COVID-19 upended the conventional sales approach far more than anyone’s imagination. Omnichannel became the new normal during the crisis and will be pivotal as we advance.
B2B leaders are tapping this new mode of selling their offerings to prospects, as most of these sellers predict omnichannel selling to be more effective than the traditional, in-person selling style.
In today’s competitive hybrid world, sales enablement must take an omnichannel approach to gain an advantage. To help you adapt to this new sales reality, we recommend the following few strategies and discuss a few trends that will define your omnichannel campaigns.
Personalizing experience with detail & data
Creating an omnichannel customer experience is no longer an option but an imperative in this hybrid world. The sellers must be on their toes throughout the sales cycle and find unique ways to engage and retain customers across multiple channels.
As omnichannel involves analyzing customer behavior across all major selling channels, data from one channel may not interact with other channels.
With the help of sales enablement tools, you can understand your prospects’ channels and their behaviors across all sales channels. By leveraging data from these tools, you get useful numbers coupled with invaluable customer insights that empower your sales team to chalk out a plan that enhances experience across all major social media channels.
Furthermore, once the data has been thoroughly analyzed, it is easier to divide users into different categories based on their behavior patterns. This helps in creating a more personalized journey for different kinds of customers.
Broadcasting offerings with the right message
The innumerable selling options the hybrid world offers become more challenging to sales teams. A well-thought-out messaging plan that remains consistent across all channels gains the attention of your prospects or targeted audience.
As sales enablement continues to support representatives with the right tools, they find the right sales content and information to close more deals. The addition of an enablement solution helps sales teams broadcast the targeted content with personalized sales messages that almost instantly strikes a chord with prospects.
However, it is also essential to understand that not all channels can advance your message to your prospects in the proper manner. Since omnichannel selling is more about timing and maintaining consistency across channels, sales enablement tools assist sales teams in delivering the right message at the right time to engage with prospects.
Emerging trends in Omnichannel
The growing remote working culture has forced sales professionals to create holistic omnichannel strategies. Customers are exploring channels that bring them the best of both worlds — both online and offline. While the approach isn’t new, it has undoubtedly altered the operations of major superstores like Walmart, eBay, and Wish.
The following omnichannel trends will help you modernize selling products or services:
- Chatbots: AI-powered chatbots have mitigated human dependency without compromising on the assistance part. Organizations are now deploying these chatbots to improve their sales cycle process. The growing adoption of such chatbots leads to an increase in revenue while also taking the load off from the already exhausted sales management.
- Blending modern customer experiences: Technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality bridge the gap between online and in-person shopping experiences. Customers are making the best use of shopping in a hybrid world with virtual try-on.
- Contactless transactions are skyrocketing: Major retail stores are reimagining the payment system for their customers by pushing in-store apps. In order to keep up with new-gen customers’ on-the-go shopping mentality, retail outlets are emphasizing more towards optimizing the buying journey with multiple payment options, including hassle-free options like mobile wallets.
- Selling through video is gaining traction: Platforms like Instagram and YouTube are dabbling in becoming more social e-commerce hybrid platforms. Several brands push consumers into buying their products on these platforms by inserting a shopping icon to highlight the products featured in the video posts. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have created a mini storefront that allows platform users to purchase without hopping to a different platform.
These trends mentioned above are the go-to ways to engage or retain an audience. Trends like these, if adopted, can make the sales journey seamless across all available channels.
Customer experiences are evolving, and with this — sellers must adopt a comprehensive omnichannel strategy. The nature of work in this hybrid world is demanding, but with well-designed omnichannel plans in place, sales teams can ensure customers get customized and consistent services across all channels.
Sales intelligence platforms like Draup are helping sales teams achieve consistency in messages and personalize experiences across all channels in a unified manner.
This AI-driven platform tracks millions of data points and provides specific insights about prospects in the form of digital intentions. These insights will help the content team and the sales and marketing team create opportunities to counter the increasing challenges of this hybrid world.