B2B CX tips: Be bold in following data insights

Customer experience strategy

Last week the panel of experts, which featured: Amanda Green, Head of Digital at Laminex, Scott Treller, Executive General Manager at SAP Customer Experience and Ross Bark, Director of Digital at Enterprise Wide, provided viewers with tips on how businesses should adapt to deliver the convenient and transparent buying experience that today’s B2B buyers expect.

Relevant digital experiences

Opening with an interactive poll, the session saw attendees admit their brands were not initially equipped to navigate the disruption brought by the pandemic and so were forced to accelerate their digital transformation. The panel responded by sharing the new opportunities digital B2B leaders have uncovered so far in the new landscape.

Green noted that the current climate has strengthened digital’s place in customer journey. As a result, it is vital that brands push their capabilities so they can provide digital experiences that are relevant and exceed expectations in today’s changing market.

Agreeing that relevance is vital, Bark added that brands must recognize the needs of their buyer personas, especially in times of upheaval. For instance, the pandemic has triggered unprecedented buying behaviors. “Now, we have homebound B2B buyers that are exclusively purchasing through web-chat as they haven’t been able to interact face-to-face.” Observations on client behaviors and preferences should be deployed to meet customers in the channel of their choice with the information they need. This will allow brands to empower buyers to complete tasks with ease, maintains SAP’s Treller.

On the subject of continually identifying and meeting customer needs, Bark summarizes it is a case of “Look, listen and look again.”

Be agile and data-driven

The webinar saw the panel discussion explore the importance of data, noting that it should be the driver of all business decisions rather than corporate assumptions and gut feelings. Green encourages customer experience experts to be bold in following the data’s findings.

“Get as much data as you can [to help you understand your customers] from a diverse range of sources and follow that data’s insight. Be ready to change your road map. You may well have a road map planned for the next two years, but if the data is telling you to change then you need to be prepared to listen and pivot as soon as possible.”

Bark reminded attendees that the pandemic’s disruption has presented B2B brands with “…. a significant opportunity to invest in flexibility and the ability to pivot quickly, which of course requires a foundation that is flexible and allows your company to invest in new business models and extend quickly.”

To access the full breadth of the webinar’s insights including on the topics of pro-active experience management and handling supply chain disruptions, tune into the session on-demand here.