This week, McKinsey & Company released findings from their latest B2B Decision Maker Pulse Survey, and the results should have you reevaluating the role that your online story plays in the B2B buyer journey and sales process.
According to the study, the importance of digital channels in the B2B buying process has radically increased since the COVID-19 crisis began. While it is apparent to all of us how quickly digital and e-commerce has become the go-to choice for consumers during the pandemic — this report highlights just how much the crisis has shifted B2B buying behavior in the same direction. According to the research, digitally enabled B2B buyer interactions for researching products has jumped significantly.
When you combine this fact with research from Gartner — you quickly realize that your online story today plays a much more significant role in B2B buying decisions than just a few short months ago. Gartner states that digital channels have made it far easier for buyers to gather information independently, meaning sellers have less access and fewer opportunities to influence B2B buying decisions. In fact‚ their research shows when B2B buyers are considering a purchase‚ they spend only 17% of their time communicating with salespeople who work for potential suppliers. Today, the majority of the B2B purchasing decision-making process is based on the story you share online.
This should have you, and every other leader in your business, asking:
- When was the last time we did an audit of our messaging across all of our digital channels?
That question should be quickly followed up with:
- Is the story we are sharing online clear, compelling and consistent?
- Is it still aligned with our strategic priorities?
- Is our value proposition still relevant?
- Are we making it easy for our buyers to delve into each dimension of our story?
And last, but most importantly …
- If a prospect was to make a decision solely based on the messages we are sharing online … would they still buy?
Now is the time to upgrade your online story. Now is the time to realign that story with your post-COVID go-to-market strategy and priorities. Yes, marketers are scrambling to keep their heads above water given everything else changing in their world — but making your company’s online story clear, compelling and consistent has to be at the top of your priority list.
If you are short on time and resources right now, we can help make this happen.
Schedule a briefing with one of our experts today to learn about our Accelerated Messaging Engagements.
