80% of B2B Buyers Have Switched From Suppliers That are Unable to Align Their Services with Buyer Expectations, Accenture Int...
11 Noviembre 2019 - 9:30AM
Business Wire
New Global
Study Explores Untapped Opportunity for Growth in the B2B Market by
Putting Customer Experiences First
A global study released today by Accenture Interactive at the
annual B2B Online conference highlights urgency for B2B leaders to
combine a human-centered approach
to sales with investments in digital tools to improve the service
experience for customers and achieve lasting growth.
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The study titled
Service is the New Sales,
surveyed 748 B2B buyers and 1,499 B2B sellers across 10 countries
and 16 industries. It isolated B2B leaders from the
laggards via weighted responses given to 12 questions across
three key pillars of B2B transformation (organizational strategy,
activities, and infrastructure) to distinguish between
organizations leading the way and
those falling behind.
“Today’s B2B leaders are
struggling with how to effectively integrate human interactions
with digital experiences that enhance customer service,” said Glen
Hartman, head of Accenture Interactive, North America and global
digital marketing lead. “Our study identifies prescriptive steps
for B2B sellers to drive lasting growth by embracing service as a
top priority, resulting in higher buyer satisfaction and longer
term, more loyal relationships.”
The challenge: A growing rift between buyers and sellers
There’s an increasing dissatisfaction among buyers in the B2B
space; in fact, 80% of frequent buyers report that they will have
switched suppliers at least once within a 24-month period. The
study highlights several reasons for this growing frustration,
including:
- Not meeting buyers’ needs: To survive in the digital
ecosystem, some B2B sellers have focused on digital upgrades only
to find themselves disconnected from meaningful dialogue with
long-time customers. Conversely, other sellers remained focused on
traditional sales cycles, without making the digital investments
critical to modern commerce. The study finds that for the leaders,
this is an “and,” not an “or.”
- Failing to marry technology and human interaction: With
so much focus on scaling up digital platforms, it appears that the
high-touch, relationship-driven side of the business has taken a
backseat in B2B space. In fact, the laggard sellers in this survey
were more likely (62%) than those with a service mindset (48%) to
invest in sales plays that lacked salesperson support.
- Organizational disconnect: The majority of laggard
sellers (69%) identify ‘cultural resistance to change at the board
level’ as their primary challenge, while leaders are over four
times more likely to have complete senior stakeholder buy-in for
digitally-enabled customer service efforts.
The opportunity: Connected experiences, better
service
B2B organizations that are embracing a higher standard of
service have an opportunity to transform their businesses and
overall buyer experience through intelligent, personalized
interactions and a strong focus on shared success. The study finds
that leaders taking a service-over-sales approach are already
benefitting from their efforts, with 96% reporting higher
profitability and 97% reporting increased market share.
The three key steps every B2B organization can take to
capitalize on this opportunity and reap the benefits seen by
today’s B2B leaders are:
- Step 1 – Leverage technology to unlock powerful data:
Technology is most effective where it makes brands more human.
Leaders who adopt a service mindset are more likely (51%) than
laggards (32%) to employ new technology platforms to overcome
service barriers and twice as likely to have centralized and
regularly updated data sets that inform all service channels and
conversations, personalizing offerings and improving
engagement.
- Step 2 – Assemble a digital-human dream team: Digital
tools and human interaction must work in harmony if a B2B business
wants to be successful today. The study found leaders place high
levels of importance on facilitating a two-way dialogue with
customers. This includes prioritizing digital tools like chatbots
and augmented reality, as well as human-centric efforts such as
field sales representatives and call center teams.
- Step 3 – Start change from within: Uniting digital tools
and human talent to serve customers and instilling a customer
service mindset requires internal change. Leaders are more than
twice as likely as laggards to have fully integrated marketing
functions across channels (48% vs.19%) and are more likely to have
partially or fully integrated their sales and marketing teams to
collaborate on most objectives.
“Our findings highlight a
clear misalignment between buyers’ needs and sellers’ offerings,
which requires both technology and the human touch,” said Jason
Michaels, managing director and B2B marketing lead at Accenture
Interactive. “To succeed in today’s B2B ecosystem, sellers must
invest in both digital and service-oriented customer experiences
that will help drive powerful outcomes for themselves and for their
buyers.”
To read the full Service is
the New Sales study, please visit:
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/digital/service-new-sales.
Methodology
Accenture Interactive interviewed 748 buyers and 1,499 sellers
across 10 countries, 16 industries, and more than 20 roles in March
2019. Countries included Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. Industries were
grouped under seven key industry sectors: products;
transportation/transit, logistics, utilities and infrastructure;
automotive, aerospace and defense; chemicals, materials and
industrial equipment; technology and electronics; life sciences;
communications, media and entertainment.
All respondents were either directly involved in or had
oversight of their firm’s buying or selling strategy and processes.
Around a quarter were from the C-suite, while the rest were manager
level and above. All firms included in the survey reported annual
revenues of at least $25 million a year up to more than $5 billion
a year for the largest sellers.
About Accenture
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is a leading global professional services
company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in
strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining
unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40
industries and all business functions — underpinned by the world’s
largest delivery network — Accenture works at the intersection of
business and technology to help clients improve their performance
and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 492,000
people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Interactive helps the world’s leading brands transform
their customer experiences across the entire customer journey.
Through our connected offerings in design, marketing, content and
commerce, we create new ways to win in today’s experience-led
economy. Accenture Interactive is ranked the world’s largest
digital agency in the latest Ad Age Agency Report for the fourth
year in a row, and was named a 2019 Most Innovative Company in
Advertising by Fast Company. To learn more, follow us
@AccentureACTIVE and visit www.accentureinteractive.com.
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and
its logo are trademarks of Accenture.
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David LaBar Accenture +1 646 456 4505
david.labar@accenture.com
Accenture (NYSE:ACN)
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