InfoElectro Fall / Automne 2017

8 InfoElectro Fall 2017 By: Paul Allamby, Paul Allamby Consulting W hen I think about prognosticating about the future, I’m always reminded of a time when my youngest daughter (who was then a pretty savvy seven-year-old) told me that she wanted to be a weather forecaster when she grew up. It seemed that even at that early age, she had caught on to the fact that when actual weather predictions didn’t come to pass, the forecaster still had a job the next day. Which brings me to today, and to this article. You see, I actually sympathize with the weather forecasters because I, like them, read all the relevant data and have to interpret it and provide my view of what it means. So, let’s do this forecast based on what the most reliable sources and pundits are predicting. By 2020, customers will manage 85 percent of their relationships with an enterprise without interacting with a human. And then this, “Forrester warns that 1 million B2B salespeople will lose their jobs to self-service e-commerce by 2020” . This seems like one doozy of a weather forecast, doesn’t it? How did we arrive at this forecast? A number of climate changes created this cloudy future. The first, was the increasing shift to commercial globalization. This shift led to the creation of larger business entities, either through M&A activity or strategic alliances. The impact? Fewer accounts, a consolidation of decision-making activity, and increased focus on vendor consolidation and cost reduction. Lastly, because of the increased scale of these new businesses, more sophisticated global sourcing groups emerged with more professional competencies and experience. The second, is digital disruption. The web hasn’t just opened up access to data, it has also enabled the use of software, analytics and predictive analytics. Buyers can be better informed about products, services, and costs, which has led to the emergence of predictive buying. The impact? Customers who expect their vendors to deliver services faster and with more value-added insights than ever before. The third change is flatter and leaner organizational structures. Companies have shifted to more agile, group- based resources, with an increasing reliance on fewer full- time personnel and greater use of technology and contingent workforces. The impact? Less opportunity to build customer engagement because of a reduced level of touchpoints and interactions. So, we’re operating in an environment where 84% of customers are now starting the buying process with a referral, and peer- to-peer recommendations are influencing more than 90% of all purchasing decisions. In 2020, the constant disruptive force of digital will create a customer with heightened expectations. They will want personalized experiences, with real-time access to information. They will expect collaborative, expert conversations that demonstrate real insights, not just about their business needs, but about their customers’ needs. By 2020, the ‘sales pitch’ will have finally struck out. Customers will expect more intimacy and a higher level of relationship investment. Think about this factoid – even today, it’s estimated that companies have 65 to 80% of their buying decisions made before a sales rep even shows up. So despite the cloudy forecast...Forrester’s data isn’t wrong, and like the weather forecaster, I have to make my interpretation based on the facts. Yes, customers will increasingly be using software, algorithms, IoT and probably even digital assistants too, but all of the data I’ve seen points to these being used for commodity-based, less-complex products and services. What happens with the high engagement, complex types of sales? Knowing that customers are starting out on their buyer’s journey sooner, salespeople can get engaged earlier in the information cycle too. Customers are dipping into social networks for analysis and comparison, so can salespeople, using the same type of networks for social selling. With social selling, salespeople can partner with marketing to use social media platforms to research, prospect and network. Customers are relying on internal influencers and partner ecosystems for data, decision-support and contextual information. Consequently, salespeople canmaximize the support of marketing, finance, product and supply-chain resources in much the same way. There is a silver lining… In the path to 2020, businesses who understand how important it is to get engaged with the customer journey sooner, proactively providing insights and advice, will move into a new role – that of a trusted, knowledge navigator, supported by a team of expert partners and influencers. Customers as Sellers Customers and Their Expectations of ‘Sellers’ in 2020 Register Today at www.electrofed.com Toronto: November 30 Halifax: December 5 Quebec City: December 6 Montreal: December 13 Christmas across canada