3 Strategies for Responding to Changes in the B2B Buyer's Journey

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Tumultuous times tend to alter our approach to many things, especially the decision-making process. Organizations with decades of internal processes built around how to make critical decisions have been challenged to drastically change during the global health crisis, as the norm has seemed to shift almost monthly. And if those decisions involve purchases, that only complicates things further.

As economic and societal uncertainty continues to loom, some companies are realistically wondering how much money could be allocated to any investment at this time. Is any investment a wise appropriation of funds? Small businesses can certainly attest to this fear, with an UpCity survey revealing that 57% cut spending during the global health and economic crisis. Those who left their spending intact opted for a budget reallocation, choosing to spend more funds on salary increases (34%), marketing (28%) or operations management (27%).

In the past, companies set approval thresholds to authorize spending up to certain dollar amounts. The decision for larger capital expenditures would naturally be reserved for the higher levels of the organization. Granted, management would gather feedback to provide more context on the purchase, but the final decision would be left in the hands of the C-suite.

However, there has been a change. It is no longer possible to gather information in the same way, as remote and hybrid working have become commonplace. A meeting for larger expenses should be scheduled, although this may add months to the process. These hurdles have led some companies to abandon processes that had been set in stone for years.

Related: 6 Fatal B2B Selling Mistakes You Should Avoid

The Changing Face of B2B Customer Engagement

Companies working with these companies have responded quickly, evolving to accommodate the new many-to-many relationship that has surfaced. An increasing number of people within the supplier found themselves communicating with an increasing number of people at the customer simultaneously, often across multiple sites and mediums. In many cases, this only adds pressure to internal business operations. It takes more time and energy to sync with a customer to ensure quality and consistency of messages, especially as B2B buyers are now going in different directions.

As the multi-step decision process evolved, vendors had to prepare to support asynchronous communication. This contact method has created a new trend in the B2B customer experience, with buyers requesting information but not consistently. It is up to the suppliers to meet them where they are with up-to-date information. All this leads to significant changes in the internal operations of suppliers.

Internal systems had to change to adapt to this new style of remote decision-making as well. Video calls, video chat systems, etc. are essential for putting internal teams on the same page to facilitate consistent communication with buyers. Process-based decision tools are also rapidly being adopted. Salesforce's acquisition of Slack and Adobe's acquisition of Workfront illustrate how critical communication and decision-making between distributed individuals has become essential to keeping B2B customers engaged throughout the buying journey. B2B.

Related: 5 Tips to Grow Your B2B Sales

Implement new B2B customer engagement strategies

B2B customer engagement strategies have changed. This fact cannot be denied. However, you still need to resolve B2B issues to maintain the customer relationship...