MarketStar Blog

Digital technology is evolving at a rapid pace. Business needs are in constant flux. And organizations are looking for flexible solutions that can evolve with their needs. This has resulted in subscription-based products and solutions being given preference over pay-per-product models. “Subscription businesses are proliferating because billions of digital customers are increasingly favoring access over ownership”, writes Tien Tzuo, CEO of cloud-based solutions company Zuoro, in his book, ‘Subscribed’.¹

In a recent study commissioned by Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, the greatest challenge (as reported by 41% of respondents) before B2B marketers is - 

“Producing the kind of content that engages prospects and customers” 

The tables are turning in favor of stickiness factor of content. Stickiness is not a rare commodity if your content marketing initiative is driven by strategy. The strategy is at the heart of every successful content marketing initiative.  

To give an example, Coca-Cola is undergoing a major overhaul in its strategy – from creative excellence to content excellence. If we analyze Content 2020 and other successful content marketing strategies, we stumble upon content secrets which are only too familiar. 
These are - 

Every business is scrambling to find a place in the customer’s mindspace. That’s because today’s customers expect service delivery to be instant, personalized and meaningful every time, everywhere and across every channel. Undoubtedly, contact centers are doing a good job of resolving customer issues. But the challenge is in meeting the ever-changing needs of an ever-evolving customer. So, many contact centers adopted multiple channels besides voice to connect with their customers. But this doesn’t suffice anymore since it’s not about different channels delivering disparate experiences anymore. 

Say hello to the era of omnichannel experiences. The time is ripe for contact centers to make the transition before they miss the bus. Omnichannel is about delivering services through multiple channels in a seamless manner. The company enjoys sundry benefits, including cost reduction, thanks to the consolidation of service delivery, while the customer benefits by experiencing a service that is swift and seamless across channels. But a few questions remain unanswered: Is there a tried and trusted way to jump-start the transition? Can the omnichannel strategy help deliver stellar customer service? 

As B2B buyer behavior evolves, the content demands on vendor organizations and sales teams continue to grow. Adequately addressing these demands is possible only with a strong content strategy — one that addresses important questions such as what purposes the content should serve, what goals it should achieve, who the content should serve and how, and how it should be designed, created and managed.1

There’s no questioning the critical role that content has to play in sales enablement. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that 58% of sales pipelines grind to a halt as a result of sales representatives’ inability to add value — something they’d be able to do with the right content at their disposal.1  

There’s also the small matter of 95% of buyers ultimately selecting a solution or service provider who delivered content that was aligned with each stage of the buying process.2 The numbers don’t end there, but the case is made: content is critical in sales enablement. 

Naturally, then, the next question you’d have is about how to get sales enablement content right. It’s a nuanced topic that doesn’t have a simple answer, but there are a few pointers that can set you on the right path to creating high-value sales enablement content.  

Let’s get right to it. 

In response to the demands of physical distancing and work from home that came with the onset of the current pandemic, many sales organizations were quick in adapting to a virtual sales model that they hoped would only be a holding pattern until the situation “returns to normal.” However, what we are looking at is not a temporary disruption to the sales process and methodologies, but a thoroughgoing restructuring. While many of the digital shifts were already in play before the pandemic, the new normal requires companies to adopt them within much shorter timeframes. Sales enablement has a vital role in all of these changes as it provides a robust framework to support remote sales training and coaching, virtual selling, and the implementation of a virtual sales model that is appropriate for the emerging digital world. 

The role of contact centers has evolved over the years, with the emphasis now on improving customer experiences and generating revenue for companies. It's not just about the delivery of customer service or cutting costs anymore. Rather, it's about building relationships with your customers and maintaining these relationships effectively.

Sales training is a multi-billion dollar industry. The global workplace training industry reached an estimated market size of 370.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.1 Organizations spent an average of $2,326 per salesperson on sales training annually.2 But how successful have these training programs been?  Seemingly, not very successful.  Consider this. A 2018 study3 revealed that just over half (53%) of all sales organizations hit their target numbers, and this figure has been on a decline over the past five years. 

Introduction 

As we slowly come to terms with the reality of living in a COVID-19 world, there is growing recognition that the pandemic will for better or for worse permanently change the way we live and conduct business. For sales organizations that adapted to the demands of physical distancing and work-from-home by merely executing existing processes through remote conferencing tools, there is a need to recognize that remote work is the new normal within which they must transform themselves to function effectively in a totally new paradigm. Not only do sales operations have to be restructured, but so do other processes such as onboarding, training, and coaching of sales teams.  

The traditional on-premises software distribution model is fast becoming a thing of the past. While it’s still relevant in some contexts, it has been largely upstaged by the advent of SaaS. The rise of the subscription economy, driven by the numerous benefits of adopting SaaS, including lower costs and greater flexibility regarding upgrades, means that SaaS is here to stay; it has firmly established itself as the business model of the foreseeable future.