We’ve been urging B2B companies to transform digitally for many years. Now, COVID-19 has put so much pressure on everyone that even the most reluctant of businesses have finally moved forward to the point that nearly 5 years’ worth of transformation was achieved in barely five months, and it’s just the beginning. As the summer season comes to an end and companies brace themselves for a rocky end-of-year, meeting sales targets is getting harder. One more reason to shift gears and shed all old prejudices against digital. It’s what I call “Digital-First“, and it’s time to get started! Let me tell you why. 
B2B businesses, it’s High Time to Shift to a Digital-First Strategy
A year to remember… for a long, long time
Our personal lives have also taken a significant tumble in the mists of lockdowns, closed borders, racial equality protests, homeschooling, and remote work.
It’s been a year we’ll all remember and gladly bid au revoir come January.
Marketers had better find new ways of growing business… fast!
Until then, marketers are finding new ways of driving business, putting in place digital-first (or only) marketing plans as in-person events and meetings are cancelled or postponed, managing remote employees while delivering fast turnaround in sales campaigns, and rethinking content and exploring new digital mediums, while (of course) keeping peace at home.
And it also means that B2B customers must adapt and change how they search and select suppliers.
Daunting? Absolutely.
B2Bs Prefer the Consumer Way of Buying
In a recent McKinsey study of decision-makers in 11 countries and across seven sectors, it comes perhaps as no surprise that digital marketing and remote work in the months ahead will be instrumental parts of the sales process. This trend toward digital interactions isn’t new, but what came out in the study is how critical it is now.
McKinsey: 90% of B2B Sales Interactions Gone Remote
Not only have 90 per cent of sales interactions gone remote—using video conferencing, phone, or a web-sales model—decision-makers in the McKinsey study see digital interactions to be two to three times more critical to their B2B clients than traditional sales interactions.
Although the study did show that some remain sceptical in the long-term, more than half saw remote sales as equally or more effective than sales models used prior to COVID-19.
This move to placing greater importance on digital interactions reflects changes in the B2B buying behaviour trends seen during the past couple of years and that has now been amplified due to the pandemic.
When B2C shapes B2B experiences
Not surprising, as B2B customers adjust to online buying, they will naturally compare it to their personal B2C experiences.
In the McKinsey 2019 study (pre-COVID-19), this trend was already emerging; the survey highlighted suppliers who provided “outstanding digital experiences to buyers” to be twice as likely to be chosen as primary suppliers than those who provided “poor digital experiences.”
The Company Website Is Instrumental in B2B Sales
This unprecedented move to a digital-first approach for B2B companies isn’t only on the buyer side; the sales side is pivoting at speeds never seen before.
In a recent Contently article, a marketer from a sizable company had—pre-pandemic—set 80 per cent of the marketing budget for in-person events.