MarketStar Blog

Key Takeaways

• Over 90% of CFOs believe an economic crisis is inevitable, with around 35% predicting a recession in the next few months.

• During a recession, businesses typically cut costs, reduce prices, and postpone new investments, which is a mistake.

• Centre your plans around high-ROI activities by making data-driven decisions. 

• Conduct a content strategy gap analysis and update your content plans based on your learning.

In 2008, the world economy worsened, and many businesses were left scrambling. Marketing budgets were slashed, and everybody looked for ways to do more with less. 

Some companies adapted and thrived, while others withered away. But what separated the two? The answer lies in their marketing strategy – or lack thereof. 

The companies that continued to invest in marketing and sales initiatives were the ones that came out on top when the recession finally ended in 2009. And the companies that put all their eggs in one basket (i.e. focused on a single channel or tactic) were the ones that suffered the most. 

The lesson learned here is that a diversified marketing strategy is key to surviving a recession. This article will discuss five key marketing strategies to help drive your sales pipeline and maintain growth during tough economic times. 

The Importance of an Effective Marketing Strategy During a Recession

A recession can be a difficult time for businesses.

Sales may decline, and budgets may be tight. But despite the challenges, it’s important to maintain a strong marketing strategy during a recession.

Why is marketing so important during a recession? It can help you overcome challenges by keeping your business in the mind of your customers and prospects, and a well-planned marketing strategy can help you identify new opportunities and target new markets.

Additionally, a recession can be a great time to invest in marketing, as your competition may be cutting back on their efforts.

So, if you’re feeling the effects of a recession, don’t panic. With a right marketing and sales growth strategy, your business can come out of the recession successfully. 

5 Key Marketing Strategies to Drive Sales Pipeline

Companies need to get creative when it comes to marketing during a recession.

Traditional marketing methods may not be as effective during an economic downturn, so it’s important to think outside the box and develop new and creative ways to reach your target audience.

Here are the top five marketing strategies that can help you drive pipeline and keep your business afloat during a recession:  

1. Use Data to Your Advantage

Use data and analytics to understand your target market and what they’re looking for. This will help you create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.

About 56% of all websites use Google Analytics, which can provide helpful information about your customers.

There are several ways to use data to your advantage during a recession.

For example, you can monitor consumer spending patterns and utilize marketing strategies targeting value-conscious customers.

You can also use data to improve your forecasting and budgeting processes, which can help you make more informed decisions about where to allocate your resources.

2. Consider New Channels

During a recession, businesses need to be strategic about where they allocate their marketing budget.

Many companies will automatically cut their marketing spend, but this can be a mistake. Instead, businesses should consider allocating their marketing budget to new channels that can be more effective during a recession.

For example, look at social media platforms you haven’t used before or try out a new type of advertising. You might be surprised at how well these new channels work for your business.

Of course, you should also continue using the channels that have worked well for you in the past. But feel free to experiment with new marketing channels during a recession.

You might find a new way to reach your target market. Some channels to consider include content marketing, PR, and email marketing. These channels can effectively drive high-quality leads and sales during a recession.

3. Use Your Marketing Budget Wisely

It has yet to be determined when the next recession will hit. But when it does, businesses will need to be more creative with their budgets to stay afloat. There are a few ways to do this.  

Focus on ROI: During a recession, you must be extra careful with your marketing spending. Make sure you invest in marketing strategies that will give you a good return on your investment.

• Be creative: A recession is the perfect time to get creative with your marketing. Consumers will be looking for deals and discounts, so try to think of unique ways to market your products or services. 

• Focus on existing customers: Focus on your most loyal customers. During a recession, it’s especially important to focus on retaining your existing customers.

• Cost cutting: Cut costs where you can. If you need to save money, look for ways to cut costs in your marketing budget without sacrificing quality.

• Generate additional revenue: You can also generate additional revenue during a recession by diversifying your product offerings or finding new ways to sell your existing products. 

4. Have a Fresh Content Strategy

A recession can be the perfect time to revisit and refresh your content strategy. 

With people spending more time at home and online, there is a chance to connect with them in new and meaningful ways. 

But how do you develop a content strategy that is both informative and inspiring during a time of economic hardship? 

Here are a few tips:

• Keep your audience in mind. Who are they, and what do they need from you?

• Be empathetic. Your audience is likely going through a tough time, so ensure your content is respectful and understanding.

• Be helpful. Your content should provide value and help your audience in some way.

• Keep it fresh. People are looking for new and innovative ideas in a recession. If your content is stale, they will move on. 

5. Redefine Lead Nurture

It is more important than ever to consider how we can best nurture our leads during a recession. What worked in the past may be less effective now, so it’s important to re-examine and redefine what lead nurturing means for your business. 

Here are three ways to redefine your lead nurture strategy during a recession:

• Shift your focus from quantity to quality: Instead of attracting as many leads as possible, focus on attracting high-quality leads that are a good fit for your business. Once you have those leads, work on developing relationships with them and providing value. This will nurture those leads and turn them into sales-ready prospects.

• Increase your touchpoints: The more touchpoints you have, the more likely it is that a lead will eventually convert into a customer. You can increase your touchpoints by sending more emails, making more phone calls, or creating more content. The key is to find the right mix of touchpoints that works for your business and your target market.

• Consider your customers’ needs and personalize your approach: Not all leads are created equal. You can have the best product in the world, but you need to personalize your approach to lead nurturing to close the sale. By getting to know your leads and understanding their pain points and needs, you can create a customized plan that ultimately leads to a sale. 

By redefining lead nurturing for your business, you can ensure that you’re making the most of your marketing budget and making the most impactful use of your time. 

Keep Your Business Running

Recessions have significantly impacted the marketing strategies of businesses across industries in the past. 

However, there are still a few key strategies and best practices that companies can use to drive sales pipelines and keep their business running during a recession. If your company is interested in implementing any of these strategies, please get in touch with our experts by filling out the form here.

Key Points

• Diversification and personalization are critical to sales pipeline management because they allow businesses to cater to the unique needs and preferences of individual customers. 

• Diversification is key to reducing risk and increasing stability in your sales pipeline. Personalization is essential for building strong relationships with potential customers and improving conversion rates.

• Balancing diversification and personalization require careful planning and strategy. 

Introduction

Sales pipeline management is a critical component of any successful sales strategy, as it involves managing the various stages of the sales process to ensure a steady flow of leads and conversions. However, in today’s highly competitive business landscape, simply having a sales pipeline is not enough to guarantee success. To truly thrive and stay ahead of the competition, it is essential to incorporate two key elements into your sales pipeline management approach: diversification and personalization. 

Diversification refers to expanding the sales pipeline beyond traditional channels and tactics, such as experimenting with new marketing channels or partnering with other businesses to reach new markets and customers.

On the other hand, personalization involves tailoring the sales approach to individual customers’ unique needs and preferences. This can be achieved by customizing the sales pitch to address specific customer pain points or concerns, providing personalized recommendations or solutions, or building stronger customer relationships through ongoing communication and engagement. 

Incorporating diversification and personalization into the sales pipeline management approach can help businesses build a more robust, effective, and profitable sales strategy. Constantly seeking out new opportunities and customizing the approach to each customer can help businesses achieve their sales targets and drive long-term success. 

In this blog, we will explore the importance of these two factors in sales pipeline management, and how they can help you build a more robust, effective, and profitable sales strategy. 

Section 1: Diversification In Sales Pipeline Management

Diversification is a critical aspect of sales pipeline management, as it helps businesses avoid relying too heavily on any channel or approach to sales. By exploring different outreach methods and engaging with prospects at different stages of the funnel, businesses can reach a wider audience and maximize their potential for conversions. 

Diversification can take many forms, from utilizing social media and content marketing to targeted email campaigns and personalized outreach. By incorporating these different tactics into their sales pipeline, businesses can more effectively respond to changing market conditions and customer needs while reducing their overall risk. 62%1 of sales professionals believe that Instagram is an effective platform for businesses. LinkedIn is reportedly the go-to platform for businesses to look for prospects. 

Additionally, diversification can help businesses optimize their resource allocation by identifying which channels and approaches are most effective at each funnel stage. Overall, diversification is a crucial component of a successful sales pipeline, enabling businesses to build stronger relationships with prospects, improve their chances of conversion, and ultimately drive more revenue.

How can businesses benefit from diversification?

Minimizing risk:

By diversifying the sales pipeline, businesses can reduce their dependence on a single source of leads or conversions. This reduces the risk of losing business in case of a change in the market, customer preferences, or other external factors that can impact sales.

Accessing new markets:

Diversification can help businesses tap into new markets or customer segments that they may not have reached through traditional channels. This can help them expand their customer base and revenue streams.

Improving brand awareness:

By exploring new marketing channels or partnering with other businesses, businesses can increase their brand awareness and reach a wider audience. 

Increasing revenue potential:

By diversifying the sales pipeline, businesses can increase their chances of success by tapping into new opportunities and revenue streams. This can help them achieve their revenue targets and drive long-term growth. 

Strategies for achieving diversification include

Conduct market research

Before exploring new channels or partnerships, businesses should conduct market research to understand the needs and preferences of potential customers. This can help them identify new markets or customer segments to target. Businesses should also analyze data from their existing customers to identify trends and patterns that can inform their sales strategy. 

Explore new marketing channels

Businesses can diversify their sales pipeline by experimenting with different marketing channels, such as social media, email marketing, content marketing, or paid advertising. They can test different channels to determine which ones work best for their business. They can also tailor their messaging and approach to suit the channel and the target audience. 

Partner with other businesses

Businesses can diversify their sales pipeline by experimenting with different marketing channels, such as social media, email marketing, content marketing, or paid advertising. They can test different channels to determine which ones work best for their business. They can also tailor their messaging and approach to suit the channel and the target audience. 

Leverage new technologies

Adopting new technologies, such as chatbots, AI-powered tools, or virtual reality, can help businesses engage with customers in new ways and enhance the customer experience. For example, they can use chatbots to provide 24/7 customer support or virtual reality to offer immersive product experiences. Businesses should stay up-to-date with emerging technologies and assess how they can add value to their sales pipeline. 

Section 2: Personalization In Sales Pipeline Management 

Personalization involves directing sales in tandem with individual customers’ specific needs and preferences. This can include using data to identify key pain points or interests, creating targeted marketing messages, and offering personalized solutions and recommendations. 80%2 of consumers prefer a brand that personalized the pre-sale and sale experience.

Personalization is important in sales pipeline management because they help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of sales efforts. By using a range of strategies and approaches tailored to individual customers, sales teams can maximize chances of converting leads into sales and maximizing revenue. 

How can businesses benefit from Personalization? 

Increased customer loyalty

Personalization helps businesses create a more meaningful and personalized customer experience. This, in turn, can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business. Customers are more likely to return to a business that understands their specific needs and preferences and provides tailored solutions to meet those needs.

Higher conversion rates

Personalization can also lead to higher conversion rates. By tailoring their approach to each customer, businesses can provide more relevant and compelling offers that are more likely to result in a sale. Customers are also more likely to engage with businesses that offer personalized recommendations or solutions, leading to higher conversion rates.

Improved customer satisfaction

Personalization can improve customer satisfaction by providing a more seamless and enjoyable experience. Businesses can address specific pain points or concerns by tailoring their approach to each customer, resulting in a better overall customer experience. Customers are more likely to be satisfied with a business that provides personalized solutions that meet their needs. 

Better customer insights

Personalization can also help businesses gather better customer insights. By collecting and analyzing data on customer behavior, preferences, and needs, businesses can gain valuable insights into improving their products, services, and overall customer experience. This, in turn, can lead to better business decisions and increased revenue.

Competitive advantage

Personalization can give businesses a competitive advantage by setting them apart from their competitors. By providing a more personalized and tailored experience, businesses can differentiate themselves and create a stronger brand identity. Customers are more likely to choose a business that provides a personalized experience over a generic one, leading to a competitive advantage. 

Strategies for achieving Personalization include

Collect and analyze customer data

To provide a personalized experience, businesses need to collect and analyze data on their customer’s behavior, preferences, and needs. This can include their purchasing history, browsing behavior, social media activity, and demographic information. By using this data to understand each customer’s unique needs and interests, businesses can tailor their approach to provide more relevant and compelling offers. 

Segment your audience

Segmenting your audience involves dividing your customer base into smaller groups based on shared characteristics, such as age, location, or interests. By doing this, businesses can provide more targeted messaging and offers to each group. This can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates. 

Use personalization tools and technologies

Many tools and technologies are available to help businesses personalize their approach. This can include email marketing platforms that allow businesses to send targeted and personalized messages to specific audience segments. It can also include AI-powered chatbots that provide real-time personalized recommendations and solutions to customers.

Leverage social media

Social media platforms provide rich data and insights into customer behavior and preferences. Businesses can gain valuable insights into their customers’ needs and interests by monitoring and analyzing social media activity. They can then use this information to tailor their approach and provide more personalized experiences. 

Provide exceptional customer service

Providing exceptional customer service is key to achieving personalization. Businesses can build stronger customer relationships by listening to customers, understanding their needs and concerns, and providing tailored solutions. This can increase loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth referrals. 

Section 3: The Synergy Between Diversification And Personalization 

To keep their sales pipeline healthy, diversifying marketing channels is as important as personalizing communication with every lead. Data shows that 70% of customers are loyal if their brands understand their needs and communicate via social media, for example.

The synergy between diversification and personalization lies in their ability to work together to create a cohesive and effective sales pipeline management approach. Businesses can cast a wider net and reach a larger audience by diversifying their marketing channels and tactics. But by personalizing their messaging and approach to each lead, they can ensure that their message resonates and that they can build a stronger connection with each customer.

For example, a business might use social media advertising to attract many potential leads. But to convert those leads into customers, they might need to follow up with personalized email campaigns or phone calls that address each lead’s unique needs and interests. By combining diversification and personalization in this way, businesses can maximize the impact of their marketing efforts and drive more conversions over time. 

Diversification and personalization are complementary approaches to sales pipeline management that can be combined for greater effectiveness. Businesses can create a cohesive and effective sales pipeline that drives long-term success by using a diversified marketing approach and tailoring their messaging and approach to each individual lead.

Diversification can help expand the scope and impact of personalized approaches in the following ways: 

Access to new markets and customers

Diversification can provide businesses with access to new markets and customers that they may not have reached otherwise. By expanding their sales channels and tactics, businesses can identify new segments of customers and provide personalized approaches to meet their unique needs and preferences. 

Reducing reliance on a single source of leads 

By diversifying their sales channels, businesses can reduce their dependence on a single source of leads, which can be risky. If that source of leads dries up, it can leave businesses struggling to generate new business. Diversification can help spread the risk and give businesses more opportunities to connect with customers and provide personalized experiences. 

Tailoring personalized approaches to specific channels 

Diversification can help businesses tailor their personalized approaches to specific channels. For example, social media platforms may require a different approach to email marketing. By diversifying their channels and understanding each channel’s unique needs and preferences, businesses can provide more effective and personalized approaches to their customers. 

Increased customer engagement and loyalty 

Personalization can lead to increased customer engagement and loyalty, ultimately resulting in increased revenue. Businesses can build stronger customer relationships by understanding each customer’s unique needs and preferences and providing tailored solutions. Diversification can help amplify the impact of personalized approaches by providing businesses with more opportunities to connect with customers.

Section 4: Best Practices for Achieving Diversification and Personalization in Sales Pipeline Management 

Achieving diversification and personalization in sales pipeline management is crucial to the success of any business. By understanding and catering to the unique needs and preferences of individual customers, companies can improve customer loyalty, increase sales, and grow their business.

Here are some actionable tips for achieving diversification and personalization in sales pipeline management:

Identify your target audience

Before diversifying and personalizing your sales pipeline, you need to understand your target audience. This includes demographic information, pain points, and preferred communication channels.

Diversify your lead generation channels

To reduce risk and increase stability, it’s important to diversify your lead generation channels. This might include social media advertising, content marketing, email campaigns, events and trade shows, referral programs, and other tactics.

Personalize your sales messaging

To build strong relationships with potential customers, it’s essential to personalize your sales messaging. This might include addressing them by name, referencing their pain points, and tailoring your approach to their preferred communication style.

Use technology to streamline personalization

Technology can be a powerful tool for streamlining personalization in your sales pipeline. This might include using customer relationship management (CRM) software to track customer interactions and preferences or marketing automation tools to deliver personalized content and messaging. 

Continuously evaluate and adjust your approach

Diversification and personalization are not one-time efforts, but ongoing processes that require continual evaluation and adjustment. Monitor your performance data and customer feedback and be willing to change your approach as needed. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, diversification and personalization are critical components of effective sales pipeline management. Diversifying your lead generation channels and tailoring your sales messaging to the specific needs and preferences of each prospect can reduce risk, increase stability, and build strong relationships with potential customers. By following best practices such as identifying your target audience, using technology to streamline personalization, and continuously evaluating and adjusting your approach, you can create a sales pipeline that is both diversified and personalized, maximizing your chances of success and driving long-term growth for your business. 

To learn more about how MarketStar can help you achieve these goals and optimize your sales pipeline management strategy, visit our website or contact us today. Let us help you take your sales pipeline management to the next level.

Key Insights

Gone are the days when adding a person’s first name into a generic email promotion counted as personalization.

Key Takeaways

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced B2B sales organizations to reinvent themselves at an unprecedented pace. While sales reps are in the relatively unchartered territory of remote selling, organizations must contend with providing training and coaching to the sales teams remotely. Virtual training methods have been steadily gaining ground as the preferred mode for imparting sales training even before the current crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has made this transition more urgent.

Key Takeaways

• The technology and tools you use in your sales stack can directly impact your sales and the deals you close 

• A sales tech stack provides a deep understanding and intelligence about your customers and helps deliver amazing customer support 

• The sales stack tools should be wisely selected to enable you to structure, digitize, and speed up your revenue growth 

• Build a sales stack that functions inside the system you already have 

Are you using an outdated CRM that isn’t user-friendly? Are you struggling to keep track of your leads/prospects? Is your productivity suffering as a result?  

Switching to a new CRM with improved features and leveraging new tools & technologies can help things take off for your business. 

Today, sales professionals constantly look for ways to improve their performance, and the right sales stack can make a difference. If you’re not using technology to back your sales process, you’re probably missing the boat to increasing your sales and success rate. 

What is a Sales Stack?

A sales stack is a collection of software tools and technologies that a sales team uses to manage all the sales processes – from generating leads and storing contact details to building proposals and supporting customers. 

Sales stacks can also help accelerate sales productivity and help close deals faster. It helps your team be more efficient by providing them with relevant data and insights. It can include CRM, email marketing platforms, sales intelligence, and automation tools. 

Before building a sales technology stack for your team, you need to consider three important aspects: 

Evaluate the Tools You Are Currently Using

Just because a few tools offer more features doesn’t mean all those features are right for your business. Evaluate the tools you’re currently using and eliminate the ones that aren’t serving you. 

Identify Your Pain Points

It is critical to figure out where your prospects are dropping off in the sales pipeline as well as identify the challenges you’re facing in communicating with your team members & customers.

Sales tools, today, offer features that can help you spot the exact pain point, and once you identify them, there’s a higher chance of deriving a solution that can help you. 

Ensure New Tools Can Be Integrated Easily

New software can add value to your business any day.

However, if your existing software is not compatible with the latest sales tools, it is time to update your software. Find tools compatible with the programs you are currently using to make the integration easier. 

How to Build a Sales Tech Stack for Your Team?

Every sales team needs a sales tech stack to perform efficiently, but building it isn’t just about purchasing some of the latest tools – it’s a bit more detailed.

Building the sales tech stack around the existing sales process is essential. The software you purchase should turn the sales process that’s already in place into something more effective and productive.

Before adding new tools to your sales stack, ensure that your sales process is clearly defined.

Why Does Your Business Need a Sales Tech Stack?

Here are a few advantages of having a sales tech stack in your business. 

• Sales tools have splendid features that can help you understand how leads respond at different touchpoints of the sales funnel. This makes it possible for your business to push more leads to the final stage of the funnel. 

• Managing deals and sales can become monotonous and time-consuming if you don’t have cold email software. Adding a new-gen email outreach tool to your sales stack can get your emails automated and ensure a top-class email deliverability rate for your campaigns.

•  Sales stack tools have AI capabilities that provide data and insights on the overall sales performance. This gives you the correct information to improve customer experience. 

• The tools allow brands to use data to identify and fix their customer’s pain points, strengthen the sales team’s weaknesses, and improve business. 

The Top 7 Technology Solutions to Include in Your Sales Tech Stack

1. Gong

Gong is a leading revenue intelligence platform for B2B sales teams to help close more deals.

It is best for sales professionals looking to drive up the effectiveness of their sales conversations. It records, transcribes, evaluates, and analyzes all sales calls so you can drive sales effectiveness across your team.

Gong provides proactive guidance, helps onboard new hires quickly, and provides collective reality, and real-time insights. 

2. Intercom

Intercom is a customer interaction tool that helps track customers using your website or product. It enables you to communicate with them with personalized messages and conversational support.  

Intercom helps you identify who your potential customers are and what they do. It converts leads into customers, engages, and provides self-service support to your potential customers. 

Some of the key features of Intercom include: live chat support, targeted messaging, business messenger, app integration, and more. 

3. Salesloft

Salesloft is a sales engagement platform built for sales, marketing, and customer success teams.

It integrates with Gmail and Outlook to help B2B sales teams close more deals. This tool helps identify transaction process gaps and prevents deals from falling through the cracks.

Salesloft boasts a list of features, and the top ones include cadences, sales email templates, CRM sync, calendaring, and analytics & reporting.

4. ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is a B2B intelligence tool for sales and marketing teams. It helps your sales team identify clients that are a good fit for your service/product.

ZoomInfo improves your sales team’s efficiency by discovering new information about B2B companies. The tool can help you with website visitor tracking, contact tracking, digital advertising, identifying & research, and connecting & engage.

5.Leadfeeder 

Leadfeeder is a B2B website tracking software that helps sales teams track companies that visit your website, how they arrived, and their activities on your website. It also enables you to understand your prospects better and monitor your potential customers. 

Users that visit your website are more likely to be interested in your product/service. Keep those ready-to-buy prospects in the loop with Leadfeeder. It offers CRM integration, record tracking, custom feeds, ready-to-buy leads, and more.

6. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator should be your first choice if you’re looking to boost your LinkedIn selling strategy.

This native LinkedIn tool is a set of subscription-based offerings designed to help sales professionals identify prospects on LinkedIn, receive alerts, and request prospects’ info through shared connections.

The Sales Navigator provides access to an extensive list of users who’ve viewed your profile, real-time updates about your prospects, and InMail messages.

7. Groove

Groove is a cloud-based sales engagement tool for SMBs to improve the effectiveness of their sales processes.

It manages and optimizes time-consuming processes like appointment scheduling, email tracking, event recording, etc.

Groove offers several features, including API integrations, precise reports, live chat, and email templates, to name a few.

Conclusion

What have we learned so far?

First, your sales stack includes tech tools that help optimize your sales operations process and improve your team’s productivity.

Second, the benefits of having a sales stack and the different aspects you need to look for in a sales technology stack.

And finally, we learned about the top sales stack tools you need in your business to narrow your deals faster. 

Key Takeaways

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we do business, sparing no industry or sector. 

Key Takeaways

• Psychological safety contributes to an inclusive and diverse workplace

• A high-performing team values psychological safety as much as they do physical security

• Providing psychological safety is a team effort. Team members must take responsibility for improving the working environment for one another 

• Adopting an employee assistance program can help handle problems related to mental well-being 

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a varied impact on humanity. The weight of these unprecedented times was heavy and has dramatically influenced our mental health, whether transitioning to a new work-life situation, losing a job, or losing a loved one. 

Forced to take on these stressors while still having to work, many employees are experiencing unexpected difficulties with their mental health and need support while at their jobs. 

Covid-19 Challenges

The Covid-19 environment has created unprecedented economic and business challenges.

According to “The Future of Sales in 2025: A Gartner Trend Insight Report,” B2B buying behavior has grown even more unpredictable with COVID-19 and market volatility. The report quotes, “One client told us their quarterly deal pipeline shrank to nearly zero when their prospects suspended all nonessential expenditures.

Others report that without in-person meetings, their sellers don’t achieve the level of engagement required to validate their pipeline predictions.” (The Future of Sales in 2025: A Gartner Trend Insight Report, 2020). 

This has also placed business owners, leaders, and employees under more pressure and stress than many have experienced before. 

Most employee's psychological well-being has taken a hit, leading to decreased enthusiasm and productivity.  

Distributed, remote, and virtual teams have fewer opportunities for spontaneous, casual conversation; team members have more difficulty picking up non-verbal cues in conversation, and people are more likely to feel alone, anxious, unsure of what to do, and may even experience self-doubt or imposter syndrome.

The resulting consequence is an undercurrent of emotional disturbance characterized by rising levels of anxiety, depression, fear, and stress.  

In this scenario, sales and customer success leaders who understand the importance of psychological safety and the associated behaviours are more likely to adapt and succeed in a post-pandemic environment. 

According to Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, “Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.”  

Research has proven that higher psychological safety in teams drives higher performance, innovation, and productivity. 

Psychological safety can be developed through small experiments based on a Neurosciences framework of SCARF – Significance, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness developed by David Rock of Neuroscience of Leadership. 

The Importance of Psychological Safety

Safety is a basic human need, and psychological safety is the belief that you can freely express your ideas and thoughts without worrying about being degraded.  

Here are the top five reasons why psychological safety is important at work. 

1. Inclusive Workplace Culture

A safe workspace welcomes diverse teams, and it is critical to ensure that every team member feels included, especially after a pandemic. This enables team members to thrive regardless of gender, race, color, or political preferences.  

The outcome is a fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences where everyone feels connected and part of a common cause. 

Psychological safety is a key ingredient in promoting an inclusive workplace culture.  

When employees feel safe to express themselves without the fear of judgement or reprisal, they are more likely to bring their whole selves to work, fostering a more collaborative and creative environment.  

Employees who feel included are also more engaged and productive, leading to a positive spiral of increased inclusion and success for the organization. 

2. Better Employee Engagement

It is easier for team members to engage when they feel secure at work. This could be during a team meeting where members work on projects, brainstorm, solve problems, and engage with their peers and customers. 

Safe teams encourage workers to be completely present rather than dozing off or counting the hours until the day is over. 

3. Improved Well-Being

Developing a psychologically safe work culture contributes to overall employee well-being.  

When employees are psychologically well, they can work at their best and avoid pressures that prevent them from doing so. 

Promoting employee health and wellness at work requires first ensuring their psychological safety. When employees are mentally healthy, it means they can think, feel, and act in ways that help them perform well. 

4. Decreased Employee Turnover

Employees who face a high turnover are beginning to understand the importance of psychological safety.  

According to The Predictive Index, team members who feel psychologically safe are less likely to quit their jobs. Why will employees leave a company that makes them feel safe and valued? 

More and more organizations are embracing this concept because teams are becoming geographically dispersed, and psychological safety is responsible for motivating employees, retaining them, and promoting an inclusive culture. 

5. Improved Team Performance

According to studies, psychological safety promotes actions that result in improved team performance, such as taking moderate risks, expressing one’s opinions, being creative, and sticking one’s neck out without the fear of repercussions. 

Employees who work in psychologically secure environments view risk positively and know they won’t be considered stupid or inept. By taking moderate risks, teams can thrive and grow while learning new concepts. 

The 4 Behaviors That Build Psychological Safety at Work

1. Active Listening

Active listening is a powerful communication tool promoting psychological safety at work.

By actively listening to others, we create an environment where people feel safe expressing themselves and sharing their ideas. This, in turn, can lead to better collaboration, creativity, and productivity.

It also involves entering a conversation with an open mind and a pleasant attitude, and being willing to modify and adapt to the speaker’s line of thought without passing judgement.

2. Leading with Empathy

Leading with empathy shows employees that you care about their well-being and want to create a safe environment for them to work in.  

When employees feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to take risks, be creative and productive, and stay with the company. Showing empathy is also one of the best ways to engage with an employee and foster a feeling of belonging.

3. Focusing on Performance

Employees need to feel recognized at work and receive honest feedback on their performance. When we focus on performance, we create an environment where people feel safe to take risks and experiment.

This psychological safety is essential for innovation and creativity.

4. Welcoming New Ideas

Welcoming new ideas at work and promoting psychological safety so that everyone can feel comfortable contributing should be encouraged. It allows organizations to create a positive and productive work environment where everyone can thrive. 

Summing Up 

It is vital to make psychological safety a priority in organizations. An organization should be a place for learning and growth.

Psychological safety shouldn’t just be a “nice to have” benefit. It should play a significant role in the culture and future of every business.

The mark of a good company is its team members.

So, if businesses want to build a successful team, psychological safety must be one of the top priorities and ensure the team members feel safe to express themselves.

Key Takeaways

• Market conditions have grown infinitely more challenging for companies, making a coordinated go-to-market structure an absolute imperative. This makes revenue operations an indispensable tool for companies.

• Roadmapping is a key ingredient of RevOps success, not only helping teams to be more aligned but also driving accountability so people work on what has the highest impact on revenue.

• It is important to remember that a well-planned RevOps roadmap is not a task list. It’s a process that involves carefully evaluating the gaps in not just the customer journey but also the mistakes in your own processes.

• As daunting as it can seem as you get started, a strategic framework will help you in planning your initiative-keeping revenue as the overarching theme.

When you expect your product manager to map out the vision and direction of your product offering, why shouldn’t your go-to-market operations deserve the same due diligence? 

Many B2B companies rely on intuition to decide what they should be doing. But such an approach often fails to answer the revenue-based “why” in them. 

This is where a strategic roadmap (also referred to as RevOps framework) for your revenue operations becomes crucial.

When consistent revenue growth continues to be a challenge for 78% of B2B companies, a well-executed revenue operation framework can deliver a centralized plan to predict revenue based on data. 

Without a roadmap in place, you rely on a shotgun approach to your revenue. Just like a product roadmap, a RevOps roadmap becomes a source of truth for your revenue team. For the rest of your organization, it offers a glimpse into the work that is being done and why. 

3 Things to Consider While Building Your RevOps Roadmap

According to a report by SiriusDecisions, B2B organizations that have implemented aligned revenue operations are better positioned to thrive in the next three to five years.

Your RevOps strategy roadmap will be a one-stop source that shows everyone the top-level game plan and direction while describing the high-level timelines. 

Make a note of the following factors as you get down to building your RevOps framework. 

1. Maintain Simplicity

Your RevOps framework will act as a visual tool. When using Excel, PowerPoint, or online tools such as Smartsheet, keep to one tab/slide for each team (Marketing, Sales, Customer Success). 

2. Collaborate:

A RevOps roadmap is incomplete without stakeholders from various teams and not just executives from sales, marketing, and customer success. You will include people from HR, finance, and legal teams too. While your framework defines multiple workstreams and ownerships, remember to make collaboration a basis for everyone to achieve the revenue goals. 

3. Goal-specific: 

 While focusing on every minute detail is not required, your RevOps strategy framework should encompass all the critical activities. These are deliverables that have a direct impact on your revenue targets. 

Creating a RevOps Roadmap: 5 Key Points to Consider

RevOps is a centralizing function, aimed to increase collaboration between different departments. In order to achieve end-to-end alignment of the revenue engine, your RevOps roadmap should start and end with a growth mindset, with focused attention to closing the gaps in your buyers’ journey. 

A strategic roadmap for RevOps relies heavily on the unique situation of your organization. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, some general guidelines can help you to build a comprehensive, interconnected, visible, and repeatable process across go-to-market functions. 

1. Build Your Benchmark

Begin by creating your RevOps productivity benchmark. 

Many enterprises hesitate to create benchmarks, worried they will choose something that will be regretted later. 

To avoid such a situation, avoid metrics that don’t always translate to success, such as a rep’s volume of calls or emails. 

Data plays a strong role here. Look into what is and is not progressing through your funnel. But one month of data won’t cut it.  Measure everything for 90 days (at least) before you create benchmarks and KPIs. Be prepared to review this and revise it sometimes. 

2. Understand Your Business Capabilities 

A well-planned strategy roadmap for RevOps dives deep into business resources and needs. 

Let’s take an organization with less than 100 people. Most likely, their revenue operations will consist of a small team, possibly a single person handling different areas. 

For large organizations, the picture is different where RevOps roles might already exist in sales, marketing, and client success. 

While starting with a RevOps lead can have advantages, you need to have a far-out vision of where your business will stand in a year, two years, or five years from now. Taking the route of a larger organization can ensure that you have a solid system in place. 

3. Prioritize

One of the key differences between a RevOps strategy roadmap and a task list is that the work planned for RevOps is carefully aligned with its predicted impact on the business. Your revenue team, then, focuses on high-impact work that leads to the organization reaching its revenue goals. 

You can prioritize which work your team takes up by looking at the gaps that a specific activity will solve. In the absence of these gaps, will your revenue increase? Will you see more qualified leads? Will it lead to more minor leakages at handoff points?

4. Assemble Your Team

Driving full-funnel accountability is incomplete without a team of RevOps rockstars! 

The aim of your RevOps roadmap is to unify people, process, and platforms. Consequently, there are several roles that could be right for your business. 

Take operations management, for instance. This team will understand the resources available and distribute them accordingly while aligning them with the overall vision and revenue goals. Similarly, you might require a more robust data and analytics team who would collect data and help you make informed decisions.

5. Align Your Team

Audits are a great way to start here.

Note down the existing processes across your internal teams so you have a better grasp of the inconsistencies that are causing problems for team members. 

Data analysis plays a pivotal role. It can help you develop a baseline for the areas of improvement and whether a technological upgrade can help your team realize its full potential. 

As go-to-market alignment can only be reached if your teams are aligned, your revenue operations framework, as well as progress, should be communicated regularly with your RevOps team. 

Why RevOps Roadmaps Fail at Times

A crucial trait of a well-planned revenue operations strategy is its proclivity to ask “why?”. And this starts with gap analysis. 

In its absence, you will fail to prioritize work based on the level of impact. So, it is not that the work is not getting done. Instead, there is no consistent communication across the organization about the work that will unify GTMs. 

Your revenue operations framework will be ineffective if: 

• More than one roadmap is being used and your team is not sure which one to refer to

• There is no consistent meeting cadence, leading to the roadmap becoming static

• There is a lack of prioritization leading to the RevOps roadmap becoming a task list 

• No ownerships are being given to initiatives

Roadmapping for Continued Success

From a buzzword a few years back, RevOps has become an organizational imperative. 

Done well, RevOps helps businesses fix revenue pipeline through significant efficiency gains, organizational efficacy, customer centricity, cost savings, and, finally, business growth. 

Reaping such benefits starts with a well-executed RevOps framework that works in tandem with the company vision. 

As you make roadmapping a consistent process, you will create opportunities for a new era of superior customer experience, increased revenue, and sustained growth. 

Key Insights

• While many organizations have transitioned from hardware-based data storage systems to cloud services, cloud adoption is still at its early stage

• It puts immense pressure on cloud salespeople to make a successful pitch

• Selling cloud solutions requires a definite change in how you approach your prospects who are looking for service providers

• You must emphasize the value to the business and not the underlying technology

When speaking with enterprise buyers about cloud solutions, you may have faced the same set of questions, repeatedly. Questions about compliances, security risks, and guarantees. 

Those involved in selling cloud-based solutions faced numerous barriers. 

In fact, the odds are stacked against them with only 18% of B2B buyers viewing salespeople as their trusted advisors.

If your buyers don’t believe in you, it would be a mammoth task for you to sell cloud solutions. 

But more and more enterprises are opening up to the idea of introducing cloud software to their environments. 

In such a scenario, you must proactively anticipate their concerns and address them. If you don’t, then you end up losing high-paying and reliable enterprise customers to your competitors. 

So, you have got your work cut out for you when it comes to selling cloud computing services. 

In this blog, we break down the best tips that will help you deliver results, from gaining a larger foothold in the companies out there or simply expanding your footprints in your existing accounts. 

What are Cloud-based Solutions?

Cloud-based solutions are any applications that can be accessed with an Internet connection through a provider’s shared cloud computing framework. 

On a pay-for-use basis, enterprises can get access to as many resources as they require such as storage space, software, networks, and other on-demand services. 

Consequently, you have three types of cloud-based systems at your disposal: 

• IaaS- Infrastructure-as-a-Service allows enterprises to rent storage, networks, virtual machines, and other resources from a cloud service provider

• PaaS- Platform-as-a-Service provides companies with a “space” to build, deliver, test, and manage various apps. The goal is to help such organizations to focus on software development and not the underlying infrastructure

• SaaS- Software-as-a-Service refers to the delivery of cloud-based solutions. In this case, cloud providers host the app as well as the infrastructure

6 Effective Strategies for Selling Cloud Solutions

With the COVID-19 pandemic, digital business transformation has entered a more urgency-driven phase. 

The sudden shutdown of offices, educational institutions, and enterprises has increased the demand for cloud-based solutions and services.

The cloud landscape is continually evolving. According to a report by Research and Markets, the global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from $371.4 billion in 2020 to $832.1 billion by 2025.

Sales organizations that make the necessary adjustments to successfully navigate through will benefit from the ability to capitalize on the growing market opportunities.

Let’s walk through some of the most effective tips for selling cloud-based solutions.

1. Start Small

Start with helping your prospects choose applications that are right for them and deliver the value they are seeking in the short term. 

This is especially important if you are dealing with an enterprise that has no prior experience in cloud implementation. 

For organizations not born in the cloud, the decision to bring off-premises technologies into the fold can throw up some challenges. 

Most enterprises, at this stage, can run into an overdrive– establishing business cases, scoping the project, and formulating the approach– leading to the cloud program tumbling down. 

When selling cloud-based solutions to such enterprises, identify and address any implementation-related challenges. Once your prospect starts seeing value in the investment, it becomes easier for them to ramp up. 

2. Know the Language that Your Lead Follows

Technology can be confusing to understand. 

Shifting your messaging and working is the key to selling cloud services to small businesses. 

If you assume your lead doesn’t know much about technology, you might come off as condescending. Your lead might also get lost in your jargon and feel overwhelmed or confused. 

Making a successful pitch will be incomplete without listening to your leads. Find out more about the cloud services that they are currently using. Know more about how they manage their data. Ask a few questions and listen intently. 

This way you will get to know where they are, and you can start using their language. 

This will also make your sales pitch more conversational and authentic, allowing you to connect with your prospects on a deeper level. 

3. Position Yourself as the Innovation Partner

Enterprises have many trust issues with those selling cloud-based solutions. This is why it is crucial that you showcase your innovative side and how your offerings are a mark above the rest. 

Your prospect wants to get a hold over the state of cloud adoption. Helping drive innovation requires approaching your clients and prospects with an empathetic understanding of the entire landscape. 

You can make this happen by regularly publishing authentic content that is tangible and actionable, helping you to be a trusted partner who understands the industry. 

When you do land your meeting, don’t just tell them the key features of what you are selling but speak about the entire cloud ecosystem. 

In this way, you can build a more future-centric approach to selling your cloud computing services. 

4. Work with Different Team Members

You must pitch to different stakeholders across various departments. It is not just one person who decides if your services are the right fit for the enterprise. 

Instead of seeing each member as a new obstacle to overcome, use this process to win more stakeholders and convert them into advocates for your cloud solutions. 

Additionally, work with stakeholders at all levels of your prospect organizations. 

A middle manager might have more understanding of the space than you can imagine since chances are that they are the ones managing such services on a day-to-day basis. 

5. Tie it to Concrete Benefits

You might be dealing with someone who doesn’t have an IT background and has limited knowledge about the cloud. 

In such cases, it is important to mold the pitch to their experience or something they would understand. 

Your solutions should make way for a better employee experience since poor technological solutions can lead to lower productivity, higher disengagement, and increased turnover rates. 

60% of workers said that new software had occasionally or frequently frustrated them in the last 24 months, according to a report by Gartner. 

Even if you pitch to a prospect who isn’t tech-savvy, you can still highlight the dangers of losing the very employees who are.

6. Alleviate their Concerns on Security

Most enterprises are deeply concerned about cybersecurity, creating unique challenges for selling cloud computing. It makes the job trickier when almost 52% of IT decision-makers whose company uses cloud services agree that their data is more secure on-premises. 

So, try out your cloud solutions as a strategic shift in risk and not as an additional risk. The idea is to help them understand that they are essentially putting the risk factor in you by choosing your services. 

The Way Ahead

Selling cloud solutions involves many challenges, whether security, risk, cost and lack of trust. These challenges are one of the few reasons why cloud adoption is still in its infancy. 

However, this does not mean that you can’t employ some effective strategies to turn the landscape to generate better results. 

To succeed in selling cloud services, be prepared with new services, combinations, and customizations. 

Keep a plan ready, and you can do it too!

Key Takeaways

• When businesses think of growth, they usually think about reaching out to more people and acquiring more sales

• Besides traditional marketing and customer acquisition strategies, it is brand advocacy that can help you keep your marketing costs low

• It is one of the most valuable marketing strategies where you tap into your happy customer base to spread the word about your brand

• There are numerous strategies that can help companies to harness the enthusiasm of their brand advocates for business growth

Getting new customers is good for any business.

But real business growth comes from existing customers.

In fact, a research by Bain and Company shows that return customers spend 33% more per order compared to new clients. Another study suggests that existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products.

Why is this important? 

In an era where it has become surprisingly easy for consumers to walk away from brands after a single bad experience, turning your customers into brand advocates should be at the top of the to-do list. This is more critical than ever since new acquisition costs have increased by almost 50%. 

Think of this as a fandom, like how major sports teams and musicians operate. 

Instead of buying out the tickets, these brand advocates will fill their social media feeds with news about your brand, helping move prospective customers through the marketing funnel. 

So how do you build brand advocacy? And what should be your brand advocacy strategy? 

As you get down to turning your target audience to brand advocates, remember it all starts with the efficacy of your customer success solution. Only when you deliver experiences that delight your customers will they endorse your brand in their network.

Let’s begin.

What is Brand Advocacy?

Did you know that a staggering 76% of individuals surveyed said that they have a deeper trust in the content shared by “regular” people than content shared by brands? 

Simply put, brand advocacy means that the people who are closest to your brand will continue to show their love and support for your product(s) or service(s) by promoting your organization organically to new audiences. While referring new customers, they also create content on your behalf. 

Your brand advocates can include your customers as they are not affiliated with your company which makes their support genuine and more influential. Your employees can be brand advocates too. Armed with deep insights into how your solution caters to clients, they can positively influence your brand through superior customer success management. 

Your business partners can also affect your customers’ purchasing decisions. These include charitable organizations and other companies affiliated with your brand. Lastly, you have influencers. A well-known influencer can extend the reach of your brand far and wide. 

Turning Customers into Brand Advocates: Why is it Important?

With brand advocacy, you will quickly find an increase in your revenue without increasing your marketing budget. Your fans will do a lot of word-of-mouth marketing for you on their social media platforms. 

Another good reason is that your happy customers will continue to return to you again and again. 

According to a report by PwC, 17% of consumers will leave a brand after just one bad experience. Since finding a brand that precisely caters to their needs can be challenging, customers who genuinely love a brand will stick with the company for a very long time. 

Strong brand advocates will increase awareness about your company beyond your immediate target audience. This will help you eliminate costs associated with customer acquisition strategies. 

For these reasons, both B2B and B2C companies have begun to focus their initiatives on developing effective brand advocacy programs. 

How Do You Turn Customers into Brand Advocates?

1. Know Your Customers

Despite the expansive power of brand advocates, this will still be a small portion of your overall customer base. 

Most customers will probably purchase from you once (or perhaps repeatedly) but will not engage with your brand as much as you hope. This means that you need to keep a steady eye on the ones who do and who are taking their time to spread the positive word about your product or service. 

A simple question such as “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend” can help you understand what makes your customers happy. Social listening can come in handy. Keep an eye on people who are speaking favorably about you on social media. 

2. Appreciate Your Customers

Your customers want to feel like a VIP when they do business with you. 

Deliver an enhanced and personalized customer experience at every touchpoint, whether it means optimizing your website for search engines to having helpful support, both chat and call options, in place. 

Having a happy customer base can also be achieved through giving extra perks. 

Loyalty programs can help deliver this value to your customers consistently. 

Rewards, discounts, promotions, and special events will demonstrate that your relationship is more than just transactional. 

3. Establish a Memorable Onboarding Process

Your onboarding process has a direct impact on your customer retention rates. It’s also a crucial facet of your brand advocacy strategy. 

In fact, 86% of consumers are likely to stick longer with a product if they experience a better onboarding process that gives a holistic education about the many offerings. 

So how do you do this? 

Start with asking your customers why they are using your product and what they want to achieve with it. 

Equipped with this information, guide them to the most useful features of your product rather than throwing all your product features all at once. This will also minimize friction points for your customers.

You can also give them templates so they can start using your product features at once. Additionally, develop an email sequence that educates your customers on the best use of your product. 

4. Give Them Exciting News

Turning customers into brand advocates means sharing exciting news, exclusive sneak-peeks, and one-time-only discounts to keep the excitement going. 

Hold special “fans-only” shopping events where customers have unique access to your products. This will encourage them to spread the word in their network. 

Amplify this word-of-mouth marketing with referral rewards for fans who successfully encourage someone to buy your product or service. Such rewards can be a free product, a discount, or even cash for their next purchase. 

5. Create a Customer-Centric Culture

Zendesk conducted a detailed study of more than 45000 businesses across 140 countries and found that almost 70% of customers expect companies to collaborate between different departments on their behalf. 

If your employees are transferring a customer to another BU for issue resolution, it can create a bad image in the eyes of your customers. 

This is where a customer-centric culture can help you. Brand advocacy can only be effective if you help establish a culture where customer satisfaction and happiness are at the center of all your key decision-making. 

Such a culture must be part of your core value system and every department should take the onus of effective customer success management.

6. Amplify Your Presence

While 70% of consumers expect brands to respond within a day of reaching out over social media, the average brand response rate stands at just 25%. The more active you are on social media, the higher your chances are to reach out to your potential brand advocates. 

Don’t be active on every channel. But you should be present in more than one. 

Conduct an analysis of the platforms where your customers are the most active. 

Once you have established the channels, it’s time to get creative. 

Encourage your brand advocates to create their own content. This can be through video submissions of how they are using your product for YouTube or images where they are using your product for Instagram Story.

Immersing your brand advocates with content development can help them feel like they are part of your brand and not just observers. 

Ready for Brand Advocacy?

Your job is not done when your customer has successfully transacted. Keep your customers engaged to turn them into brand advocates who will do a lot of the marketing work for you. 

Brand advocates play a critical role in driving sales for you. 

While in the age of 24/7 connectivity and social media, it’s not so tough to keep your customers engaged. The challenge, however, is to be consistent in providing your customers with first-class services. This helps to nurture your customers into brand advocates. 

Looking to make customers your best growth engine? Benefit from a world-class CS strategy at scale, Partner with MarketStar today!