Digitization in marketing and sales: Ten success parameters
Digitization in marketing and sales has presented many companies with major challenges, and not just since the Corona pandemic. A new book lists ten success parameters for how digitization can open up new potential in marketing.
Used in a targeted manner, digitization increases market presence and reach, automates prospect and customer processes, relieves sales of administrative tasks, and supports them with machine learning components so that companies can focus on the most promising customers and projects. However, a haphazard stringing together of digital measures will not lead to success. In order to take advantage of the opportunities of digitalization in marketing and sales, companies should develop a target-oriented strategy. strike2 GmbH provides companies with ten success parameters to master the digital transformation.
Ten success parameters for digitization in marketing and sales
- Note the Environmental parametersthat can influence your digital strategy. Hardly any company was prepared for Corona, although many studies have long warned of a possible pandemic. Digitalization is producing many toxic business models and endangering classic job profiles.
- Digitalization in marketing and sales is Not a pure IT project. IT is needed in sub-areas, but the strategy and the concept play a much more important role. Only after the strategy process can you make a meaningful selection of systems and tools.
- Develop Empathy for your customers and for your employees. The former have already changed. Understand how they move along their customer journey differently than before and what they expect from you, otherwise you won't reach them and your measures will come to nothing. Put your customers truly and sustainably at the center of your business strategy. In addition, the digital transformation also changes the strategy, measures and methods for your employees. This is a change process for many of your employees. Accompany this change. Empathy and Communication are indispensable for this.
- Define Targets for digital transformation. Driving digitization is not a goal. It entails a bundle of measures that help you achieve your goals.
- Don't think in terms of individual measures ("We'll do something quick from the Internet"), channels ("We're on Facebook now, too, because it's modern and everyone's doing it."), or formats ("We really need to do a video."). Orchestrate Your measures and content and give each element a Task and a Destination.
- Think you and all your employees in Customer processes and not in silos. Your customers don't care whether they're in marketing or sales support. They want your full attention and the best possible support.
- Start with a pilot project, but keep the Scaling in view. In the start-up phase, you can make many unnoticed mistakes that produce unnecessary effort and cost efficiency in the roll-out. In the pilot project, focus not only on initial results, but also on the "framework" that you can use for scaling.
- Stop thinking in terms of system monoliths and think in terms of Data, Functions and Processes. This is the only way to integrate and automate data across all systems.
- Allow yourself and your team to make mistakes. No company can implement digital transformation optimally in the first step. Tolerate them, but be sure to learn from them. Because you learn from mistakes for the future. But only if you live and promote this. A Error culture is part of the Digital strategy.
- Start now. Build a purposeful strategy first, but then start your transformation in your marketing and sales immediately. Digitalization will not go away. So you'd better be a pioneer and actively shape your digital transformation - it's worth it.
Book by Norbert Schuster "Digitalization in marketing and sales"
The list of these success parameters is an extract from the new book "Digitalization in Marketing and Sales - Developing Strategies and Potentials of Digitalization for More Sales", published by Haufe-Verlag. Norbert Schuster, the founder and owner of strike2 GmbH, has presented his sixth book on topics of digitalization in marketing and sales. After five books that predominantly addressed those responsible for marketing and sales, he now addresses the management level in his new work. In an entertaining and practical way, he introduces the potential of digital transformation in marketing and sales to the executive suite - and in a completely different way than is usually the case with other specialist books.
Automate processes in marketing and sales
The focus of the book shows the possibilities to automate processes in marketing and sales along the customer journey. It describes the hallmarks of digitization, challenges, and the changes that automation brings. In particular, Schuster highlights the trends that companies should keep in mind and explains how changing customer behavior has changed the tasks and roles in marketing and sales. As a concrete aid for the new digital sales process, Schuster presents a strategy canvas model that supports companies in mastering these challenges and optimally activating the potential of digitalization. He explains why people often make the same mistakes when looking for a new life partner and new orders. Once the reader has learned about the so-called "ego-posting" and "granny syndrome" in the book, he will immediately recognize and avoid these mistakes in his sales practice. And he will understand how important it is in the digital marketing process to build empathy for customers and to use "deep buyer persona" profiles with behavioral preferences for this purpose.
More information: strike2 GmbH
