The year 2020 is a hard year for the Philippines B2B industry. The covid-19 pandemic caused economic difficulties for the Philippines and its trading partners that resulted in low B2B sales. However, experts agree that this year is a perfect year for B2B digital transformation.
Why the Industry Needs B2B Digital Transformation
The digital transformation in the B2B sales is inevitable for the Philippines’ B2B industry. Before the pandemic, B2B companies depend on trade events and other types of meetings in order to offer their products and meet their long-term and potential clients.
However, starting in 2020, this type of sales approach no longer works because physical meetings cannot be done due to the pandemic. In consequence, they have difficulties in securing new sales deals and gaining revenues.
These conditions can only be solved if the Philippines B2B companies adopt digitalization in their business. Currently, many of them are not ready to go digital because they lack technical expertise. In addition, these companies do not recognize the potential of sales digitization in the B2B industry.
Those potentials are:
Rapid Growth of Data Usage
Southeast Asia is the home of millions of internet users. In 2017, 85% of the SEA population was using the internet. This number keeps growing day by day. It can be seen from the rapid growth of data usage at 29% per month or worth 19.5 billion gigabytes.
Therefore, B2B companies will not have any difficulties in attracting buyers. Various digital channels will enable them to meet potential buyers and maintain long-term relationships with them easily.
Digital Marketing Improve Buyers’ Awareness of B2B Products
To increase B2B sales, first B2B companies need to improve the buyers’ awareness of their products. Since there are millions of internet users in SEA, online promotion and other digital marketing strategies are effective in improving the buyers’ awareness.
B2B Buyers Always Conduct Online Research Before Making a Purchase
According to research, 94% of B2B buyers conduct online research before making a purchase and 68% eventually make a purchase. Therefore, it is essential for B2B companies to have online sales channels.
Key Factors in the Digitization Sales Approach
B2B industry digital transformation will not be successful if the B2B companies do not have the key factors in going digital.
- Effective Online Sales Content
In creating the sales content for the digital sales channels, B2B companies need to tailor it accordingly so that they can reach out to the targeted audiences and markets effectively.
- Establish a CRM Database
Creating a CRM database is a bit costly, but it gives an effective and visible workflow of every sales prospect that comes in from inquiry to sales.
- Prioritize Key Stakeholders
Knowing the key stakeholders is essential for B2B companies. Once they know the key stakeholders, they can deliver sales pitches directly to the key stakeholders and minimize lead times.
- Efficient and Selective Follow-Up on Leads
Efficient and selective follow-up on leads enable the B2B companies to have better ability to converse leads to sales.
B2B digital transformation may not be easy to do for companies who lack technical expertise. However, with the help of digital market assistance, B2B companies will be able to create digital sales channels easily.
