Attention B2B Sellers! Can your Customers' Engage you online? Can they Pull You to Them?
I recently produced a video on this subject, this article continues the conversation.
The problem with most disrupted industries they double down on protecting yesterday and refuse to explore what could be based on what should be. Today’s Innovations and Innovators could be the answer to the old-ways future if the old way weren’t so stubborn.
B2B Resellers, it’s time to take the Pull-Economy serious. Resellers without e-commerce platforms must decide whether or not they are serious about modifying sales practices to compete in a digital age. 1990 is long past. Oh, and stop believing that only human interaction can close a prospect, your buyers are savvier than you think, and more everyday click BUY Now. Ask Mr. Bezos, if you don’t believe me.
Today’s customers want to pull products to them. Resellers who can live in the Pull-Economy will be the winners. Those who sell things are and have always been at the mercy of the buyer. Today's Innovators can change the buyer’s habits through technology, and more buyers are choosing to participate in the Pull-economy over the Push-e-economy.
When your buyer is attempting to pull what they want, and your systems are built to push to them what you think they want, I call this “Digital Tug of War” Oh, and the winner is the buyer as they click on your competitor who digitally welcomes them.
When the buyers are looking for products and services they must not only find you, they must be able to engage you. Who will be the first dealer or reseller to allow a customer to fill out a HaaS agreement online, who will be the first to let customers to arrange their delivery date, to add accessories to products, to pay their invoice online, to review their lease agreement and their invoices all online without talking to anyone, or set up their return or trade in all online? Dealers must figure out their e-commerce strategy.
This strategy is a separate deliverable and should be managed and controlled by those whose goal is to outsell the old-ways push-economy with the new digital pull-economy. If a dealer sets up their e-commerce site and uses the rules of their old deliverable or they attempt to build a system to embrace the Pull- Economy, while all along trying to stay in the Push-Economy it won’t work.
Remember, Amazon will do more business in the B2B space than the B2C space. So, all those who believe they don’t need to live in the digital world and embrace the Pull-Economy should indeed retire.
The data received by the participates of the Pull-Economy is so much more relevant to understanding a customers’ or prospects buying persona than the data provided by the push-economy. When CRM’s are feed information by sales reps about prospects, it will never be as accurate as data provided by the customer. Yes, we all know about hub-spot. However, if the deliverable is a push deliverable the data even from hub-spot will not be as intuitive as data collected from buyers as they travel through the Pull-Economy. It’s from the digital engagement where sellers can benefit from exceptional data.
The push-Economy is focused on collecting data it solicits then sells or pushes products based on the data. This process is, in fact, an interruption to the customer or prospect. The Pull-Economy is collecting information on the customer or prospect through a system of integration. Everyone understands that integrations are much more pleasant than interruptions. Amazon figured out and benefits significantly by integrating with their customers.
Obviously, local resellers cannot be, Amazon. It is essential that local resellers understand the power of digital capabilities and should be thinking of ways to provide what they do in a Pull-Economy, along with what must be pushed. Sometimes I think it's a misunderstanding of a reseller’s value which prevents them from exploring different avenues of delivery regarding customer engagement. This fact is the cause of many legacy deliverables becoming obsolete.
The customers' you used to hunt for are now hunting for your replacement. All B2B resellers must have a strategy to survive in the The Pull-Economy. Or, they will PUSH themselves to oblivion.
The time is past to decide about having an e-commerce site. If you need some advice reach out to @Dick Elixman, at #BEI Services he gets it. Oh, have you seen #eesyQ Wait till you see what coming from www.eesyq.com The #TEASRA Team is actively working to bring the Future to the Present.
Ray Stasieczko
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Ray Stasieczko
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