The business world is seldom static. While you always hope for periods of growth and expansion, downturns are inevitable. But sticking your head in the sand won’t protect you from slow seasons, low B2B sales, and harsh economic conditions: when times get tough, smart entrepreneurs prepare.
Some economic downturns are unexpected. Others are seasonal, occurring annually or during regular intervals throughout the year. While you can’t protect your business from the negative effects, you can fortify it to minimise the blow. Use these three tips to prepare your company for its next slow season.
1. Increase B2B sales by embracing the digital transformation
During slow seasons, it may be harder to draw customers to your physical location. However, you can still engage with them digitally. As we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, the businesses that thrived were those that embraced online shopping and other technological solutions.
In our post-pandemic world, the preference for online interactions has remained. This has made it increasingly important for businesses to ensure their digital storefront is top-notch.
Things are no different for B2B retailers. Research by Forrester reveals that 60% of B2B customers prefer online experiences instead of dealing with sales forces. It’s easy to understand why. Online shopping offers personalised approaches, immediate responses, and easy product browsing.
But your digital transformation doesn’t have to stop there. Embrace social media, online marketing, mobile sales rep apps, text messages, and more as a means of engaging with customers.
Be more data-driven with leads
In addition to drawing in more customers, digital solutions also help B2B organizations to improve their internal systems. For example, online shopping makes it easier to track consumer habits and trends.
This customer data is invaluable, as it provides insight into your customers and their desires. Use this information to formulate strategies on how to stimulate sales and boost conversion rates during off-seasons.
There are various forms of sales technology that can provide the data you need. But first, you must intimately understand your business to figure out which solution is right for you. Options include sales intelligence software that collects, analyses, and presents data about customers.
You can also use sales force automation tools. They help manage your sales team, logging information every step of the way. This enables you to easily determine sales effectiveness and progress.
Skynamo loves data-driven leads. With accurate data, your sales team can approach potential customers with confidence – they’ll know their product directly addresses their customers’ needs.
Skynamo can help your business be more data-driven, with in-built dashboards and reports that automatically turn data into insights. This all leads to smarter decisions, improved sales, and a greater customer experience.
2. Plan a strategy for business growth, in advance
You know the saying: “To fail to plan is to plan to fail.” While economic downturns and off-seasons will come and go, this should not distract you from the bigger picture.
At the end of the day, you still want your business to endure these tough times and, in the long term, show growth trends. Therefore, you need to keep your eye on long-term goals. But short- and medium-term goals are still important. Use them to devise strategies that attract customers and maintain brand awareness.
Your strategy for business growth should also integrate technological advancements. This principle affects every department of your business.
For instance, your sales department could use Skynamo’s mobile field sales app. It’s perfect for B2B companies, as it automates many of the routine processes sales reps usually deal with. This saves your business time and money.
Invest in SEO for greater B2B sales
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to your site. Mastering SEO through Google can be tricky – and a tad mysterious. Fortunately, there are principles you can stick to that ensure your site is more visible. It requires expertise, but the investment is worth it.
Good SEO practices lift your site from the dark corners of search engines and make it visible to the right eyes. More eyes on your site equals more potential sales.
3. Nurture existing customer relationships
Just because your business is going through an off-season doesn’t mean its customers have vanished. They’re still around, and it’s worth maintaining the relationship so they return when the economy rebounds.
After all, customer retention is far cheaper than acquisition. It’s in your best interest to ensure your existing customers remain loyal.
Diversify and explore the ideal blend of channels
Your marketing and sales team should explore new customer channels to deliver business improvements even during the off-season. Using SEO, you can track related search terms your customers use. Armed with this information, you can then explore ways your business can cater to customers during slow seasons.
Adopt an omnichannel approach – reach out to customers using varied methods. Digital channels are an effective way to connect with B2B customers, particularly through digital commerce via online retailers and your site directly. You could also use the existing B2B marketplace, an external sales channel where a third party connects you to your customers. The options and combinations that will work best depend on your business’s unique needs.
Boost B2B sales during slow seasons with Skynamo
A winning strategy isn’t about hoping economic downturns never happen. Instead, prepare your business to withstand such events. With adequate planning, you can use off-seasons to nurture long-term relationships with customers and cater to their needs in different ways.
Doing this requires adequate data collection and an embrace of modern field sales CRM tools.
This can be daunting, but Skynamo makes it easy.
Give sales reps the digital edge they need
Your sales team will function more efficiently than ever with Skynamo’s mobile sales app.
It tracks vital data, including customers visited, routes taken, and time spent with customers.
In addition, it simplifies the process of capturing orders and making notes. With this data at their fingertips, your sales team is better prepared to cater to customers.
Skynamo’s app makes customer relationship management easier for both sales reps in the field and sales managers at the office. Contact Skynamo today, and let’s discuss how we can put your business on track for long-term growth.
