Abstract

This IDC Perspective discusses how the B2B market is in a transition period. The changes we have witnessed to this point are permanent. B2B sales and marketing is set for additional transformation: innovation that reduces complexities and inefficiencies, competition focused on engagement, and more leverage for customers. IT vendors need a flexible, adaptive approach and increased investment in sales and marketing technologies, and they need to lean into a data-driven culture.

The B2B vendors that IDC talked to for this research are working on developing new strategies to attract customers. Many smaller firms and new entrants have been successful in selling products with just the swipe of a credit card but eventually will learn the hard truth that not every relationship can be automated. Larger firms that already have established sales teams have the opposite challenge, yet the goal is the same — balancing intuition and data and optimizing the combination of technology and people along the customer journey.

"IDC loves data and analytics, but we also know that old school methods still work," said Mark Schrutt, strategic advisor, Innovation and Public Sector Research at IDC. "You need to meet with the customer, ask questions, and use intuition to build relationships. Yet fully relying on old-school methods will make the inevitable change much harder. There is not only a place for data. It can also be the foundation for success in a customer-focused, always-on, omni-channel market."

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