Selling organisations need a customer-centric approach if they are going to thrive in an ecosystem where the buyer holds all the cards.

Conventional wisdom only counts for something if the established way of doing things remains the smartest. When it comes to revenue growth in the enterprise there is growing evidence that the established go-to-market strategy no longer counts as the wisest choice. That’s why the stratified channel strategy – conventional wisdom in the worlds of sales and marketing – needs to end. No longer will there be an unnatural divide between sales, marketing and digital. Instead, all three must align to serve a buyer journey characterised by new business and renewals.

Why the change? The customer, of course. We’ve known for a while that 57% of buyers’ decisions are made even before they come into contact with sales. Add in the fact that, according to McKinsey, around 85% of B2B customers would rather renew online, not even engaging with sales, and there is a body of evidence – including from our own Customer Buying Index – that behaviours are changing.

The five ways the shape of selling to enterprise customers is about to change:

1)    It won’t be called marketing.
2)    It will be customer and buyer-focused, not brand, sales or product-focused.
3)    It will blend automation, data and human insight.
4)    It will be holistic, multi-channel and multi-tactic.
5)    It will be deeply personalised, real-time and relatable.