report

STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

IN B2B CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
TECHNOLOGIES, CHOICES AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE
CURRENT AND EMERGING ENGAGEMENT ECONOMY.

march2018
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FOREWORD
The Engagement Economy - the reality that
we consume and market in today— is a fast
INDEX
unravelling era where everyone and everything
is connected.
Consumer expectations have shifted to expect
1 UNDERSTANDING B2B
more from the brands and vendors they buy
from - they seek a more personal relationship
that offers them value wherever they are and
whenever they are ready to engage.
In response, marketers have had to rapidly
transform their growth strategies, methods, and
tactics in order to stay relevant and be A CLIMATE OF GROWTH 2
productive.
This white paper explores the evolving
changes and strategic options for Growth
Marketers in B2B markets.
For our purposes, B2B will include firms that
operate primarily in business to consumer (B2C) CONNECTING
markets but also interact with wholesalers and 3 MARKET INSIGHTS AND
ANTICIPATED GROWTH
distributors.

KEY GROWTH TAKEAWAYS 4

BUILDING A B2B DIGITAL

5 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
STRATEGY FOR GROWTH

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UNDERSTANDING THE B2B

1 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN A FIRM
B2B CAN BE CATOGRISED INTO THREE TYPES

B2B refers to business markets in which firms, INITIAL

institutions or governments that acquire goods Awareness and Consideration
and services either for their own use, to
DURING
incorporate into the products or services that
Implementation and Support
they produce or for resale along with other
products and services to other firms, institutions AFTER
or governments. Loyalty and Advocacy

Source: Business Market Management

Understanding, Delivering and Creating Value by James
Anderson, James Narus and Das Narayandas, 2009.

01 AWARENESS
02 CONSIDERATION

06ADVOCACY CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT 03
IMPLEMENTATION

05 LOYALTY

04 SUPPORT

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CHARACTERISTICS OF 2 A CLIMATE OF
B2B MARKETS GROWTH
B2B markets have their own unique characteristics:

Complexity in terms of the deals, contracts and technologies involved. Upbeat investor sentiment, exciting new
Large spends and often risky transactions. technologies and vibrant user habits are
driving positive growth energies in the
A small number of customers can account for a large percentage of a company's revenue.
B2B space.
Suppliers and customers work closely together for an extended period of time.
The B2B buying process comprises multiple participants: Advancements in technology - particularly in
Decision-Makers Those who make the choice of supplier / service provider. the digital sphere - is enabling B2B players to
stabilize their investments and plan ahead. The
Influencers Those who do not make the actual decision, but provide significant
rise of the smart phone (and the flourish of apps
input that influences the decision.
that is accompanying it) has translated into
End Users Those that actually use the product or service provided. perceptible revenue boost for small and
medium scale enterprises (M-SME), as well as
startups, in the B2B arena. In a data driven
universe, programmatic advertising – a trend
Note: These roles may not be mutually exclusive. that has been gathering steam in recent times –
For instance, in some organisations, a decision is slated to provide the extra confidence brands
maker may also be a user. Similarly a user may need to make more investments in 2018. Social
also be an influencer. media is another arena where brands are
expecting to shine, and are upping their
investment ante. Ahead-of-the-curve
technologies and approaches like Artificial
Learning, Mixed Reality (a blend of Virtual
reality and Augment reality) and Machine
Learning are unlocking new possibilities across
the customer journey for marketers. The overall
buoyancy across the domain is, unquestionably,
sweet music for a B2B marketer's ear.

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B2B INVESTMENT KEY B2B

IN 2018
In January 2018, US will pose a significant
growth in investment in the B2B startups and
California will be the gold crust.
For example, Bonfire Ventures closes a $60
million to invest in B2B startups. Such ignition
in the investments will force B2B players to
gear themselves to a greater level.
Source:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/29/bonfire-ventures-
closes-60-million-to-invest-in-socal-b2b-startups/
MARKET REGIONS
Developing countries in Asia such as India,
China, and Indonesia are the key spots for
B2B market growth. Here, B2B and B2C e-
commerce markets are recording significant
growth trends.
China's B2B e-commerce market, in particular,
has shown remarkable growth escalation (fueled
in no small measure by its SME segment) – and
in 2020, it is slated to surpass that of the US to
emerge as a market leader globally.

In January 2018, Microsoft and Accenture have

PERCENTAGE OF B2B SALES
initiated their plans to invest in Indian B2B startups.
IN 2020E ($ BILLION)
They have partnered to focus on enterprise
startups and to help them to get access to their
latest technologies. It will help to enhance the
adoption of cloud services in IoT, big data,
advanced analytics and cognitive services. THE SMEs AND THE
Source:
INVESTMENTS IN B2B ARE
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-
biz/startups/microsoft-accenture-partner-to-help-indian-b2b- WAVING TRENDS IN THE
startups/articleshow/62484610.cms
CHINESE MARKET WHICH
DRIVES THEM TO BE THE
“KING OF B2B”.

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GLOBAL B2B E-COMMERCE SALES PERCENTAGE OF B2B E-COMMERCE SALES

IN 2020E ($ BILLION) IN 2020E ($ BILLION)
PERCENTAGE OF B2B E-COMMERCE SALES The B2B E-commerce sales
IN 2020E ($ BILLION) in the global market are growing at a super-fast growth rate
PERCENTAGE OF B2B SALES of nearly 20% and it is visible that the market players
IN 2020E ($ BILLION) will play around with the new opportunities.

67
21 00
00 80
19 00
00
Other Countries
60 40%
00

40
00 China
31%
US

CH

20
IN
20

00
A
20

GL
OB
E

AL

US 29%

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CONNECTING MARKET INSIGHTS
AND ANTICIPATED GROWTH
New technologies and competitors are
transforming the product, experience and
service terrain. It is estimated that nearly
3/4rthof B2B consumers expect and anticipate
their brands to engage with them in real-time
networks. Customer engagement therefore
plays a critical role and strongly impacts the
B2B business ecosystem. The good news is that
the modern B2B consumer is aware and
empowered – making switching easier and
paving the way for growth. Adopting
consistently customer-centered strategies
based on market insights will help B2B
companies erase bugs and bottlenecks along
the customer experience and acquisition
process, making possible advanced business
performance, and sustained business growth.
Source:
https://www.maritzcx.com/blog/b2c-influence-b2b-
customer-expectations/
It is evident that the growth of digitization is driving
growth in the B2B sphere, causing leaders to take
notice. According to news resources, Anil Ambani is
planning for a new RCom which will be a B2B company
with half of its revenue coming from abroad.
Source:
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/telecom/new-
rcom-would-be-a-b2b-company-with-half-its-revenues-
coming-from-overseas-anil-ambani-2469141.html
INDIA'S TIME IS HERE
India is expected to become the world's
fastest growing E-commerce market, driven
by robust investment in the sector and rapid
increase in the number of internet users.
Various agencies have high expectations
about the growth of Indian e-commerce
markets. Online retail is expected to be at par
with the physical stores in the next five years
and has grown 23 per cent to $17.8 billion in
2017. India's B2B e-commerce market is
expected to reach US$ 700 billion by 2020.
Indian e-commerce sales are expected to
reach US$ 120 billion by 2020 from US$ 30
billion in FY2016. Further, India's e-commerce
market is expected to reach US$ 220 billion in
terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) and
530 million shoppers by 2025, powered by
faster speeds on reliable telecom networks,
quicker adoption of online services and better
variety as well as convenience in service.
“BEFORE ORCHESTRATING
A NEW STRATEGY FOR
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
A GROWTH MARKETER HAS TO
UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING
FACTORS DRIVING CHANGES
IN B2B CUSTOMER
EXPECTATIONS”
IMPORTANT FACTORS FOR B2B GROWTH
#1 DIGITIZATION IS DRIVING GROWTH FOR B2B COMPANIES
Buyers and customers are making decisions
using the latest digital technologies and tools.
The dynamic growth of digital capabilities in our
day to day life is equipping both B2B customers
and B2B brands to aim for and set new
expectations. The better a brand leverages new
technology, therefore, the nimbler will it grow.
Expectations have no limit, but priorities do.
Customer expectations are evolving – and this
#2 B2B CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS ARE CHANGING
Changing B2B customer expectations are
dramatically impacting their buying process. In
exchange for brand loyalty, they desire a more
convenient, versatile and engaging digital
buying experience at every step of the
12
makes understanding and prioritizing their needs
critical for business growth. Market priorities will
drive the players to rank their customers and vice
versa. Expertise in digitization and the willingness
to explore, experiment and adapt will get B2B
players in the Wish-List of their customers. With
a never-before pitara of options and avenues,
there's never been a better time to be a B2B
marketer or brand.
purchase funnel. The momentum is shifting with
technology, and B2B players are expected to
get acclimatized to the modern era of data
science driven digitalization.
The Engagement Quality Factors
that are expected by the B2B customers
includes the following
Creativity and consulting skills
Professionalism
Understanding of customers business & industry
Subject matter and solution expertise
Social and communication skills
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#3 CX-CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES IS THE NEW PRIME PERFORMANCE AREA #4 BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Customer experience is today the cornerstone
of a B2B firm's strategy. More two-way
engagement is happening across channels like
email, chat, podcasts and online communities
than ever before. The emergence of formalized
programs is also catalyzing growth prospects in
a company. Nearly 1/3rdof B2B firms are
actively adopting customer centricity to re-
mould their organization's internal and external
strategy. Seamless flow of services and rust
free customer relationship are emerging as key
factors guiding growth trends in a targeted
market place. Personalized digital experiences
are breaking down traditional walls between
B2B brands and their customers, breeding new
grounds of trust.
80
Perfecting the B2B customer experience is
an ongoing transformation and an evolving
challenge for companies, and those with
an open-ness for hard and consistent
learnings will emerge as preferred choices
for users, and will be able to establish both
domain leadership and growth.
Today B2B consumers are using more channels to
engage with their vendors. Now B2B customers are
more likely to use email, chat, podcasts, and online
communities than ever before.
Source:
https://www.b2binternational.com/publications/six-
steps-to-b2b-customer-experience-excellence/
79%
Marketers around the world agree that the number one challenge they face is related to the
choice of the right engagement tools – along with demonstrating Return On Investment.
Given the market shift towards digital forms of engagement, refining how marketers track and
measure consumer behaviour will help companies become more effective at demonstrating
the impact of their efforts.
Source: https://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2017/32661/the-engagement-gap-how-b2b-and-b2c-firms-are-missing-the-markb
In addition to the above, other challenges specific to ROI are:
Lack of team alignment.
Departments operate in silos, which leads to an inconsistent user experience – such as not
knowing what customers have done online to follow up effectively offline.
Marketing spends on sales force versus digital.
Marketing dollars are spent on training the sales force and empowering them with tools to interact
with customers, as opposed to online engagement.
Passive to non-existent lead management.
Leads are “captured” on B2B sites, but responses are automated instead of customized, and there
is little to no further follow-up.

70

DIGITAL CHANNEL BIGGEST

60
USED TO INITIATE CHALLENGES
60%
ENGAGEMENT TO CUSTOMER
50 WITH BRANDS ENGAGEMENT

40 60
35%
30
28%
40
25%
20 20
19%

10
11% 0
9% 10%
7%
4% 5% 5%
0

Augmented Other Virtual Games Webinars/ Blogs Videos Forums Mobile Chat Social Website E-mail Engagement Organisational Ability to Budget Executive
Reality Reality Podcasts Apps Media Tools Knowledge Measure ROI Allocation Support

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DEFINING METRICS
In a recent Bain and Co. survey of 290
executives in B2B industries across 11 countries,
two-thirds of respondents said customers are
less loyal than they used to be. The challenge
of building loyal B2B customers is compounded
by the complicated channel structures of B2B
industries, with their concentrated buyer
communities, large accounts and with many
people influencing the relationship.
Despite the challenges, some B2B companies
have managed to earn strong loyalty. In our
experience, what B2B loyalty leaders have in
common is their ability to deliver on customer
centricity and ensure continuous improvements:
Many of them use the Net Promoter System
(NPS), a closed-loop feedback mechanism
designed to help companies increase
promoters and reduce the number of detractors
among customers. Short, frequent NPS surveys
after key interactions, such as a new contract
negotiation, can help identify aspects that
delight or annoy customers. When companies
market to distributors or other intermediaries,
NPS provides valuable feedback from retailers
and end users, as well as from distributors and
direct customers.
Source:
http://resources.elixiter.com/i/868811-the-state-of-engagement-
2017-marketo/27?m4=
4
BUILDING A B2B DIGITAL
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
STRATEGY FOR GROWTH
“What's Next?”
should be the question any B2B
company should ask to start building
their new CE & CX strategy.
Almost all marketers have a strategy in place
for engaging customers.As per surveys, the top
global metrics marketers use to track
engagement are effectiveness, customer
experience and efficiency. Marketers globally
agree on their key metrics and the order of
importance. Marketers in the US prioritize
retention and loyalty metrics, while internal
alignment for customer initiatives is focused
around aligning customer service and support –
while for the sales teams, it is critical to notice
that the lowest alignment score is for executive
leadership. Aligning these stakeholders around
the customer is not only a critical function for
the business, but a strategic function for
marketers as they cement their role as
visionary, impactful business leaders and
advisors in their organization and industry.
Source:
http://resources.elixiter.com/i/868811-the-state-of-engagement-
2017-marketo/77?m4=
16
STRATEGIC OPTIONS & METHODS
FOR DEPLOYING AN EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT
& CX DRIVEN CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
“If you gather the data, focus on making things
easy & relevant, deliver messages that
resonate with their world (not just your own),
you get people over the bridge to what we call
a “Commerce Moment”.
Personalized communication is a key aspect of
innovative engagements for B2B customers.
Monitoring social media and personalizing
content are the engagement methods most
marketers follow today and are also the
approaches marketers believe will have the
greatest impact on customer engagement.
Marketers are focussing on automation and
integration as these capabilities enable
marketers and their strategies to scale.
Marketers are also expected to explore and
adopt more advanced technologies in the
future. Marketers are looking to their
engagement solutions to automate a variety of
marketing activities to more effectively engage
with consumers. The following graph shows the
future technologies which will lead in
engagement for marketers.
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DEFINING METRICS 1. Reboot Approach: successfully co-ordinate disparate touch

The data shows that while marketers see the points and engagements, and translate them
value and importance of consumer and into actionable insights.
customer engagement, they simply aren't 3. Structure, Buy-In and Align
hitting the mark. to Succeed at Scale:
2. Co-ordinate Data with Insights: As marketing leads the charge in
ENGAGEMENT Consumers' use of different channels makes understanding what true engagement means
METHODS it imperative that marketers listen and for an organization's consumers, it's more
FOR respond to their activities in real time. critical than ever that organizational structure,
MARKETERS
However, to effectively engage consumers, alignment, and buy-in's are seamlessly
marketers must address the number one synergized for quicker decision making and
50
barrier to effective engagement - tools. more effective implementation.
40
Marketers today operate marketing 4. Stay Tuned for the Next:
technology stacks made up of disparate point While Growth marketers as a tribe tend to
30 solutions that offer uncoordinated metrics focus on the more popular channels that
and data. To succeed, marketers need to shift consumers are using to engage, it's critical
20 their mind-set and identify a customized suite that they keep one eye on innovative
of tools, solutions, and platforms that work experiences and technologies emerging on
10 specifically for their challenges and the horizon to gain first mover advantage.
mandates. This will enable them to
0
Journey Machine Behaviour Adaptive Combining Predictive Presence Integrating Automated Automated Personalizing Monitoring
Mapping Learning Tracking Campaigns Analysis Analysis Technology Engagement Measurement Delivery Messaging Social Media

Marketers also need their solution suite

to provide analytics and reporting to
demonstrate ROI and continue to refine
their effectiveness. The biggest barriers
to improving customer engagement are
related to tools, so it is not surprising that
marketer satisfaction with their
engagement solutions is low across
many aspects.

While you may already have identified

takeaways specifically relevant and
critical to your organization, here are four
key insights we see as important trends
in the market and as opportunities for all
marketers looking to succeed in the
Engagement Economy:

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5
KEY GROWTH ABBREVIATIONS
TAKEAWAYS USED

B2B companies committed to providing ABSTRACT

engaging customer experiences throughout the The B2B market is increasing in market value B2B Business to business
lifecycle will stand a much better chance at worldwide. The number of trends is
generating game-changing ROI than those who multiplying. A rapidly changing terrain – along B2C Business to customer
adopt a half-hearted approach. with developments in data collection and C2C Customer to customer
A structured strategy with predetermined KPIs market tools – are generating never-before
and the right digital tools can make all the momentum and dynamic new opportunities CE Customer engagement
difference in becoming the next leader in the for B2B marketers, who are re-aligning their
CX Customer experience
B2B market. strategies accordingly. For B2B brands and
firms, building a seamless and customized GMV Gross merchandise value
With the right data and insights, marketers can
digital customer engagement strategy has
accurately and immersively understand IoT Internet of Things
emerged key to hitting business goals and
consumer signals and translate those into
dominating global markets. KPI Key performance indicator
strategies that deliver relevant, personalized
activities and consistent, measurable impact. NPS Net promoter system
Growth marketers reveal that their Number
One challenge to customer engagement was
ROI Return on investment
engagement tools. Marketers need to move
SME Small and medium scale enterprises
beyond single purpose tools to multi-purpose
engagement platforms that facilitate the
seamless flow of data and can coordinate
disparate elements in a future-facing Growth
Marketing Stack.
REPORT
PREPARED BY
SOURAV TONY ANTON PRAKHAR JAYJIT MOHIT
CHATTERJEE JOSEPH SRIVASTAVA DASGUPTA AHUJA
Technology and Strategy Research and Consulting Diagnostics and Analysis Content and Editing Design and Creative

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