While many think of business-to-business transactions as being more formal and well-defined, it is by no means unchanging. The B2B customer journey is continuously evolving. And for your startup business to prosper, you need to stay on top of these changes.
But how can you do that exactly? This is where outsourcing can be a handy tool. Let’s look at how you can harness it to guide your B2B clients in their changing buyer journeys.
Understanding The B2B Buyer’s Journey
One thing worth noting this early is that every B2B client’s buyer journey is unique. This is due to each business having its own needs and approaches. Nevertheless, you can break these journeys into four broad phases.
Stage 1: Discovery
Unlike the business-to-customer journey, where the buyer can sometimes start the discovery stage unintentionally, B2B is more purposeful. When a company spots a problem or a need, they immediately start looking for solutions. Thus, they already know what they want.
Image from Product Coalition
But even with that, they don’t know that your startup business can provide those solutions. As such, you need to make them aware of it. In this case, your marketing is a lot more focused when compared to B2C. You want to reach out to prospects looking for exact solutions at that moment.
Stage 2: Evaluation
Once a prospect discovers your startup business, they begin to gather more information about you. Their goal here is to see how exactly you can help them solve their problems. At this point, they will be comparing you with other providers. They are seeking the best ones that will meet their needs.
Image from Technology Advice.
You need to guide them in understanding why the solution you offer is it. This isn’t just about providing more resource materials. You also need to be there to answer their questions. As such, you need to start building a good relationship with them even at this point.
Stage 3: Decision
As the name says, this is the point where the prospect decides to do business with you. And when they choose your startup, you should be ready to deliver that solution to them immediately. That involves making all the preparations to welcome them into your fold. It also requires anticipating their next move to provide the support they need in using your solution.
Stage 4: Building Loyalty
In B2C transactions, the buyer’s journey often ends with the purchase. However, that is not the case in B2B. Remember that clients are purchasing long-term solutions. Hence, part of the journey is ensuring they get to use those to the fullest. This helps build their loyalty and create long-term business opportunities for you.
How Your Startup Business B2B Buyer’s Journey Is Changing.
While those stages are still consistent, what happens within these is where the B2B customer journey is changing. The following are some of such changes that your startup business should be aware of.
The Simplification Of The Buying Process For Your Startup Business
The B2B buying process is notoriously complex. For one, you need to go through several decision-makers to secure a deal. And those decision-makers can have a lot of requirements for them to give the go signal to the client management.
Image from Medium.
Interestingly, even client companies know this complexity and the challenges it brings. Thus, there is a clamor to simplify the buying process for both sides of the transaction. In the case of the seller, the goal is to remove any barriers that might make it hard for prospects to accomplish the transaction.
Additionally, you need to provide 24/7 accessibility. This is especially important in customer support, as companies would often need assistance well beyond their office hours. You need to provide this accessibility in various channels to better support clients. Virtual Solutions can provide the necessary resources to help you implement that greater accessibility faster.
The Blurring Lines Between B2B And B2C
We might often think of B2B and B2C as being distinct from each other. However, you’ll be surprised that much of the changes in the former are influenced by the latter. Because of this, there is now a blurring of the lines between the two.
Image from Agility PR.
One of the emerging trends here is the so-called business-to-everyone strategy. In this strategy, a startup business utilizes methods from both to engage clients. Here, the B2B approach still applies to the overall framework. However, your startup business can use B2C techniques to connect with individual decision-makers. This lets businesses be more flexible in engaging clients and give them a better show at landing a deal.
Our agents are experts in both types of engagement. With us by your side, you can confidently engage with clients on the organizational level. From there, we can take over and interact with each individual decision-maker for you. That lets you capture the interest of more people in the company and better position your startup business.
Increased Customer Values Proposition For Your Startup Business
One of the biggest developments in the B2B scene is the increase in customers’ bargaining power. Through advances in technology, they can now get more information about the solutions they seek and the companies that provide them. In this situation, you need to be ready with new ways to offer value to them.
There are various ways that you can explore this. For instance, you can provide comprehensive training programs to help clients understand your product or service more. You can also facilitate what is known as collaborative networking. Here, you become the bridge to help your customers connect with other companies they need. In return, this also helps you better position yourself as a subject matter expert in the eyes of your customers.
Image from Smartsheet.
It would also help you to reframe the idea of customer value. In this case, you will have to be more proactive in seeking value that your customers might not have yet considered. Take advantage of big data analytics to better understand the behavior of clients and prospects.
Use that knowledge to predict which areas they might put a value on and develop solutions for those. When they see that you are ready to explore what they might need in the future, clients will be more willing to pursue a long-term business relationship with your startup. That will undoubtedly increase the potential of their buyer journey for your business.
Adapt Your Startup Business To The New B2B Buyer Journey With Our Help
These new developments in B2B can seem daunting at first. But once you get a good grasp of what’s in store, your company can quickly adapt. And you want the right partner to help you make that leap. Contact us today and we’ll gladly join you on this new journey.