In a nutshell:
- Digital sales strategy sounds like a software stack—but it’s first and foremost a strategic decision about channels, message hierarchy, and tooling.
- Putting tools before strategy is a waste of budget.
- We’ll show you the right step-by-step plan and which digital sales components really work for SMEs.
As demand for B2B and B2C products increasingly shifts online, companies must develop a digital sales strategy to meet their customers’ needs.
In this article, we explain how you can build such a strategy and how to turn it into a concept and a concrete implementation plan. We’ll also reveal the different types of sales strategies and how you can successfully implement them.
What is a digital sales strategy?
The fact is: your customers would rather turn to the competition than buy from you if your products are hard to access or only available through roundabout means. To prevent this, you need a solid digital sales strategy that helps your company remain competitive in the market.
This strategy can help you achieve your sales goals more efficiently using modern tools. To develop the right digital sales strategy, you must first analyze your customers and processes. You can then select the necessary digital measures and tools and define your sales strategy.
Three sales options you should know about
To achieve your sales goals, B2B and B2C companies can draw on various options. These include, among others, sales strategies, types, and variants that are tailored to the respective sales channels and competencies. When considering which sales options are available, a distinction can be made between the following:
- Direct sales through field sales representatives, telemarketing, retail stores, point-of-sale locations, and mail-order businesses.
- Indirect sales through sales representatives, supermarkets, wholesalers and retailers, specialty stores, as well as department stores and mail-order companies.
- Digital sales such as online stores and sales platforms.
| Point of Sale (POS) – DefinitionPoint of Sale (POS) is a term used to describe a location where a transaction takes place between a customer and a business. It is a place where goods or services are purchased and paid for. POS systems enable companies to collect customer information, track transactions, increase sales, and improve customer satisfaction. |
What sales strategies are there?
1. Sales Enablement Strategy
This strategy focuses on equipping your sales team with information and tools so they can effectively implement the sales strategy. If your sales team knows exactly which customer groups have specific needs and which of your products they require, then your sales team is “enabled.”
With this digital sales strategy, interfaces with other departments are crucial so that your sales reps receive all necessary information—this could include, for example, articles from the company blog that help a customer make a purchasing decision.
2. Multi- and Omnichannel Strategy
Multichannel focuses on establishing new sales channels. Omnichannel actually links these channels together. Your customers can, for example, learn about a product during a webinar, read an application post on the blog, speak with a sales representative via video call, and then configure and order the product in the online store.
Or they might see a product on Instagram and go directly from there to your store, where they can conveniently purchase the product. For this to work, you need software that consolidates data from all channels. This creates a seamless customer journey.
3. Automation in Sales
Digital sales thrive on data. This strategy involves using that data to automate the digital sales process as much as possible. A data-driven approach can be helpful if you have a team that’s highly tech-savvy and you want to scale your business.
Tools like CRM or ERP software can help you automate many sales processes and make your sales operations more efficient. Email templates or the structured entry of customer data give your team more time for sales conversations.
5 reasons why you need a digital sales strategy:
- Digital strategies are an effective way to market services and products more easily and attract new customers.
- You become more visible and enable your customers to shop with you 24/7.
- By automating workflows, you enable your team to focus on core tasks, as more time is freed up for what matters most.
- When your sales plan is digitized and your team has more time, customers benefit: service quality improves, leading to a more positive experience for them.
- You can measure the success of your digital sales and use that data to determine which adjustments you need to make to boost your revenue growth. This way, you can quickly identify the most effective levers.
What are the goals of a digital sales strategy?
An effective B2B sales strategy is based on a comprehensive understanding of the market, the competition, and your own company. Six key factors are crucial for building a B2B sales strategy:
- Target Audience & Customer Relationships
- Competitive landscape & unique selling proposition
- Offering and pricing policy
- Sales channels & processes
- Sales
- Communication
| Definition of Unique Selling Proposition: The unique selling proposition (USP) is a distinctive feature of a product or service that sets it apart from others and motivates customers to choose that product or service. It is intended to help a company stand out from the competition and ensure that customers view the company and its products or services as particularly valuable. |
It is important that the customer experience is at the heart of your new sales strategy. In a fast-paced world where people have less time, they want to find the best offer with the best value for money. To be satisfied, they expect to receive first-class service, regardless of business hours.
McKinsey has found that 95 percent of B2B decision-makers intend to use digital self-service options to make their purchases in the future. Furthermore, 70 percent of respondents believe that digital sales are at least as efficient as conventional sales models.
This insight is not only relevant in the B2C sector but is also increasingly being applied in the business world. To support this assessment, McKinsey surveyed 3,600 B2B decision-makers worldwide during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When planning your digital sales transformation, it is important to provide a positive experience for customers in both the B2C and B2B sectors. To achieve this, you should make every touchpoint as pleasant and straightforward as possible.
These goals of your sales strategy concept apply, among other things, to
- the website
- the online store
- social media channels
- other contact channels such as newsletters or email
- apps, and
- blogs.
What are the differences between B2B and B2C in this context?
The biggest difference between B2B and B2C lies in the way companies implement their digital sales strategies. B2C companies pursue a low-threshold B2C sales strategy aimed at a large number of customers and seeking cost-effective ways to generate sales, while B2B companies pursue a higher-value, personalized B2B sales strategy that focuses more on the specific needs of each customer.
B2C companies often use simple search-based technologies to reach customers, while B2B companies employ a wide range of digital tools to build and maintain close relationships with their customers.
These include social media and content marketing strategies to reach a broad audience, while B2B companies tend to rely more on email marketing and lead generation.
Based on your research, you can develop a suitable B2B sales strategy for your company. Various approaches to implementing digital transformation in sales can help you with this.
Developing a Sales Strategy: What’s Important for an Effective Sales Plan?
Before you can fully satisfy your customers, you first need to know who they actually are (buyer personas) and what they’re looking for. Fortunately, much of this knowledge already exists within your company.
You should therefore involve colleagues from marketing, customer service, product management, and other departments when developing your sales strategy.
Together, you can analyze the following questions:
- Who are your customers?
- How can your customers find your products?
- What questions and feedback do your customers have?
- What don’t they like?
- Where do your customers usually get information about services and products?
- What is the easiest way to reach them?
As part of a SWOT analysis, you should also address these questions:
- What are your company’s strengths?
- What challenges do your products solve for your customers?
- What is the best way to communicate your USPs through digital channels?
- What relevant channels exist today and in the future?
- How is the market and your competition evolving?
- What sales processes has your sales team been using so far, and what needs to change to reach new target customers?
| SWOT Analysis – Definition SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It is a method used to assess the internal strengths and weaknesses of a company or organization, as well as external opportunities and risks. This analysis is frequently used to give companies better insight into their current market position and to help them develop strategies to improve their competitiveness. |
Conclusion – Have Waterproof Web Wizard Develop Your Digital Sales Strategy
We’ve introduced you to the development of a digital sales strategy here. Maybe you’re ready to get started right away. Or perhaps you’re still unsure exactly where to begin. No problem!
At Waterproof Web Wizard, we work with a variety of companies across diverse industries and can adapt flexibly to your needs—including your digital sales strategy. By the way: We’re an agency that listens to what you need first before imposing a solution on you.
Your goals are our top priority, which is why we discuss all decisions with you and your team first. This way, we can succeed together. Whether it’s an online store or the needs of offline customers: if there’s no connection between the two, nothing can really work well.
Need help with lead generation? We at Waterproof Web Wizard are happy to support you. Be sure to read our client testimonials beforehand to get a better sense of who we are. Beyond that, we’re specialists in SEO strategies, which are a crucial part of marketing. Here are the areas we cover:
- Brand Concept
- Search Engine Optimization – SEO
- Local SEO
- Technical SEO
- SEO Audit
Feel free to contact us: You can reach us by phone at +49 751 95 89 92 17 or send us a message via our contact form.