Succeeding in business means changing, adapting, and evolving when the market calls for it. Whether adjustments are in order because of changes in technology, the economy, or any other reason, you have to keep up if you want to stay afloat. You can’t keep marketing and selling your goods or services in the same if that way doesn’t work anymore. You’ll only become irrelevant.
Customers have changed the way they buy, primarily due to the rise of the internet. And they’re certainly not going to revert back to their old buying ways to match the way you sell. It’s up to you to adjust the way you sell to accommodate the new sales cycle.
Here are some of the changes you can make to adapt to the new sales process.
Implement Inbound Marketing
First and foremost, the biggest change your company is going to need to make is to implement inbound marketing. In today’s market, inbound marketing is the most effective way to sell. Your prospects are going through most of the sales funnel on their own, doing their own research online and coming up with solutions to their own problems. Inbound marketing allows you to take advantage of the internet to provide relevant and meaningful content to prospects at the right place and the right time. It focuses on your customers’ needs and allows you to build relationships with them. It puts your prospects first, so they feel valued and cared for. When you place content and customer relationships first, above your company, your products, or your revenue, you’ll successfully adapt to the new way customers buy. And using inbound marketing strategies allows you to do just that.
Get Mobile
If one thing has really changed, it’s the way people are accessing information. They’re no longer exclusively using their desktop to research your company, buy your products, or find content. They’re increasingly using their mobile devices and tablets to do so. If you want to stay relevant in today’s market, you have to get mobile friendly. Your website will need to be mobile optimized, as do your advertisements, your landing pages, your emails, and the rest of your online content.
Remember: All Customers Aren’t the Same
Many sales organizations wrongfully believe that trying to reach all customers at the same time will lead to more sales. But using generic content that isn’t tailored, and treating all prospects in the same way, is an issue. Everyone is different. They all have different needs, desires, wants, and pain points. They’re looking for different types of solutions. They’re in different stages of the sales funnel. So when you use generic content, your words might resonate with fifty percent of your audience, but it will turn off the rest, so you end up losing out on potential opportunities.
Instead, what you need to do is gather customer data, including your prospects’ age, income class, gender, race, location, pain points, and more, and then segment them into different groups. Use different tactics that resonate with each unique group.
Be a Patient Guide, Not a Sales Person
The customer is now in control of the sales process. That means your audience wants to buy on its own terms. You no longer get to be aggressive in your selling techniques. In fact, one of the worst things you can do right now is sell. Instead, you have to be a guide on the buyer’s journey. You have to give your prospects content when they need it, you need to give helpful advice and recommendations when prompted, and you have to gently push them to choose your company above your competition. You can’t force purchasing decisions or you’ll scare off potential customers. Inbound marketing is a long game. You won’t see results over night, but once you do start to generate leads, your sales opportunities will be sustainable and you’ll be more profitable than ever before.
Source: What is SaaS?
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