Two-thirds of buyers prefer online or remote sales

Around two-thirds of B2B buyers prefer online self-service or remote interactions across all stages of their sales journey, according to a new study.

Our Chart of the Week has findings from McKinsey’s latest recent global B2B Pulse which show companies have reached equilibrium in their omnichannel capabilities.

Buyers were found to have settled into using an evenly divided mix of sales methods across their journey: traditional, remote interactions and online self-service.

The segments include identifying and researching suppliers, considering and evaluating suppliers, ordering and reordering.

What’s behind the figures?

Buyers expect digital and self-service options when it comes to their personal life, now they want it for business too.

Rapid growth of online markets has created a seamless experience for users to find out get what they want.

The retail industry evolved quickly from a reliance on the in-store channel to an omnichannel model, where the buyer has control of how and when they want to buy.

This can shopping online from a mobile device, a laptop or in a brick-and-mortar store. 

Download our free Marketplace Blueprint for expert insight about this business model.

It shows the real transformation that is required for an exhibition brand to become a true hybrid of digital and physical. Now, there is a large appetite for online and offline options to be available to sellers.

This research by Gartner suggests research suggests the future of sales will see a permanent transformation in strategy, processes and resource allocation. It is expected this will moves the sales organisation from being focussed on the seller to buyer-centric, with digital-first engagement with customers.

What does it mean for organisers?

Marketplaces are the perfect example of the networked business which have risen to dominate the web. There are a number of reasons why marketplaces are an attractive line of business:

• Network effects. The more users you get, the more useful/cheap your product becomes, the more users you get – Uber vs. taxis.
• Barrier to entry. Once they have a strong network effect, it becomes increasingly difficult to enter or replicate the marketplace – Airbnb vs. hotels. Ecoystems of users are the new source of competitive advantage and market dominance.
• No inventory means they are can be cheaper to operate easier to scale and easier to pivot.

For event organisers, online marketplaces come with some specific advantages:

• Audience growth. Your brand can become embedded into the workflows of buyers year-round by providing an essential tool for finding and comparing products and services, which can significantly grow your audiences.
• Revenue growth. Bundling recurring revenue subscriptions to a marketplace alongside exhibiting at an event is an opportunity to increase the value of exhibiting, gives suppliers more leads and ROI.
• Brand protection. Most importantly, having a marketplace in your portfolio presents the opportunity for forward-thinking organisers to embed themselves in the transactions between our visitors and exhibitor audiences outside the confines of an exhibition.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful. At ExpoPlatform, we want to help you build better events and communities. Please get in touch and ask for a demo here. Thank you.