Reimagining customer experience: How B2B sellers can meet new buyer demands

Watch the replay of Virtual Summit: How Organizations Help Sellers Get Back to Selling to hear more from Five9 and other industry experts on how virtual selling is creating smarter, more intuitive experiences for both buyers and sellers.

In the next four years, 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur on digital channels, according to the Future of Sales report from Gartner. In fact, 33% of all buyers today say they desire a rep-free sales experience. This marks a transformational change heightened by the pandemic. How can businesses meet this new breed of B2B customers when, where, and how they prefer to engage?

Perhaps out of necessity—or simply capitalizing on greater access to and improvements in sales automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and real-time data and analytics—B2B sales organizations are changing how they think about digital engagement and tapping into new solutions to turn their vision into reality. At Five9, we believe it comes down to reimagining customer experience (CX).

A reimagined B2B sales process requires a new way of thinking about virtual selling and a willingness to tap into new technologies. It’s clear that empowered B2B buyers increasingly expect experiences that include digital or self-service options, and it’s up to progressive sales organizations to lead the charge.

Here are a few thoughts on how to meet or exceed the demands of this new generation of buyers. 

Offer relevant self-service to deliver better customer experiences

The shift to digital-first buying significantly increased with the onset of the pandemic, and modernized customer outreach and engagements provide the efficient, self-guided journeys B2B buyers now expect. Does your organization offer buyers a relevant self-service experience with options like voice and chat?

Let’s say a prospect has seriously researched your product. They’ve explored your website, tuned into a webinar, downloaded a datasheet, interacted with Oracle Digital Assistant, installed a trial, and now decided they’re ready to talk to a sales rep and discuss next steps.

Because each digital engagement in the buyer’s self-guided journey is captured and available within a single-pane Oracle desktop, your sales rep will be fully prepared. Every digital footprint a prospect leaves is saved and updated in the CRM system. Buyers can begin the buying process without speaking to a human, if they prefer, and sellers can understand exactly who they’re selling to and when it’s time to contact them.

Five9 and Oracle Sales’ combined solutions elevate your selling strategy and improve the customer experience by allowing buyers to self-serve and find their own way. And because customer information is retrieved in real time and accessible all in one place, it’s easier for reps to deliver even more personalized buying experiences.

Use AI and sales automation to make your data work for you—and your customers

There’s a strong incentive to bring in new skills and technologies to keep up with the growing number of touchpoints associated with digital buying. But it takes more than just technology. One has to apply the technology strategically and effectively to evoke meaningful change and ultimately deliver a truly exceptional customer experience.

In The Future of Sales, Gartner shares that “60% of B2B sales organizations will transition from experience- and intuition-based selling to data-driven selling, merging their sales process, applications, data, and analytics into a single operational practice.” Adopting technology that equips you with sophisticated data is essential for companies that are making such a move and attempting to evolve with their buyers. Your data should be constantly evolving based on your customers’ actions, needs, and behaviors, so look beyond traditional data and integration needs, and pivot to AI-powered solutions that provide up-to-date, actionable insights. 

Tracking customer KPIs is also vital to ensuring smooth customer experiences in this new era of B2B sales. Five9 allows supervisors to create customized reports that help teams make more informed decisions. Additionally, managers can create customized, real-time reports at regular intervals or on an ad hoc basis to help teams adjust queues and work smarter.

Hear more about the changing role of B2B sellers from Doug Dopita, Area Vice President of Enterprise Sales at Five9.

For additional strategies and tactics to help you create smarter, more intuitive experiences for both buyers and sellers, watch the full replay of Oracle’s Virtual Summit: How Organizations Help Sellers Get Back to Selling.

To learn more about Five9, visit our website.