The way we acquire goods and services is evolving on an almost weekly basis at the moment, with international, state and now suburban borders quickly shifting in and out of lockdown and various stages of restrictions to trade. The majority of the workforce has shifted to a “work from home” position which has no real end in sight, and global companies are embracing this shift, from the tech giants to global FMCG businesses recommending their workforce stay home until at least the end of 2020 and potentially beyond.
For those workers who sell into other businesses on a daily basis, the entire sales process has been disrupted, with every stage of the funnel from awareness through to closure now being conducted over digital and virtual channels.
It’s no secret that the B2B audience is adopting online, with this trend growing ever stronger over the last decade as buyers opt to do their research first before they engage with a sales person, forcing businesses to reveal more and more about their products and services in a public forum that would have traditionally been shared in a boardroom, and not without a non disclosure agreement being put in place first.
Field sales reps are also becoming increasingly reliant on technology, as these educated and informed buyers come armed with pointed & researched questions, competitive intelligence and often have spoken with your customers before they’ve engaged with you. This is the new normal for business to business transactions, and sales teams need to be prepared at every level for every conversation.
What does this mean for businesses who are finding themselves on the back foot in the new normal? How can they quickly pivot their business to get their teams armed and enabled to do business in this new environment? Sales teams must have the means to allow customers to either completely self serve, work with a person from end to end, or engage with a sales rep at any stage of the way without any disruption. And in most cases, all whilst working from home!
Enter the concept of headless commerce, which gives merchants greater flexibility and agility when it comes to not only selecting but also implementing the types of experiences they want to deliver to their customers. This flexibility opens up the freedom to experiment faster, the ability to quickly pivot your business in times of need which can then empower both your end customers to operate remotely as well as empower your field sales teams who are no longer out on the road or attending conferences and events due to the current pandemic.
The key to success here is to provide digital means for your team to manage the channel process and complexity from end to end, whilst providing customers with enough visibility and insight into the transaction so they feel empowered and enabled to do business with you.
Commercetools customers have embraced the flexibility of our platform to solve some truly unique B2B use cases from recycling to manufacturing to food service. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to learn more about how we can help.
