We are living in unprecedented times. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally upended every aspect of our global economy and professional careers. According to experts, this crisis will create a “new normal” and change the trajectory for many commonplace facets of our everyday lives. This shift also holds for B2B enterprises and marketing teams, and I’m ecstatic for the opportunities that lie ahead.
Winston Churchill famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Adversity — and even some chaos — serve as a powerful catalyst to challenge old assumptions, accelerate innovation and make bold changes.
Over the past decade, B2B companies across a variety of industries have been slow to universally embrace digital transformation. Specifically, when compared to their B2C counterparts, most B2B companies acknowledged their shortcomings to effectively deliver personalized and data-driven customer experiences at scale. In fact, nearly 90% of B2B marketers think their organizations need to be equally focused on customer experience as their B2C counterparts. Often the culprit can be found in data and organizational silos, technology, skillset deficiencies, and old-fashioned corporate politics and inertia.
To compound this challenge, B2B marketers have increasingly faced a ruthless, unpredictable, and non-linear sales process involving multiple decision-makers and dispersed buying groups, compared to just one person in a typical B2C context.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has left a wake of loss and misfortune, there will be some silver linings. Our new digital-only reality and “new normal” will accelerate digital transformation across every B2B enterprise. More importantly, this momentum will serve as the catalyst to resolve those vexing technology, skills, and organizational challenges that have prevented marketing teams from fully delivering a rich customer experience at scale.
