How Do We Create the Sales and Marketing Organization of the Future?

For our next Insight50 session, leaders from ON24, NetLine, and Conversica are sharing their tips on “How to Augment the Sales-Marketing Organization for a Digital-First Future.” Watch the session to get tips and best practices on how to adapt.

Organizations across the world have had to rapidly adjust their marketing and sales practices to a digital-only world in just a few short months. Many of these changes are likely to stick even once stay-at-home restrictions ease. Indeed, a survey of B2B decision-makers by McKinsey found that 79% believe the changes they have made to their sales models are likely to be sustained for more than a year. Some 65% also state their new go-to-market models are as effective or more effective than those before COVID-19.

With that in mind, here are a few thoughts to bear in mind as you adapt to a digital-first future:

Roles and responsibilities will need to adjust

Before the crisis, many organizations — from B2B enterprises to educational establishments — made face-to-face events and interactions a core part of their operations.

Today, these in-person meetings must shift online. As a result, it’s more important than ever that all professionals develop their skills at providing experiences everywhere to their target audiences.

For those in sales and marketing leadership, this means that the day-to-day work and the ongoing targets for those in the team will also need to change. If you haven’t done so already, make sure to decide upon these changes and communicate them across your organization.

Campaigns and go-to-market plans need to shift

Even if the majority of your sales and marketing efforts are online, the change in the working environment has caused significant changes in how people engage with brands.

In an earlier webinar on “How to Make Your Marketing Stay Relevant During Uncertain Times”, NetLine’s David Fortino described that they had seen a significant increase in content consumption.

This is good news for B2B marketers, but it may also mean that while the new prospects generated by online activity are increasing, there needs to be a review of whether the online buying behavior of your customers has changed. Otherwise, there may be a new debate about the quality of leads that marketing is generating.

Needless to say, any face-to-face events also need to be revisited. These reviews shouldn’t take place just from a logistical point of view, but also in how best to create an experience that is relevant for the screen rather than the stage.

Reassess your KPIs

The new normal of today’s business needs to be reflected in KPIs. For marketers, this may mean looking at metrics further along the sales process than normally would be the case. For sales leaders, this also requires an understanding of how buying cycles are changing, and what your team needs to do to adapt.

Finally, it’s important to remember that human connections count even more today. As we spend more time physically away from colleagues and customers, we need to ensure that all our outreach both provides the contact that all people crave while being respectful and understanding of the challenges many of us are facing.

Find out more tips about how to transform your marketing and sales organization

Whether you or your organization is struggling or faring well, you can find out more about how to adapt by watching the session on “How to Augment the Sales-Marketing Organization for a Digital-First Future”.

We look forward to seeing you there.