Shakespear’s Hamlet famously asked himself: “To be or not to be?” I would like to change that question to: “To be to be or be to see?” (read To b2b or b2c)
Lately I have met some “old-school" manufacturing companies discussing communication, marketing and sales strategies.
From these conversations it is clear that many of these manufacturing corporations, who normally operates as b2b companies, are undergoing a transformation in their approach to marketing and sales.
I want to give my 2 cents on why I believe b2b companies should adopt the same methodology and techniques as b2c companies in their marketing and sales in a series of 3 articles. Stay tuned!
It is evident that these traditional companies are aware that they need to renew their approach on how to acquire new clients and on how to maintain existing ones, through being more customer centric and telling more compelling stories in their approach. But oh-boy/girl they have a long way to go before they can actually change...
The keyword here is obviously digital.
However, digital can mean a lot of different things, especially for traditional b2b companies. In the world of manufacturing companies the digitalisation often starts at the factory floor. Normally they try to distinguish it from calling it digitation instead of digitalisation. The effort here is pretty much to improve the supply chain with IoT, streamlining the way they produce (IIot = Industrial Internet of Things). One way to become more effective is through creating a copy of the actual physical factory floor with a digital model. This model can then steer the actual flow on the floors and adjust supply and production e.g. according to machines needing service or changes in demand. Another way to become more effective is to adopt new digital technologies like augmented reality; e.g. show where an item should be delivered on the factory floor with animations through a headset overlaying the real world.
It seems a lot of manufacturing companies are implementing digitisation for real. Actually it seems like we are really in the fourth industrial revolution, cleverly called industry 4.0. Remember the first one (1.0) is driven by the steam engines and mechanisation, the second (2.0) by electricity and mass production and the third one (3.0) by computerisation and automation. And so, now we are in the fourth industrial revolution which is driven by digital and connectivity, often called cyber physical systems.
What strikes me though is that none of these revolutions actually puts the customer first. In fact, they put the customer last. A great example is the famous quote from Henry Ford who arguably is the pioneer of the second industrial revolution; “You can get whatever colour you want on our cars - as long as it is black.”
In the next article I will explain why this approach to your customers is old school and why it needs to change… (coming tomorrow 19th of April)
Ford’s example is old but from my conversations with today’s manufacturing companies it seems there still is a rather big gap between being truly customer centric and making the supply chain more efficient. Of course, great products is still the most important thing, and how to get great products should always start with what the customer really needs, but today's digital ways to reach customers with tailored content through digital channels puts another pressure in play in the competitive landscape as companies with less good products can still outperform you through great content, marketing and sales efforts.
True, great customer experiences includes using the product. However, a lot of the user experience's touch points has nothing to do with actually using the product. Instead the experience is generated through all the content and interactions you as a customer are exposed to from the company, of which most comes long before, or after, you are actually using the product.
So, back to why digital is key. Digital channels and technologies drastically changes the way a company can work with customer experience and tailored touch points. Digital storytelling changes the game, from the very first touchpoint where a potential customer learns about a product for the first time to the very last touchpoint when the customer repurchases (or churns).
It is fair to say that direct to consumer companies, i.e. b2c companies, have been much more faster in adopting a more customer centric approach and explored digital channels and technologies to enhance their customer experience. Hell, most of today’s successful companies ONLY live through an excellent digital customer experience. Sometimes I wonder if Amazon actually cares much about the products they sell. They clearly put the experience first. The brand is all about the experience. Whatever ends up coming to your doorstep the next day is not that important… The focus is completely opposite from an old school manufacturer. First the experience - then the product.
B2b companies are aware of the need to jump on the "digital channels” train - but their infrastructure in sales and communication hinders them from being agile and lean enough to adopt new customer centric approaches in their marketing and sales. There is a legacy in structure and approach with large sales teams and old ways of working very much “off line” (read fairs and dinners with old clients) hindering them to act on thinking digital and customers first.
So, we have established that the main reason for the slow digital adoption among traditional b2b companies is legacy. But maybe it makes sense? Should there be a difference between how a b2b company works with digital channels compared to a b2c company?
There shouldn’t be any difference in my opinion. Especially not when it comes to marketing and sales. A company selling drilling machines should have the same approach to their marketing and sales as a company selling socks online.
Drilling machine “buyers” are also people, albeit representing a company, and they are present on all digital platforms, just like socks “buyers” are. In fact they are most likely even the same person!
Today’s digital platforms (i.e channels), such as Linkedin, Google, Facebook, Youtube and pretty much any digital publisher, have excellent targeting options and tools to serve relevant and engaging content to any type of buyer, being it for machines or socks. The marketing and sales focus for any company should therefore be in how to best explore these platforms to help improve the customer experience.
"But we are a b2b company, our sales cycles are much longer than b2c companies!” is a common argument for why there is a reluctance to adopt b2c strategies and way of working with customer experience for b2b companies. I would argue that is actually why it is even more important to adopt a more digital customer experience approach. There is no better way than to use digital channels to maintain and build a story around a drilling machine (remember the example from part one of the series). You can have a potential buyer's attention for weeks and months through fantastic content telling a story about the machine. You can’t do that at a fair or through dinners. Of course, dinners and fairs are important, but they should be seen as complementary to the digital channels, not the other way around. That is a pretty big shift in focus I believe most b2b companies haven’t really done yet.
And now to my punch line. To be to be (b2b) or to be to see (b2c). Yes, I would go for the to be to SEE approach. If you adopt the same customer experience approach as the most successful b2c companies have done you as a b2b company will be able to SEE much more. You will be able to stay closer to your buyer to tell your story. And while doing that you will also be able to see better what your customers need. Digital channels should be seen as a two way communication platform. Digital tools will allow you to engage in a dialogue with your buyers, ultimately helping you to SEE the future needs your customers might have.
To end up on a positive note I see that many b2b companies, even in the machine manufacturing business, are setting up new business areas to adopt a more digital marketing and sales approach. There is a good shift in the mindset. The question for many of these companies will be how to overcome the legacy of the "old ways” and how to deal with their sales teams and old school marketing teams…