Selling products/services via the B2B segment is important and it is equally important to build a strong customer base when approximately 85% of the business comes from existing customers. Since customers have access to multitudinous choices nowadays, loyalty towards a particular brand may change due to increasing competition. With the various channels of information available online, customers have become more price-conscious and don’t refrain from switching to other brands.
Now brands focus their energies on building their B2B segment to channel their products in the market. Trade partners are offered exclusive deals to sell a particular brand’s products or become a multi-brand outlet, offering competing brands’ products. Trade partners push products/services to their customers where they get good deals or price margins. Penetration of a brand's products/services is faster if the brand has the right trade partner network available. So, the brand needs to keep building its trade partner network & retain existing partners for faster selling of products/services.
Brands must be aware of their end consumers and periodically collect feedback from them. With multiple marketing activities launched by the brands, it becomes difficult to measure or validate the success of the activity if they don’t know their end customer. Lucrative marketing promotions may, well, encourage the end customer to approach the brand partners to buy a brand’s product, but the brand's trade partner may seek a substitute with a comparable product if it offers him a better margin.
Key things that brands should do:
- Create a direct communication channel with end customers
Direct communication with the customers ensures loyalty to the brand and not to the trade partner. Trade partners will continue to remain an integral part of the supply chain, but by hearing the customer’s voice by themselves, suppliers can be assured that the marketing promotions/ activities are well-targeted and communicated to the customer.
- 2. Appointment of a frontline team to sell products/services
Hiring resources is only viable if the operating cost is covered in the margins that are made from product/service sales. If the resources hired can influence the purchase decision of the customers, then it makes sense to take on this operating cost. If the customer can make the purchase decision without the involvement of the frontline team, then operating costs may be unnecessary, and increasing margins for the organization. Many brands take the route of digital marketing to educate the customer and motivate them to buy products/services and, as a result, maximize their margins on products/services.
- Use Customer data
Every brand collects customer data through various marketing activities and what is more important is how to utilize the data, do the evaluation, apply tiering and then target the customer. Customer data is mandatory to maintain a close connection with the customers. The best utilization of data helps in creating personalized real-time communication with the customer and, as an outcome, gives increased response rates and click-throughs on the promotions, which ultimately increases conversions.
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