Giving B2B Buyers the B2C Experience They Want

When it comes to sales, if the customer wants to be approached in a certain way, it’s best to listen, learn, and adapt. That’s what makes it so interesting that at least 80% of B2B buyers expect a buying experience like that of a B2C customer. Let that sink in. At least 80% want to be treated like B2C customers, meaning there is a major opportunity to re-approach sales and provide a B2B (business-to-business) experience that feels like B2C (business-to-consumer)—what most people feel is more personal.

With the understanding that B2B customers prefer B2C treatment, there comes the major question: how can B2B sellers make that happen? We have the answer. Read on to see how CXA (customer experience automation) can help you better reach your audience in the way they’d like to be reached.

B2B is a transaction in which a business makes a sale to another business. These transactions are often complex, yet less personal. Comparatively, B2C sales are often made in more of a collaborative process in which the customer feels like the attention is focused on them. But it doesn’t have to be this way and many B2B organizations are offering truly 1:1 experiences with lower touch required. Rather than needing to be eased through the process and talked to 1:1, businesses can provide a more personalized experience, and yet save time, with automation.

Still, the idea of giving the attention of a B2C sale in a B2B world may sound challenging, but in reality it is possible. This is where CXA comes in.

CXA (customer experience automation) pulls in all touchpoints from the entire customer journey and connects to your existing tech stack. You’ll be able to orchestrate a connected customer experience and always know which step to take next to avoid any automation mistakes and improve customer experiences. In fact, many B2B organizations, with the help of CXA, are offering personalized communication while saving time doing it. CXA = better experiences and less time for brands. Now how about that!

B2B users are seeing an increase in lead conversion and overall effectiveness due to CXA.

According to the first-ever CXA Impact Report conducted by ActiveCampaign, B2B organizations that use CXA reported a 109% average increase in sales effectiveness, 110% increase in new leads, and 92% increase in their deal win-rate, which they attribute to stronger 1:1 experiences across the entire customer journey.

When customers in a B2B world feel like they are being given the attention of a B2C sale through lower touch points and increased technology, they feel more comfortable throughout the sales process.

Now that you understand the power of CXA, let’s unpack how using it can create a more personal environment for B2B buyers.

First of all, CXA shortens sales cycles with better customer insights from preferred content and past purchase data. This allows you to customize the experience for buyers so you’re not wasting time.

Secondly, CXA provides targeted content and information with web personalization. Continuing on the thread of creating a more comprehensive sales experience (note: this usually comes from a B2C experience), CXA helps you find the right areas to target and the right information to present to buyers.

Finally, CXA drives 1:1 conversations across the sales cycle. Buyers want to be talked to, not talked at. CXA helps you have informed, personalized conversations with buyers that benefit both parties.

75% of B2B users leverage CXA recipes to create new deals, alert team members of deal updates, update lead scores or progress a deal across the stages in a given pipeline.

These pre-built automations are a great way to quickly set up branching workflows that used to take hours to do manually. So not only will you save time, but your customers will be grateful for the personal touches that come with the enhanced, B2C marketing-like experience. Talk about a win-win.

Want to learn more about the real impact CXA can have on your business? Download the CXA Impact Report to see all the results from the study.