce the cross-channel sales approach to educate your customers. Once they understand your line of products and services, they will know whether your products can cater to their pain points and if things go right, they will become your customer. So, start with educating your customers.
5. Be relevant and Make Connections
Whether you are launching an ad on a third-party website or uploading blog posts, be relevant to your prospect. If your audience doesn’t connect with what you post, you cannot retain them. Always remember that it is less about what you offer and more about what your customers need.
6. Never get tired of Testing
Marketing is all about experimenting with new things to attract more customers. So, whenever you try to launch a new cross-channel sales campaign, start testing things. Try to put the previous successful campaigns under a microscope to determine what worked and why the campaign was better than other campaigns. Keep testing everything, and never stop your testing.
Read More: How to Create A Seamless Workflow Experience To Expedite The Sales Process
Wrapping Up
Cross-channel sales and marketing can level-up your game and help you win it. For a B2B marketer, it is decisive to crack the cross-channel sales strategies and increase brand visibility as much as possible. Restricting your brand to a single channel for promotional, marketing, or sales activity has numerous downfalls. Cross-channel sales will also give you insights into all the channels that you can use to create future sales campaigns.
