B2B companies are losing traction quickly relative to their B2C competitors. It is becoming increasingly clear that digitization needs to come to the forefront for these companies to advance ahead of their competition. The days of only considering digitization for back office efficiency are long behind us.
For a company to make strides in the current highly competitive markets and beyond, it must adopt strategies to innovate and advance in the digital marketplace. Join us in exploring this approach to expanding a company’s digital footprint and subsequently increasing revenue.
- What is my Digital Footprint?
- Understanding Digital Footprint Strategy
- Digital Is The New Normal For B2B
- How Can Tizbi Help?
What is my Digital Footprint?
The term digital footprint is often thrown around however what does it mean? In the context of business, a company’s digital footprint is its online presence. This may be limited to a company’s website and can expand to such things as social media posts, article publications, and even virtual interactions with other companies.
In the grand scheme of things, a company’s digital footprint may be more impactful than one realizes as the world and modern business become more and more digital. It is important to ensure that a company’s digital message is consistent across platforms. Also, companies making an effort to remain digitally relevant are more likely to gain attention to companies left outside the web of connection.
In many ways, harnessing a company’s digital footprint means not being left behind and left out of future action. This may be especially important in the context of B2B businesses attempting to maintain professional connections. It is vital to stay relevant as industry partners evolve and embrace technological solutions.
Even industries with deep roots in tradition are advancing technology. Take for example the food manufacturing industry embracing advanced technology like smart devices and digital connectivity.
Understanding Digital Footprint Strategy
Results of a study by McKinsey & Company back this theory with real data. In their study of 200 B2C and B2B companies, they found B2B companies that adopted digital strategies outperformed other B2B companies by 15 percent. What is the secret behind these companies and their digital strategy? They all leverage six core practices to increase their overall performance.
- Strategic Commitment to Digital – Companies cannot only say that want digitization; they must back these words with true actions. Staffing, technology advancements, capital collateral, etc. are all critical in defining your company's strategic compass to advance in the digital era.
- Strong Cross Channel Integration – Understanding your customer and user base is crucial to any and all businesses regardless of the industry. Providing ways for customers and users to interact both online and offline increases efficiency and market share. It also allows companies to provide high levels of customer service and anticipate customer/user responses.
- Data! Data! Data! – Irrespective of the type of industry your company is in, every company captures data. It's just a matter of what you are actually doing with the data collected. Using data analytics to determine customer success rates, employ better sales methodologies, and enhance back office efficiency are only the tip of the iceberg. Companies that want to leap ahead of their competition work tirelessly at analyzing data and changing their course accordingly.
- Simplicity from Front-end to Back-end Processing – Leveraging the interconnection of systems upstream and downstream not only drives operational efficiency but can also be a clear indicator of ways the business can grow revenue potential. Sales teams that can view data holistically have a better comprehension of how buyers behave and can use this information to predict who will buy what product and when.
- Take Risks with Development – It is no secret that companies who innovate early and often, tend to advance past their competition by leaps and bounds. The McKinsey and Company study found that one third of the B2B companies studied take over a year to move a digital initiative from concept to execution. All the while, their competitors who are willing to take risks are outperforming them. Employing a culture of agility with a foundation based upon innovation, research/development, and rapid experimentation provides the catapult necessary to edge out the competition.
- Meaningful Metrics – Getting to the heart of metrics by determining what is truly important for measuring success and how to course correct based on the metrics provided are driving factors to understanding the impact digitization has on your company.
With that being said, B2B companies need to strategically plan their digital road-map with careful consideration to taking on excess changes that could be detrimental to their longevity. Changes always have a ripple effect regardless of the intent. Creating a balance based upon an understanding of the overarching consequences of too little digitization and too much change will provide the foundation to your companies growth.
Digital Is The New Normal For B2B
It may not come as any surprise but since global hardships began in 2020, 96% of B2B companies have embraced digital practice in order to offer remote and contactless business models.
However, the main point to stress is that embracing the digital is more than just about taking preventative measures against threats. There are many innovative tools that can aid B2B companies in growth and operations such as AI, VR, and other smart technologies. According to studies 30% of B2B company growth can be attributed to such developments, driving more sales, greater customer satisfaction, and smoother internal operations.
How Digitization Improves B2B Sales: A larger digital footprint can affect your B2B business in several ways.
A company can increase its sales by 10-20% when it embraces technology and expands its digital footprint.
How Technology Improves B2B Service: Advanced tech enables companies to fix issues preemptively and smooth out the customer journey.
The increase in digital tools will only grow more in coming years as companies adopt tech to be the new normal.
How Can Tizbi Help?
Tizbi’s arsenal is fully equipped to help your B2B company expand its digital footprint and increase revenue. Whether you are looking to create a website, an app, or API implementation we can help your company achieve these goals.
Contact us to jumpstart your software development project today and expand your company’s digital footprint.
