Keys to Leveraging Buyer Behaviors through Sales and Marketing Alignment

5 min read - December 16, 2022

webpresented

Traditional buyer behaviors and how we interact with customers have been shifting for years. The pandemic accelerated this transition, and companies must adapt to be successful. Today’s buyers have an overabundance of information. They are empowered, they are demanding, and they are changing the way they buy, which means we need to change the way we sell. Aligning your Sales and Marketing teams make this transition more seamless.
What is the problem? 
 
Sales and marketing alignment has always been a challenge for businesses, but the problem has become more pronounced in recent years as buyer behaviors have changed. One of the long-standing assumptions about customers requiring face-to-face interactions to make a purchase was quickly dispatched by the pandemic. Covid-19 proved that a digital presence and a positive digital experience are equivalent or even more effective than an in-person engagement.
Buyers are now more informed than ever before, thanks to the internet and social media. They research products and services themselves and are often already familiar with a brand before they even speak to a salesperson.
This indicates that salespeople need to be involved in the marketing process, empowering them to build relationships with buyers and understand needs. Otherwise, they will struggle to close deals.
Find out what your potential buyers are researching and learn what your marketing team is trying to sell them. All while making sure your team is speaking the same language, and their goals are uniform.

How does this affect me and my business? 

Without alignment, your team will suffer from inefficiencies and duplication of effort, which costs a company both time and money. In addition, misalignment can lead to missed opportunities and an inability to capitalize on new buyer behaviors.
With the current supply chain challenges, marketing may be forced to increase promotions from a particular vendor who can supply goods. A lack of coordination with sales leads to focusing efforts on selling a product that is not supported with adequate inventory. Additionally, distributors are often incentivized by their manufacturers with volume rebates and other incentives. Coordination of these cost reduction opportunities requires your team to steer support these opportunities and maximize margins.
By aligning sales and marketing teams, businesses can operate more efficiently, make the most of new opportunities, and better understand and respond to the needs of their customers. Sales and marketing alignment is therefore key to leveraging new buyer behaviors, and ultimately driving growth for businesses.

What are some of the solutions? 

Increased Collaboration It starts with communication and collaboration between the two teams. A strong CRM platform provides visibility to the sales team on marketing campaigns and customer engagements allowing sales to adjust their approach accordingly. The two teams should work together on planning and strategy – alignment on objectives and targets creates a better and more successful environment.

Tracking the Early Digital Footprint 

76% of consumers look for a company’s online presence before visiting in-person (Visual Objects). Having a platform that tracks your customer’s digital footprint and provides visibility to the sales team is essential for early engagement.

Additionally, online ordering with E-commerce platforms has largely replaced phone calls to Inside Sales. This interaction does not provide the same customer connection to understand if the price is too high or uncover other purchase objections. The ability to track and report on abandoned carts in an E-commerce platform can be used to automate marketing and sales activities to reengage the customer or reevaluate their strategies.

Take the Sale to Your Customer Before They Are Looking 

If leveraged properly, data provides insight into customer purchasing patterns and can identify gaps in purchases of accompanying products. Data should be utilized to generate marketing campaigns to present sale opportunities, rather than waiting for them to find you. For example, WPCRM takes your data and uses AI technology to provide suggested products based on your clients buying habits – providing your team with the tools to increase sales opportunities.

Monitor Buyer Behaviors and Engage 

Unfortunately, customers do not always notify you when they decide to start purchasing products from competing distributors. Without proper tools to identify these waning customers, they could be well established with the competitor before the attrition is discovered. Your tech stack should alert you of this. Then, it triggers your sales and marketing team to create campaigns and sales engagement to recover the account before it is too late.

Optimizing Customer Experience 

To optimize the customer experience, businesses need to take a holistic and customer centric approach. Sales and marketing need to possess a knowledge of touch points throughout your customer journey. Understand the ways your customers interact with your business and ensure they feel supported through their journey while always seeking and evaluating feedback to improve their experience.

Sales and marketing alignment is critical to leveraging new buyer behaviors. Without this connection, sales and marketing efforts are often siloed, resulting in an inefficient use of resources, and missed opportunities. Bring your teams together to better understand buyers and anticipate their needs, leading to increased sales and improved customer relationships. Even better, let your tech stack accomplish this for your team. Bring them together on a common platform that can allow each team to investigate activities directly impacting their clients. See how WPCRM does this and schedule a demo.