STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH MARKETERS IN B2B … · changes and strategic options for Growth Marketers in...

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STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH MARKETERS IN B2B CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES, CHOICES AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE CURRENT AND EMERGING ENGAGEMENT ECONOMY. report march 2018

Transcript of STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH MARKETERS IN B2B … · changes and strategic options for Growth Marketers in...

Page 1: STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH MARKETERS IN B2B … · changes and strategic options for Growth Marketers in B2B ... need to make more investments in 2018. Social media is another arena where

STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH MARKETERS IN B2B CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

TECHNOLOGIES, CHOICES AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE

CURRENT AND EMERGING ENGAGEMENT ECONOMY.

report

march 2018

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FOREWARD

The Engagement Economy - the reality that

we consume and market in today— is a fast

unravelling era where everyone and everything

is connected.

Consumer expectations have shifted to expect

more from the brands and vendors they buy

from - they seek a more personal relationship

that offers them value wherever they are and

whenever they are ready to engage.

In response, marketers have had to rapidly

transform their growth strategies, methods, and

tactics in order to stay relevant and be

productive.

This white paper explores the evolving

changes and strategic options for Growth

Marketers in B2B markets.

For our purposes, B2B will include firms that

operate primarily in business to consumer (B2C)

markets but also interact with wholesalers and

distributors.

INDEX

1 UNDERSTANDING B2B

2A CLIMATE OF GROWTH

3CONNECTING MARKET INSIGHTS AND ANTICIPATED GROWTH

4KEY GROWTH TAKEAWAYS

5BUILDING A B2B DIGITAL CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR GROWTH

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02

03

05

06

01AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

IMPLEMENTATION

04SUPPORT

LOYALTY

ADVOCACY

Awareness and Consideration

Implementation and Support

Loyalty and Advocacy

INITIAL

DURING

AFTER

B2B refers to business markets in which firms,

institutions or governments that acquire goods

and services either for their own use, to

incorporate into the products or services that

they produce or for resale along with other

products and services to other firms, institutions

or governments.

Source: Business Market Management

Understanding, Delivering and Creating Value by James

Anderson, James Narus and Das Narayandas, 2009.

UNDERSTANDINGB2B

THE B2B CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN A FIRM

CAN BE CATOGRISED INTO THREE TYPES

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

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4

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Note: These roles may not be mutually exclusive.

For instance, in some organisations, a decision

maker may also be a user. Similarly a user may

also be an influencer.

B2B markets have their own unique characteristics:

CHARACTERISTICS OFB2B MARKETS

Complexity in terms of the deals, contracts and technologies involved.

Large spends and often risky transactions.

A small number of customers can account for a large percentage of a company's revenue.

Suppliers and customers work closely together for an extended period of time.

The B2B buying process comprises multiple participants:

Decision-Makers Those who make the choice of supplier / service provider.

Influencers Those who do not make the actual decision, but provide significant

input that influences the decision.

End Users Those that actually use the product or service provided.

Upbeat investor sentiment, exciting new

technologies and vibrant user habits are

driving positive growth energies in the

B2B space.

Advancements in technology - particularly in

the digital sphere - is enabling B2B players to

stabilize their investments and plan ahead. The

rise of the smart phone (and the flourish of apps

that is accompanying it) has translated into

perceptible revenue boost for small and

medium scale enterprises (M-SME), as well as

startups, in the B2B arena. In a data driven

universe, programmatic advertising – a trend

that has been gathering steam in recent times –

is slated to provide the extra confidence brands

need to make more investments in 2018. Social

media is another arena where brands are

expecting to shine, and are upping their

investment ante. Ahead-of-the-curve

technologies and approaches like Artificial

Learning, Mixed Reality (a blend of Virtual

reality and Augment reality) and Machine

Learning are unlocking new possibilities across

the customer journey for marketers. The overall

buoyancy across the domain is, unquestionably,

sweet music for a B2B marketer's ear.

A CLIMATE OF GROWTH

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THE SMEs AND THE

INVESTMENTS IN B2B ARE

WAVING TRENDS IN THE

CHINESE MARKET WHICH

DRIVES THEM TO BE THE

“KING OF B2B”.

Developing countries in Asia such as India,

China, and Indonesia are the key spots for

B2B market growth. Here, B2B and B2C e-

commerce markets are recording significant

growth trends.

MARKET REGIONSKEY B2B

China's B2B e-commerce market, in particular,

has shown remarkable growth escalation (fueled

in no small measure by its SME segment) – and

in 2020, it is slated to surpass that of the US to

emerge as a market leader globally.

In January 2018, US will pose a significant

growth in investment in the B2B startups and

California will be the gold crust.

In January 2018, Microsoft and Accenture have

initiated their plans to invest in Indian B2B startups.

They have partnered to focus on enterprise

startups and to help them to get access to their

latest technologies. It will help to enhance the

adoption of cloud services in IoT, big data,

advanced analytics and cognitive services.

IN 2018B2B INVESTMENT

For example, Bonfire Ventures closes a $60

million to invest in B2B startups. Such ignition

in the investments will force B2B players to

gear themselves to a greater level.

PERCENTAGE OF B2B SALES

IN 2020E ($ BILLION)

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Source:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/29/bonfire-ventures-

closes-60-million-to-invest-in-socal-b2b-startups/

Source:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-

biz/startups/microsoft-accenture-partner-to-help-indian-b2b-

startups/articleshow/62484610.cms

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GLOBAL B2B E-COMMERCE SALES PERCENTAGE OF B2B E-COMMERCE SALES IN 2020E ($ BILLION) IN 2020E ($ BILLION)

US29%

China31%

Other Countries40%

The B2B E-commerce sales in the global market are growing at a super-fast growth rate

of nearly 20% and it is visible that the market players

will play around with the new opportunities.

USCHINA 2000

2000

40004000

60006000

80008000

GLOBAL

2020E

19001900

21002100

67006700

PERCENTAGE OF B2B E-COMMERCE SALES IN 2020E ($ BILLION)

PERCENTAGE OF B2B SALES IN 2020E ($ BILLION)

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New technologies and competitors are

transforming the product, experience and

service terrain. It is estimated that nearly

3/4rthof B2B consumers expect and anticipate

their brands to engage with them in real-time

networks. Customer engagement therefore

plays a critical role and strongly impacts the

B2B business ecosystem. The good news is that

the modern B2B consumer is aware and

empowered – making switching easier and

paving the way for growth. Adopting

consistently customer-centered strategies

based on market insights will help B2B

companies erase bugs and bottlenecks along

the customer experience and acquisition

process, making possible advanced business

performance, and sustained business growth.

Buyers and customers are making decisions

using the latest digital technologies and tools.

The dynamic growth of digital capabilities in our

day to day life is equipping both B2B customers

and B2B brands to aim for and set new

expectations. The better a brand leverages new

technology, therefore, the nimbler will it grow.

Expectations have no limit, but priorities do.

Customer expectations are evolving – and this

makes understanding and prioritizing their needs

is critical for business growth. Market priorities

will drive the players to rank their customers and

vice versa. Expertise in digitization and the

willingness to explore, experiment and adapt will

get B2B players in the Wish-List of their

customers. With a never-before pitara of options

and avenues, there's never been a better time to

be a B2B marketer or brand.

It is evident that the growth of digitization is driving

growth in the B2B sphere, causing leaders to take

notice. According to news resources, Anil Ambani is

planning for a new RCom which will be a B2B company

with half of its revenue coming from abroad.

AND ANTICIPATED GROWTH CONNECTING MARKET INSIGHTS

INDIA'S TIME IS HERE

“BEFORE ORCHESTRATING A NEW STRATEGY FOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT A GROWTH MARKETER HAS TO UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING FACTORS DRIVING CHANGES IN B2B CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS”

#1 DIGITIZATION IS DRIVING GROWTH FOR B2B CUSTOMERS

Changing B2B customer expectations are

dramatically impacted their buying process. In

exchange for brand loyalty, they desire a more

convenient, versatile and engaging digital

buying experience at every step of the

purchase funnel. The momentum is shifting with

technology, and B2B players are expected to

get acclimatized to the modern era of data

science driven digitalization.

#2 B2B CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS ARE CHANGING

IMPORTANT FACTORS FOR B2B GROWTH

India is expected to become the world's

fastest growing E-commerce market, driven

by robust investment in the sector and rapid

increase in the number of internet users.

Various agencies have high expectations

about the growth of Indian e-commerce

markets. Online retail is expected to be at par

with the physical stores in the next five years

and has grown 23 per cent to $17.8 billion in

2017. India's B2B e-commerce market is

expected to reach US$ 700 billion by 2020.

Indian e-commerce sales are expected to

reach US$ 120 billion by 2020 from US$ 30

billion in FY2016. Further, India's e-commerce

market is expected to reach US$ 220 billion in

terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) and

530 million shoppers by 2025, powered by

faster speeds on reliable telecom networks,

quicker adoption of online services and better

variety as well as convenience in service.

The Engagement Quality Factors

that are expected by the B2B customers

includes the following

Creativity and consulting skills

Professionalism

Understanding of customers business & industry

Subject matter and solution expertise

Social and communication skills

3

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Source:

https://www.maritzcx.com/blog/b2c-influence-b2b-

customer-expectations/

Source:

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/telecom/new-

rcom-would-be-a-b2b-company-with-half-its-revenues-

coming-from-overseas-anil-ambani-2469141.html

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Customer experience is today the cornerstone

of a B2B firm's strategy. More two-way

engagement is happening across channels like

email, chat, podcasts and online communities

than ever before. The emergence of formalized

programs is also catalyzing growth prospects in

a company. Nearly 1/3rdof B2B firms are

actively adopting customer centricity to re-

mould their organization's internal and external

strategy. Seamless flow of services and rust

free customer relationship are emerging as key

factors guiding growth trends in a targeted

market place. Personalized digital experiences

are breaking down traditional walls between

B2B brands and their customers, breeding new

grounds of trust.

Perfecting the B2B customer experience is

an ongoing transformation and an evolving

challenge for companies, and those with

an open-ness for hard and consistent

learnings will emerge as preferred choices

for users, and will be able to establish both

domain leadership and growth.

Today B2B consumers are using more channels to

engage with their vendors. Now B2B customers are

more likely to use email, chat, podcasts, and online

communities than ever before.

#3 CX-CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES IS THE NEW PRIME PERFORMANCE AREA #4 BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

4% 5% 5%7%

9% 10% 11%

19%

25%

28%

35%

60%

79%

AugmentedReality

Other VirtualReality

Games Webinars/Podcasts

Blogs Videos Forums Mobile Apps

Chat SocialMedia

Website E-mail

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

DIGITAL CHANNELUSED TO INITIATE ENGAGEMENT WITH BRANDS

In addition to the above, other challenges specific to ROI are:

60

40

20

0

EngagementTools

OrganisationalKnowledge

Ability to Measure ROI

Budget Allocation

ExecutiveSupport

BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Marketers around the world agree that the number one challenge they face is related to the

choice of the right engagement tools – along with demonstrating Return On Investment.

Given the market shift towards digital forms of engagement, refining how marketers track and

measure consumer behaviour will help companies become more effective at demonstrating

the impact of their efforts.

Lack of team alignment.

Departments operate in silos, which leads to an inconsistent user experience – such as not

knowing what customers have done online to follow up effectively offline.

Marketing spends on sales force versus digital.

Marketing dollars are spent on training the sales force and empowering them with tools to interact

with customers, as opposed to online engagement.

Passive to non-existent lead management.

Leads are “captured” on B2B sites, but responses are automated instead of customized, and there

is little to no further follow-up.

Source:

https://www.b2binternational.com/publications/six-

steps-to-b2b-customer-experience-excellence/

Source: https://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2017/32661/the-engagement-gap-how-b2b-and-b2c-firms-are-missing-the-markb

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4DEFINING METRICS

In a recent Bain and Co. survey of 290

executives in B2B industries across 11 countries,

two-thirds of respondents said customers are

less loyal than they used to be. The challenge

of building loyal B2B customers is compounded

by the complicated channel structures of B2B

industries, with their concentrated buyer

communities, large accounts and with many

people influencing the relationship.

Despite the challenges, some B2B companies

have managed to earn strong loyalty. In our

experience, what B2B loyalty leaders have in

common is their ability to deliver on customer

centricity and ensure continuous improvements:

Many of them use the Net Promoter System

(NPS), a closed-loop feedback mechanism

designed to help companies increase

promoters and reduce the number of detractors

among customers. Short, frequent NPS surveys

after key interactions, such as a new contract

negotiation, can help identify aspects that

delight or annoy customers. When companies

market to distributors or other intermediaries,

NPS provides valuable feedback from retailers

and end users, as well as from distributors and

direct customers.

BUILDING A B2B DIGITAL CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR GROWTH

Almost all marketers have a strategy in place

for engaging customers.As per surveys, the top

global metrics marketers use to track

engagement are effectiveness, customer

experience and efficiency. Marketers globally

agree on their key metrics and the order of

importance. Marketers in the US prioritize

retention and loyalty metrics, while internal

alignment for customer initiatives is focused

around aligning customer service and support –

while for the sales teams, it is critical to notice

that the lowest alignment score is for executive

leadership. Aligning these stakeholders around

the customer is not only a critical function for

the business, but a strategic function for

marketers as they cement their role as

visionary, impactful business leaders and

advisors in their organization and industry.

Personalized communication is a key aspect of

innovative engagements for B2B customers.

Monitoring social media and personalizing

content are the engagement methods most

marketers follow today and are also the

approaches marketers believe will have the

greatest impact on customer engagement.

Marketers are focussing on automation and

integration as these capabilities enable

marketers and their strategies to scale.

Marketers are also expected to explore and

adopt more advanced technologies in the

future. Marketers are looking to their

engagement solutions to automate a variety of

marketing activities to more effectively engage

with consumers. The following graph shows the

future technologies which will lead in

engagement for marketers.

STRATEGIC OPTIONS & METHODS

FOR DEPLOYING AN EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT

& CX DRIVEN CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENTS

“If you gather the data, focus on making things

easy & relevant, deliver messages that

resonate with their world (not just your own),

you get people over the bridge to what we call

a “Commerce Moment”.

“What's Next?”

should be the question any B2B

company should ask to start building

their new CE & CX strategy.

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Source:http://resources.elixiter.com/i/868811-the-state-of-engagement-2017-marketo/27?m4=

Source:http://resources.elixiter.com/i/868811-the-state-of-engagement-2017-marketo/77?m4=

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JourneyMapping

MachineLearning

BehaviourTracking

AdaptiveCampaigns

CombiningAnalysis

PredictiveAnalysis

PresenceTechnology

IntegratingEngagement

AutomatedMeasurement

AutomatedDelivery

PersonalizingMessaging

MonitoringSocial Media

50

40

30

20

10

0

ENGAGEMENTMETHODSFOR MARKETERS

DEFINING METRICS 1. Reboot Approach:

The data shows that while marketers see the

value and importance of consumer and

customer engagement, they simply aren't

hitting the mark.

2. Co-ordinate Data with Insights:

Consumers' use of different channels makes

it imperative that marketers listen and

respond to their activities in real time.

However, to effectively engage consumers,

marketers must address the number one

barrier to effective engagement - tools.

Marketers today operate marketing

technology stacks made up of disparate point

solutions that offer uncoordinated metrics

and data. To succeed, marketers need to shift

their mind-set and identify a customized suite

of tools, solutions, and platforms that work

specifically for their challenges and

mandates. This will enable them to

successfully co-ordinate disparate touch

points and engagements, and translate them

into actionable insights.

3. Structure, Buy-In and Align

to Succeed at Scale:

As marketing leads the charge in

understanding what true engagement means

for an organization's consumers, it's more

critical than ever that organizational structure,

alignment, and buy-in's are seamlessly

synergized for quicker decision making and

more effective implementation.

4. Stay Tuned for the Next:

While Growth marketers as a tribe tend to

focus on the more popular channels that

consumers are using to engage, it's critical

that they keep one eye on innovative

experiences and technologies emerging on

the horizon to both gain first mover

advantage.

Marketers also need their solution suite

to provide analytics and reporting to

demonstrate ROI and continue to refine

their effectiveness. The biggest barriers

to improving customer engagement are

related to tools, so it is not surprising that

marketer satisfaction with their

engagement solutions is low across

many aspects.

While you may already have identified

takeaways specifically relevant and

critical to your organization, here are four

key insights we see as important trends

in the market and as opportunities for all

marketers looking to succeed in the

Engagement Economy:

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SOURAV CHATTERJEE Technology Strategyand

TONY ANTON JOSEPH

PRAKHAR SRIVASTAVA

JAYJIT DASGUPTA

MOHIT AHUJA

Research and Consulting Diagnostics and Analysis Content and Editing Design and Creative

I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H

thestrategycouncil .com

B2B companies committed to providing

engaging customer experiences throughout the

lifecycle will stand a much better chance at

generating game-changing ROI than those who

adopt a half-hearted approach.

A structured strategy with predetermined KPIs

and the right digital tools can make all the

difference in becoming the next leader in the

B2B market.

With the right data and insights, marketers can

accurately and immersively understand

consumer signals and translate those into

strategies that deliver relevant, personalized

activities and consistent, measurable impact.

Growth marketers reveal that their Number

One challenge to customer engagement was

engagement tools. Marketers need to move

beyond single purpose tools to multi-purpose

engagement platforms that facilitate the

seamless flow of data and can coordinate

disparate elements in a future-facing Growth

Marketing Stack.

TAKEAWAYSKEY GROWTH

5

The B2B market is increasing in market value

worldwide. The number of trends is

multiplying. A rapidly changing terrain – along

with developments in data collection and

market tools – are generating never-before

momentum and dynamic new opportunities

for B2B marketers, who are re-aligning their

strategies accordingly. For B2B brands and

firms, building a seamless and customized

digital customer engagement strategy has

emerged key to hitting business goals and

dominating global markets.

ABSTRACT

B2B Business to business

B2C Business to customer

C2C Customer to customer

CE Customer engagement

CX Customer experience

GMV Gross merchandise value

IoT Internet of Things

KPI Key performance indicator

NPS Net promoter system

ROI Return on investment

SME Small and medium scale enterprises

ABBREVIATIONS USED

REPORTPREPARED BY

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©Copyright 2018 Turkblue Management Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

As disruptive growth evangelists,

TBM GROWTH brings leaders, innovators

and entrepreneurs under a single roof to

fire debate, stoke research and inspire

initiatives on all things growth.

As result-first business partners,

we offer specialized expertise at every

phase of the business cycle to help

organizations, entrepreneurs and leaders

leverage opportunity, negotiate change

and experience multi-dimensional growth.

Turkblue Management Pvt. Ltd.

[email protected] tbmgrowth.com

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