Adapting to Change: Blending B2B Engagement Methods
Back in the days when WIFI and Laptops weren’t a thing, we actually had to leave the office to meet people to prospect, build relationships and win customers.
This was a hard slog, and often required long hours, expense reports for dinners, sports hospitality events and hefty travel expenses for the business.
When Digital Marketing and tools like WebEx started to shift B2B engagement, buyers were no longer having to solely rely on face-to-face meetings or phone calls to get the information they needed. Instead, buyers switched to digital content, company websites, online forums, and search engines to do their own research. Email marketing started to gain traction, giving companies a way to reach lots of prospects at the same time without having to leave the office. This shift meant sales teams had to adjust, as buyers were more informed and less dependent on in-person meetings. It was the beginning of a big change in how B2B relationships were built, less about handshakes and more about being visible and providing helpful information, online.
Over the last few years, the art of prospecting and customer acquisition has changed dramatically. Driven by the pandemic, technology advancements, and evolving buyer expectations, we’re now blending the best of traditional face-to-face interactions with the efficiency and reach of digital tools.
B2B prospecting was all about relationship building, deals were started and closed at trade shows, golf courses, or large conferences. These face-to-face encounters weren’t just about product pitches, they enabled deeper connections, where body language, shared experiences, and spontaneous conversations played a pivotal role. Buyers also valued the ability to meet their potential suppliers in person, assess their credibility, and discuss their needs without distractions.
Then, everything changed. Marketers were able to guide buyers through an exploratory journey, giving the buyer the lead in when to engage with a sales person.
Businesses suddenly had the ability to track behaviours and interested and shape their content accordingly. Marketers were able to measure progress and success to create a predictable model to support sales in pipeline forecasting. More tools were launched to support Go-To-Market teams in their digital approach and the need for face to face meetings reduced and was replaced with Zoom meetings, webinars and online events.
Despite this, there was still a need and a desire to meet in person to solidify partnerships, build long-term relationships and win important deals.
However, at the start of 2020, the pandemic forced us indoors and online, and networking events were swapped for Zoom calls. Trade shows turned into webinars and online trade shows. Sales pitches became virtual demos. After some adjustments, many businesses thrived in this new approach, adapting their prospecting efforts to meet buyers online, and in their homes.
Digital prospecting offers distinct advantages:
Scalability: A single online event could reach hundreds, even thousands, of prospects globally.
Efficiency: Virtual demos eliminated travel costs and time, allowing businesses to engage more leads in less time.
Analytics: Tools like CRM integrations and event platforms provided valuable insights into buyer engagement, helping sales teams focus on high-intent prospects.
After the pandemic, Zoom fatigue along with the desperate need to get back to normal business practices, led to a resurgence of in-person events but the shift in buyer’s behaviours has meant the need for a digital-first approach for Go-To-Market teams.
Now hybrid strategies are the way forward with companies are combining the best of both worlds, leveraging digital tools for scalability and efficiency and reinvesting in face-to-face engagements to create stronger connections with customers and partners.
What’s different this time?
Smarter In-Person Events: Instead of large-scale, expensive and low conversion events such as industry trade shows, many marketing leaders are choosing targeted, smaller events where meaningful conversations can take place such as executive roundtables, exclusive customer appreciation dinners, or targeted workshops.
Data-Informed Networking: Digital tactics like email campaigns, LinkedIn interactions, and CRM data are now guiding in-person engagements. Salespeople have more information available to them so they can arrive at meetings armed with insights about a prospect’s needs, making every conversation more relevant and providing a much more pleasant experience for buyers.
Hybrid Experiences: Events now blend physical and digital components. For example, a live product demo at a conference might also be streamed online, ensuring no prospect is left out or having to book online and go through a discovery call before getting to see an overview.
One thing is certain in business, change is a constant and Marketers and Sales Leaders need to constantly adapt to meet buyers’ needs.
Here are a few takeaways for B2B teams navigating this new era:
Meet buyers where they are: Some buyers still prefer digital interactions, especially for initial research or smaller purchases. Others prefer the personal touch of face-to-face meetings for complex solutions. Offer both options.
Invest in relationships, not transactions: Whilst digital tools are essential, they should complement but not replace human interaction. Even in a hybrid world, buyer’s buy from people and trust remains a core component of business.
Be flexible: The route to growth isn’t a scientific calculation, although you can track and measure trends, every buyer is different and it’s important to remember this when trying to push them down a structured purchasing path. Give them options for communication, journey stages and order of information, for example, if they ask for pricing at the beginning, don’t make them go through 3 different discovery and demo meetings before sharing an average deal size for a comparative company.
As AI practices emerge as the next big thing, and digital engagement remains essential for conducting business, the need for human interaction will always be needed, whether before the sale or post-purchase.
