Director of Zomara Group. I help organizations strategize, grow and develop. As Director Bas Dev at Equans, I deliver results. Contact him!
Technology continues to change many roles in organizations in ways that were unanticipated just a few years ago. In my opinion, marketing functions have acted as a torchbearer for many traditional business organizations as they use digital tools, analytics, dashboards, etc. But every experienced and savvy marketer views the problem and the solution through the lens of the 4Ps that defined the marketing mix almost a century ago: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
You would think that with all the time we spend in front of screens and all the information at our fingertips, we wouldn't need "marketed" products and all these various marketing professionals. Regardless, marketing has proven resilient to all technological developments. These old roles have created a new generation of digital marketing professionals whose core value is based on their specialized knowledge, expert use of tools, and data mining skills rather than their previous level of understanding of the human side. Marketing function. necessary.
With these more technical digital capabilities, marketers can now pinpoint the time and day shoppers begin their shopping journey and guide them in the right direction to make a purchase decision. Still, no one will tell you that the 4Ps have a place in the history books because they mean so much. It was the roles and resources that made it bigger and better.
As someone known for leadership in critical, transformational, high-value visibility, and high-value capabilities, I can confidently say that sales and business development resources, thought leaders, and stakeholders must embrace this "best of both" transformation in the digital world. and marketing. traditional world. The combined framework lacked adaptability, particularly with long and multiple sales cycles. Executives (outside of sales/business development) don't always understand this from the start, because for them it's always about finding customers, creating demand, overcoming objections (maybe) and getting results. But in today's customer environment, things are not easy.
According to a Gartner study a few years ago, a potential buyer meets potential vendors and suppliers about 17% of the time during the buying journey. The remaining 83% is spent on research, discussions with internal procurement teams to build consensus, and other related activities. Of course, the ultimate goal is to stand out in that 17 percent window, but you can only do that if you position yourself to be an active influence, not a role. 83% of the presentation is complete at this point. (One of my previous articles is about creating this indoor-outdoor orientation.)
It goes back to basic sales or business development 101, where nothing is more important than understanding your customers and their drivers. Normally, we do not move immediately from the understanding stage to the active attitude stage. Conversely, there is the passive positioning phase, where each touchpoint helps package your product and allows stakeholders to form, feel, and form an idea about your product and where it can lead. The benefits of this solution from the start are that your primary customer relationship will be to use the experience to help them achieve personal benefits in terms of greater visibility, professional development, cost control and people development with their managers or key decision makers. . Or ever.
As a reader, it can be argued that sales and business development were among the first adopters of digitization tools, as CRM has been a common practice for many years. Customization stopped there, as its use was limited to a beautiful tracker for internal use and limited to a true relationship management tool. The goal of the game now is to pinpoint the point at which your prospect wants to enter the buying cycle and change your role from agent to salesperson.
Another important aspect to consider is information overload and how easily it overwhelms decision makers. Therefore, the daily juggling act is not only how you stand out from the competition, but also what kind of information to present, when, and in what quantity.
Equipping your workforce with the right skills, technology and tools has never been more important. If you are serious about changing your market position but want to keep it, don't worry because market forces and competition will determine your future. Your customers have embraced Industry 4.0 (AI, geofencing, blockchain, predictive software, analytics, digital tools, etc.) and in the new world, relying on human talent alone will not be enough for you.
The Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and business development leaders. What do I qualify for?
