By Prakash Gurumoorthy
In the dynamic landscape of B2B commerce, businesses are continuously seeking innovative strategies to stay ahead of the competition. Assisted sales, a concept that combines technology and personalized customer support, has emerged as a game-changer. Assisted sales can significantly enhance the customer experience in B2B transactions by providing expert guidance and support throughout the purchasing journey.
Selling to B2B buyers requires patience and an understanding that they invest considerable time in conducting extensive research before making a purchase decision. These buyers diligently explore various channels in search of solutions that address their needs and challenges.
Some key aspects of assisted sales in B2B commerce can drive business success.
Understanding assisted sales in B2B commerce
Assisted sales in B2B commerce refers to the process of integrating human expertise with technology to guide customers through the sales journey. While self-service options and automation have become prevalent, many B2B buyers still value personalized interactions and the assistance of knowledgeable sales professionals. Assisted sales bridges the gap between traditional face-to-face selling and digital commerce, allowing businesses to offer tailored assistance to customers while leveraging technology to streamline the buying process.
Enhancing customer experience
Assisted sales are vital in enhancing the customer experience in B2B commerce. By providing personalized guidance, businesses can address each customer’s unique needs and challenges. Assisted sales representatives act as trusted advisors, offering insights, product recommendations, and solutions aligning with the customer’s requirements. This level of assistance builds trust and strengthens the relationship between the customer and the business.
Moreover, assisted sales facilitates seamless collaboration between customers and sales representatives. Through various channels such as live chat, video conferencing, or phone calls, buyers can interact with knowledgeable professionals who can provide real-time answers and support. This personalized approach reduces confusion, enhances decision-making, and ultimately leads to higher customer satisfaction.
Driving business success
Implementing assisted sales strategies in B2B commerce can yield several benefits for businesses. Firstly, assisted sales enable organisations to upsell and cross-sell effectively. With extensive knowledge about products and solutions, sales representatives can identify opportunities to offer complementary products or upgrades, increasing the average order value and boosting revenue.
To effectively engage and convert B2B buyers, adopting a comprehensive strategy that captures and sustains their attention throughout their buyer journey is crucial. This entails creating targeted content for each stage of their decision-making process. By leveraging multiple B2B sales channels, you can reach them at critical touchpoints along this journey. Consistency across these touchpoints is essential to ensure their impact.
Secondly, assisted sales contribute to reducing the sales cycle. By assisting customers at every stage, businesses can accelerate the decision-making process. Sales representatives can quickly identify pain points and provide tailored solutions, streamlining the purchasing journey and minimising delays.
Thirdly, assisted sales generate valuable customer insights. Businesses can gather feedback, understand customer preferences, and identify trends by engaging in personalized interactions. This data can be leveraged to refine marketing strategies, improve product offerings, and enhance overall business operations.
Lastly, assisted sales foster customer loyalty and repeat business. Customers who receive exceptional support and guidance are more likely to become long-term partners, ensuring a steady revenue stream and increasing customer lifetime value.
Assisted sales can be offered to familiarise sales teams with the platform and hold their hands until they feel comfortable navigating and selling. The assisted sales service can help sales teams with their offline purchase history to better understand product preferences and pricing. Once integrated into the online platform, online purchasing can become more manageable, and offline support slowly becomes more consultative rather than sales-driven. From here on, more products can be added with improved pricing based on high-level market segmentation, which can positively impact overall growth.
To summarise, assisted sales in B2B commerce represent a powerful approach to enhancing the customer experience and driving business success. By combining human expertise with technology, businesses can provide personalized support, build trust, and foster long-term customer relationships. Assisted sales streamline the purchasing process, enabled effective upselling, shortened the sales cycle, and generated valuable customer insights. In an increasingly competitive B2B environment, organizations that invest in assisted sales strategies position themselves at the forefront of innovation, delivering exceptional customer experiences and securing sustainable growth.
The author is the general manager- EMEA & APAC at VTEX