On a recent Ad Victoriam “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, we invited Refine Labs CEO Chris Walker to talk about the state of B2B marketing today. 

Chris and his team help B2B companies change how they think about measuring and executing marketing so they can stop worrying about lead volume and start generating revenue.

In addition to his CEO duties at Refine Labs, Chris also hosts Revenue Vitals podcast, which mixes live Q and A and chats with some of today’s top B2B leaders to share some tangible advice and tactics. 

Here is just a taste of the many B2B marketing topics we covered with Chris on the podcast.

Common Mistakes B2B Marketers Making Today

On this subject, Chris remarked, “I think basically you can categorize the challenges that B2B marketers face today into three core buckets. You have mindset, you have metrics and measurement, and you have execution. And my strong belief after advising and working with more than 200 high-growth B2B companies in the past four years is that the actual issues start at mindset, then get driven down to measurement, and then negatively impact execution. And so the actual way to solve this is not to have your B2B marketer try and run their ads better or make a better piece of content. You actually, as executives and business leaders, need to look at this at a much higher level and think, ‘What is the actual mindset of marketing?’”

Chris expounded, “The overall mindset inside of B2B companies is that marketing is a servant to sales. Marketing’s job is to get leads or other types of signals through MQL scores, buying lists, scanning trade show booths, running content syndication to get “leads,” contacts at an account so that their sales team can try to sell to people. And the fundamental shift in the mindset has to be our job for marketing inside of our company is to drive buying processes at scale independently with all of our target accounts all the time, to create an ecosystem with all of our target accounts so that they’re learning, progressing, understanding the business problems inside of their own business, what the metrics should look at, what the solutions could be, what people try that fail. And you need all of the key people inside of all your target accounts to be getting that information all the time.”

Tips for a Strong Digital Presence

We were curious as to Chris’ thoughts on the amount of effort companies are putting into their online presences today. Here’s what he told us:

“A lot of companies over-prioritize their websites. They build a ton of website pages and they spend a lot of time doing SEO content, which was the “best practice strategy” in the early to mid-2010s popularized by HubSpot and other vendors.

“And when those strategies were developed and popularized, social media was in its infancy. Facebook was only used by college kids. A company like Pepsi didn’t have a Facebook page when this stuff was happening. And the progression of what’s happened with social networks, private communities, a lot of places like this over the past 10 years is that it’s basically how people use the internet and get information today through social networks. And so if you are not present in these key places where your buyers log in multiple times a day, some people 10-20 times a day log in to LinkedIn to consume content and collaborate, if you’re not there, then you’re missing out on potential business.”

Measuring B2B Campaign Success

Many B2B marketing teams today struggle with measuring a campaign’s success, and so we asked Chris to talk about what marketers should be paying attention to today.

“Depends what the goal of the campaign is,” Chris remarked. “In a high-intent search, you sell FP&A software and there’s a buyer in Google Search that’s searching FP&A software and you’re going to buy that keyword, you should be measuring it on dollars of pipeline created versus dollars of ad dollars spent. You should have a ratio of pipeline dollars per ad dollar. And then eventually, if you go at it long enough, you should be able to get to a close one revenue over at ad spend dollar and just get ROAS. So for demand capture type of stuff, you should be measuring ROAS and cost of acquisition.

“And then when you think about demand creation, this is where a lot of B2B companies get stuck. And I’m sure B2C companies get stuck on it too because everybody’s looking for the attachment to revenue. And the core thing about demand creation, especially inside of dark social channels today, is that the measurement is very difficult to accomplish with the current measurement methodologies and technologies that are used in companies.”

Skills B2B Marketers Need Today

Oh, sure, Chris could have just given some blanket advice here on the skills today’s B2B marketers need, but he went a little deeper.

“It really depends on what your goal is,” he acknowledged. “If you want to be a senior marketing manager, make $120K, and take care of your family and have all the weekends, you’re going to have a different plan than the person that wants to be the CEO of a $100 million run rate company.

“But some blanket things that I think would make marketers far more effective at any level and get increasingly important as your level goes up, business acumen and financial basics. You have to be able to read a P&L. You have to understand how to calculate the cost of acquisition. You need to understand key metrics that your finance team is looking at every day, every month, every quarter. Getting primary market research directly from customers in qualitative and quantitative formats. Every marketer should be doing this, not just the product marketing team. So all marketers should be engaging with customers, understanding them, coming up with perspectives on overall strategy and tactics. I’d be hard-pressed not to say that if you are a marketer today and you don’t create content for yourself or your business, then you’re really missing out. The number one driver of business results today is content that gets put in social networks.”

There were a lot more B2B marketing topics we talked about with Chris during the podcast, including his thoughts on misconceptions about B2B marketing, we talked deeper about the relationship of B2B marketing and social media, and how B2B companies can better target their ideal customers. Listen to the entire podcast here. 

Is your business in need of a B2B solution? No worries, because the AdVic® B2B Commerce team has the skills and expertise needed to get your branded storefront up and running quickly so you can drive new revenue. Let’s explore your options and start creating your roadmap to success today!

Related Resources:

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of (Podcast)
B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of – Part 1 (Blog)
B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of – Part 2 (Blog)

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The post Common B2B Marketing Mistakes & Tips with Chris Walker appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

B2B companies often have long sales cycles, complex decision-making processes, and multiple stakeholders. Therefore, it’s important for B2B companies to follow certain best practices to maximize their chances of success. Here are 10 best marketing practices that B2B companies should follow.

1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile: B2B companies should have a clear understanding of their target audience. This includes identifying the industries, company size, job titles, and other relevant factors that define their ideal customer. This helps in creating more effective marketing strategies and sales outreach.

2. Develop a Strong Brand Identity: A strong brand identity helps B2B companies stand out in a crowded market. It’s important to develop a consistent brand message across all channels, including website, social media, and sales collateral.

3. Create Valuable Content: B2B buyers are looking for information and insights that can help them make informed decisions. Therefore, B2B companies should create high-quality, informative content that addresses the pain points and challenges of their target audience. Create content that has value to your audience, minimizing “selling” content.

4. Measure and Analyze Results: Finally, B2B companies should measure and analyze the results of their marketing and sales efforts. This allows them to identify what’s working and what’s not, and make adjustments to improve their strategies over time. Key metrics to track include website traffic, conversion rates, customer acquisition cost, and customer lifetime value.

5. Leverage Social Media: Social media is an effective tool for B2B companies to reach and engage with their target audience. LinkedIn is particularly effective for B2B marketing, but other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can also be used to build brand awareness and drive traffic to the company’s website. Maximize your social posting with employee engagement. Encouraging employees and leadership to post independently and share company posts maximizes exposure and is shown to increase sales.

6. Embrace Account-Based Marketing (ABM): ABM is a targeted approach that focuses on a specific set of accounts that are most likely to become customers. ABM allows B2B companies to personalize their messaging and outreach to each account, which can lead to higher conversion rates and stronger customer relationships.

7. Use Marketing Automation: Marketing automation tools such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Management (formerly Pardot) can help B2B companies streamline their marketing efforts and automate repetitive tasks. This allows marketing teams to focus on higher-level tasks such as content creation, strategy, and analysis.

8. Focus on Customer Experience: B2B companies should focus on providing a seamless and positive customer experience. This includes everything from website design to customer service to post-sale support. A positive customer experience can lead to repeat business and referrals.

9. Emphasize the Value Proposition: B2B buyers are looking for solutions that will help them solve their problems and achieve their goals. Therefore, B2B companies should focus on emphasizing the value of their product or service and how it can benefit the customer.

10. Prioritize Sales Enablement: Sales enablement refers to providing sales teams with the tools, training, and resources they need to be successful. B2B companies should invest in sales enablement programs to ensure that their sales teams are equipped to sell effectively.

Summary

Initiating these 10 best practices can go a long way toward helping B2B companies improve their marketing and sales efforts, build stronger customer relationships, and drive business growth. By focusing on their target audience, creating valuable content, leveraging social media, embracing Account Based Marketing (ABM), using marketing automation, prioritizing customer experience, emphasizing the value proposition, investing in sales enablement, and measuring and analyzing results, B2B companies can achieve success in a competitive marketplace.

Need to jump-start your B2B initiatives? Have a look at how quickly you can get in the game with AdVic’s B2B Commerce Accelerator.

How Can AdVic Help?

Ad Vic’s dedicated B2B Commerce team is ready to apply their knowledge and passion to your challenges. Whether you are migrating from a legacy eCommerce solution or just starting to dip your toe into the B2B eCommerce world, our U.S.-based team, who works on your hours,  has the skills and expertise needed to get your branded storefront up and running quickly so you can drive new revenue. Reach out and talk to us today!

Related Resources:

B2B Customer Success Story
B2B Commerce Accelerator
B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of

Subscribe to the AdVic Salesforce Blog on Feedly:

The post 10 Best Marketing Practices B2B Companies Should Follow appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

In today’s ever-changing digital age, customers are more empowered than ever before. They have access to a wealth of information and can make informed decisions about their purchases. This shift in consumer behavior has led to the rise of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) companies that sell directly to consumers without involving any middlemen. While D2C companies have been successful in many industries, they have yet to make significant inroads in the B2B space. However, with changing customer expectations and increased competition, B2B companies are beginning to realize the need for a D2C experience. In this article, we will explore how B2B companies can provide a D2C experience.

Balancing B2B and D2C Strategies

Before we jump into how B2B companies can provide a D2C experience, it’s essential to understand what it means. A D2C experience is all about providing a seamless customer experience from discovery through purchase and beyond. It involves removing barriers between the customer and the product while also delivering personalized engagement at every touchpoint.

While this may seem straightforward, implementing a D2C strategy isn’t as simple as it sounds for B2B companies. Unlike D2C businesses that deal with individual customers who often make quick decisions based on emotions or impulse purchases, B2B clients are often representatives of an organization that follows strict purchasing procedures.

Moreover, many B2B sellers rely on distributors for sales and distribution channels. These distributors often represent multiple brands and might not be as invested in promoting one particular brand over another.

To implement a successful D2C strategy, a balance needs to be struck between traditional B2B sales channels and new direct-to-consumer models that offer customers greater control over their purchasing decisions.

Creating Unique Product Experiences

One of the key ways B2B’s can provide successful D2C experiences is by creating unique product experiences. The products need to cater to specific market segments rather than being generic enough to appeal to everyone.

For instance, if your business sells software solutions targeting small businesses, your website should highlight features catered towards those specific demographics – such as pricing plans suited towards small and midsize business (SMB) budgets or integrations with commonly used tools such as Salesforce CRM software.

Personalization Through Data

Personalization is crucial when creating engaging experiences for customers; incorporating data-driven insights adds an extra layer of personalization that can help businesses stand out from their competitors.

For instance, offering personalized recommendations based on past purchase history or search queries enhances customer experiences by catering directly to their preferences rather than relying on generic marketing tactics.

Efficient Order Management

Providing customers with efficient order management capabilities is another critical aspect of delivering an effective e-commerce experience that aligns with the principles of direct-to-consumer marketing. Customers expect real-time updates on order status so they can track progress at every stage of the buying journey.

Therefore, businesses must invest in robust order management solutions that can handle complex orders efficiently while addressing issues such as cancellations or refunds quickly.

Enhanced Customer Support

Customer support plays a crucial role in delivering satisfactory post-purchase experiences. Businesses must invest in dedicated support teams equipped with relevant training so they can address customer concerns promptly while offering resolutions aligned with company policies.

Moreover, enabling self-service options such as chatbots or knowledge bases empowers customers so they don’t always have to rely on contacting support representatives.

Summary

Direct-to-consumer strategies have become increasingly popular, especially among retailers because they create unique opportunities for building relationships with customers through customized offerings and streamlined interfaces. The same principles apply when it comes to providing great buyer experiences within the B2B space: Personalization/segmentation through data analysis-backed insights paired with efficient ordering processes and reliable post-sales support services will help differentiate you from competitors who lack these qualities.

Ad Vic’s dedicated B2B Commerce team is ready to apply their knowledge and passion to your challenges. Whether you are migrating from a legacy eCommerce solution,  just starting to dip your toe into the B2B eCommerce world, or want to explore direct-to-consumer options discussed in this article, our team has the skills and expertise needed to quickly devise a technology roadmap so you can drive new revenue. Reach out and talk to us today!

Related Resources:

B2B Customer Success Story
B2B Commerce Accelerator
B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of

Subscribe to the AdVic Salesforce Blog on Feedly:

The post How B2B Companies Can Provide a D2C Experience appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

For those who don’t know, AdVic’s extensive line of Accelerators are quick-start tools that advance the implementation or enhancement of your Salesforce® platform to equip and empower your team, customers, and partners in just weeks, not months. 

With our uniquely crafted solutions, based on industry best practices and thousands of successfully completed projects, your company will be able to quickly leverage Salesforce functionality, lower deployment costs with accelerating platform benefits, and gain out-of-the-box resolution – which can be customized to your needs – to top industry use cases. 

In Part 2 of this AdVic® Salesforce Blog series (read Part 1), we’re taking a look at a few of our various Accelerator offerings and how they can expedite the Salesforce solution you have been looking for. 

Salesforce Order Management Accelerator

Billions of people search and purchase products and services online. As a result, sellers desiring future growth need to be equipped with robust technology that enables them to scale. This is where Salesforce’s Order Management  (SOM) steps in. The SOM platform assists merchants in creating unique and pleasant shopping experiences for customers across all channels. Whether online, in-store, mobile, or social, SOM tracks, manages, and streamlines orders so the right product is delivered expeditiously and the right service is provided to the customer.

B2B Commerce Cloud Accelerator

Commerce Cloud displays your product catalog in a branded storefront and allows your customer base to place orders independently. Complex pricing models can be configured to match your current business rules and enable contractual agreement tracking for product entitlements and price points. Best of all, Ad Victoriam’s B2B Commerce Cloud Accelerator, an out-of-the-box package enables you to jump-start your B2B platform and start selling online in weeks.

More Information About Commerce Cloud Accelerator

Marketing Cloud Accelerator

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the platform for delivering relevant, personalized journeys across channels and devices — enabling marketers to deliver the right message at the right time throughout all phases of the relationship. Marketing Cloud includes integrated solutions for customer journey management, email, mobile, social, web personalization, advertising, content creation and management, and data analysis.

Why Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

• Unlock customer value with data-driven interactions that truly benefit your customer — and your business.
• Personalize every moment with real-time data across channels and teams.
• Automate engagement across email, web, mobile, and more.
• Optimize performance and spending with AI-driven analytics.

MuleSoft Ignite Accelerator

AdVic’s MuleSoft Ignite program connects your systems by laying the integration framework and enabling your integration to scale. Based on industry best practices, and many successfully completed integration projects, we’ve crafted Ignite to quickly advance your business and timeline to achieving a positive ROI.

MuleSoft Ignite Summary:

• Boxed in and rapid implementation program.
• Includes an integration between foundational systems.
• Allows for fast delivery and ROI with utilization of MuleSoft templates where applicable.
• Foundational deliverables for each offering, including solution architecture, technical specifications, business requirements documents, and data mappings

If you missed Part 1 of this AdVic Salesforce Blog series, you’ll learn about these additional AdVic Accelerators:

• Sales Cloud Accelerator
• Service Cloud Accelerator
• Service Cloud Accelerator + Data Migration
• Experience Cloud Accelerator

Why not start accelerating your progress today? Take advantage of AdVic’s Accelerator tools that not only expedite your progress but deliver the results you need cost-effectively. Schedule a meeting with us now!

Related Resources:

Expedite Salesforce Implementation with an Accelerator – Part 1
AdVic Accelerators: Products That Propel Your Salesforce Platform’s Value

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The post Expedite Salesforce Implementation with an Accelerator – Part 2 appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

The B2B marketing landscape is continuously evolving. The last two years saw a few unprecedented changes and trends in the B2B marketing ecosystem. What trends can we expect in 2023? On a recent Ad Victoriam “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, Paul Slack, founder and CEO of Vende Digital discussed sales and marketing, SEO, and social media trends B2B marketers should watch – and possibly embrace – this year. What follows are some of the highlights of that conversation.

Video is Still King 

“Video,” Paul remarked, “as a way of delivering information, is becoming more and more important. We’re seeing video consumption just on the rise and short video consumption being the biggest form of that. I think we can thank our short attention spans, and maybe TikTok for that, but we all want these short videos. And so, video worked well in 2022. I think it’s going to work extremely well in 2023.” 

From a sales perspective, Paul added, “Video is also a really important tool. So I think the sales reps that were able to send little video messages to their customers, that’s something that if you didn’t try in 2022, I’d recommend that you try in 2023. Think about all the emails that you’re getting, unsolicited emails and things like that. And then every now and then I’d get an email and it’s a little video from a person where they’ve analyzed my website or they’ve got a specific message related to me, and that catches my attention.”

Creating Personalized Content Hubs

Championing the creation of personalized content hubs, Paul shared, “I think the more that you can deliver a message, whether it’s on the sales side or on the marketing side, that makes that recipient of that information think to themselves, ‘Wow, that was for me. That person spent some time sending me this email, delivering me this message on social media,’ whatever the case may be.” 

He added, “And there’s so many tools out there today that can help us really hyper-personalize. And so one thing that I like to bring up is, these personalized content hubs. And I know a lot of businesses are taking advantage of those now, but even into 2023, if you can have a landing page on your website for each of your sales reps and have that be personalized, which you can do with marketing automation and tools like that to where when that visitor… The sales rep drops a link, ‘Hey, check out this content hub I’ve made that’s got all this great information to help you, Mr. Prospect.’ But when they land on it, through marketing automation and personalization, it can look like it’s a customized landing page, not just for the rep, but actually for the prospect.”

Your SEO Initiatives

With an eye toward shoring up SEO initiatives, Paul suggested, “If you did a good job in 2022 of making your website technically sound and loading fast, etc., in 2023 you really need to focus on establishing really awesome content that’s tied to your content pillars where you’re calling out your niche.”

Additionally, Paul said that B2B marketers need to think about when they’re building content for 2023, “We cannot write a blog or an article, or a webpage and hope that we’re going to rank well, because that’s a key phrase that’s important for us. We’ve got to write content that answers the query of the user. So Google’s really looking at, did that user click over to your website? Did they hit the back button and go to another page because they didn’t get their answer on your page? That’s going to have a big impact. So when you write content in 2023, make sure you’re answering the user intent. And then the last thing for SEO is, just make sure you’ve got multimedia on there. So for example, audio or video or stats, things like that, that are going to really help the user along the way.”

Leadership Leading the Social Media Messaging

A huge proponent of turning employees into ambassadors for your company on social media – speaking to their audiences directly – Paul suggested it start at the top. “I call it founder branding… Positioning the head of your company as the face of your company on social media, I think is going to be really helpful in 2023.” 

Lastly for social media in 2023, Paul added, ”If you haven’t thought about advertising, you absolutely need to, but think about it as a way of getting your best content in front of your ideal customers.”

Is your business in need of a B2B solution that might include migrating from a legacy eCommerce platform? No worries, because the AdVic B2B Commerce team has the skills and expertise needed to get your branded storefront up and running quickly so you can drive new revenue. Contact us today, we’re ready to chat!

Related Resources:

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of (Podcast)

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of – Part 1 (Blog)

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of – Part 2 (Blog)

Subscribe to the AdVic Salesforce Blog on Feedly:

The post Sales & Marketing, SEO and Social Media Tips for B2B Marketers appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

Are we really putting 2022 in our rearview mirror? Where did it go?

Well, there’s no looking back now, so let’s push forward with eyes wide open into what we hope will be an amazing 2023 for all! But before we do that, we wanted to take this opportunity to share the Top 22 Salesforce Blogs AdVic® published in 2022, ones that we got the most feedback from, and ones you may have missed.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year from all of us at Ad Victoriam Solutions!

#1. Highlights from the Salesforce Winter ‘23 Release

Salesforce® has once again packed their platform with exciting new features inside its Winter ‘23 Release, And as they always do, AdVic’s consultants have poured through every one of the new features in this release and have highlighted the ones they are most excited about.
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#2. 5 Common Questions Asked of Salesforce Partners

Through your research, you have found that Salesforce® products will work best for your organization. So, what’s next? It is time to look for a Salesforce Partner to implement (or modify) your technology. Here are five common questions Salesforce newbies (and vets, too) have asked AdVic.
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#3. Be the 1 of 8 Digital Transformations that Succeeds
Did you know that about one of eight digital transformations succeed? To be one of the successful ones, start by building a digital transformation strategic roadmap that includes obtaining buy-in from your stakeholders and the team.
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#4. AdVic’s Journey to be a Better Version of Ourselves
When we first embarked on our B Corp certification journey back in January of 2016, Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®) was less than two-years-old, employed eight employees and was still operating out of a combination of shared workspaces and our founder’s basement. Fast forward to February of 2022 and we’re now over 150 employees strong located in 18 states across six time zones, and we’ve re-certified as a B Corp and continue to scale both fast and responsibly.
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#5. How a Relationship Turned Into a Partnership
It’s no secret that fostering positive relationships with your customers out-of-the-gate can help to transform those customers into real brand supporters and long-term partners. Such is the case with AdVic and a recent high-tech customer that provides cloud-based business solutions to their customers.
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#6. The Seven Stages of a Sales Pipeline
Not to be confused with a sales funnel – which looks at the whole customer journey and the various stages a consumer will go through in their journey towards purchase – a sales pipeline looks at the different steps in the sales process. These seven are generally considered to be the “standard” stages for a business that follows a typical sales process.
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#7. What is B2B2C?
Is your organization B2B, B2C, or B2B2C? The way you interact with your clients, the way you define success, and the technology you use all tie into the business model that defines your company.
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#8. Storytelling with Data
Data is more than a trending topic. Today, data drives business solutions and tells a story about what is happening in your business. Whether manufacturers are using data to pinpoint defects or downtime in their machines, retailers are analyzing their new loyalty programs, or a healthcare provider is monitoring patient engagement, data tells a story.
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#9. AdVic Empowered Minority Football Coaches
As a small nonprofit, NCMFC relies heavily on advisors in the technology, marketing, legal, and finance worlds to enhance their business practices. When it was time to implement Salesforce for their organization, an advisor recommended AdVic as a partner. With excitement, we jumped onboard this pro bono project to integrate Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack into their organization.
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#10. Four Easy Ways to Get Involved and Make a Difference
At AdVic, we give every employee 40 hours of paid time-off to volunteer every year. We encourage them to get involved in their communities to give back, regardless of cause or organization. Here are four simple ways anyone — or a company – can get involved and give back.
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#11. Managed Services: How Does It Save Time & Money? When Do You Need It?
Simply put, Managed Services, and specifically a Managed Services Provider (MSP), handles the daily operations of your specialized technology applications so you and your teams can focus on driving revenue. But how do you know when it’s really time to enlist the services of an MSP before your day-to-day business is impacted?
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#12. Do You Need Sales Automation or An Upgrade?
From the top of the sales funnel to closing, the sales process has a lot of steps. In many cases sales begins with marketing initiating the first touching point. It could be socials, ads campaigns, or email marketing, and from there, prospects flow through the funnel hopefully landing in a closed deal. Here’s how sales automation increases productivity, accelerates the sales cycle, and increases revenue.
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#13. Equipment Manufacturer Replaces Legacy Systems and Thrives
Here’s how Residential Elevators is now seeing profound improvements with their new and improved CRM system. In the ever-evolving world of Salesforce®, their technology is continuously seeing updates, new features, and more functionality that enables their business to progress.
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#14. A Manufacturer’s Road to Success
The most successful digital transformations drive change from leadership to employees to provide customers with unforgettable experiences. They also require planning stages. Get our step-by-step “Guide to Success” for manufacturers.
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#15. Electrical Equipment Manufacturing Challenges and Growth
The electrical equipment sector of manufacturing is experiencing robust growth. According to Yahoo Finance, “The global electrical equipment market is expected to grow from $1,384.97 billion in 2021 to $1,540.25 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2%.” Because the manufacturing industry, specifically electrical, was hit so hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, they are working tirelessly to get back on track.
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#16. Talking Tech Trends with Salesforce Ben & AdVic
During a 2022 AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast – titled “Talking Tech Trends with Salesforce Ben” and featuring Salesforce Ben’s Ben McCarthy and AdVic President Brian Mize – we discussed top tech trends that may impact the industry and business practices in the near future.
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#17. ‘May the Fourth Volunteer With You’ Week a Huge Success at AdVic
After an inaugural volunteer week in 2019, and a two-year delay because of pandemic-related postponements, “May the Fourth Volunteer With You” week was back this year at AdVic. With three events at our headquarters just outside of Atlanta, and our remote employees participating in events across the country, our team came together to give back.
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#18. HexArmor’s Sales Director Talks About Sales Cloud
HexArmor‘s Director of Sales, Geno Lechuga, recently spoke on the AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast about how his team benefits from being able to see every interaction prospects and customers have with his business—regardless of department—using the CRM platform that connects his whole company. Here’s some highlights from that conversation.
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#19. The Best Features of Salesforce Sales Cloud
For those who don’t know, Salesforce Sales Cloud – often referred to as the World’s #1 CRM – provides a platform to manage end-to-end functioning of the sales department for companies. In this Salesforce Blog, we focus on some of the best features of Sales Cloud.
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#20. The Project That Became a Partnership
AdVic’s initial project with FLUX Pumps was to implement a necessary Salesforce Sales Cloud solution. From this, their sales cycle was cut in half. They were awarded efficiency, visibility, and automation with their introductory digital transformation. FLUX achieved great milestones that included doubled conversions, a 20% increase in revenue, and a way to nurture leads that turned into customers.
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#21. What You Need to Know About Slack
Slack and Salesforce® have spearheaded a newfound innovation in the way that employees communicate, connect and collaborate. From internal marketing teams to recruiters connecting with new talent, Slack offers unmatched flexibility that allows all parties to communicate swiftly with their instant messaging capabilities, or their built-in video and voice capabilities. Inside the blog, download AdVic’s informative no-form Slack infographic.
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#22. Top Brands Do This to Create an Effective Customer Experience
These days, customer experience has become more than a buzz phrase. No matter the industry or the brand, companies have come to the realization that they need to focus on being more proactive, as opposed to reactive, when it comes to engaging with their customers.
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Read More AdVic Salesforce Blogs 

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Not familiar with Salesforce B2B Commerce? Simply put, it’s a commerce solution that digitizes sales teams, allowing them to better serve customers across all interactions. 

According to a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Salesforce®, the latter’s B2B Commerce has helped companies achieve sales growth and increases in efficiencies, but also shows how businesses using it can: 

• Attain 278% return on investment (ROI) over three years.
• Earn payback in 13 months.
• Add 33% more revenue over three years.

11 Reasons to Consider a Salesforce B2B Commerce Solution

With a Salesforce B2B Commerce implementation, your teams can:

1. Scale Successfully: Launch custom and branded storefronts even faster with a connected ecosystem of implementation partners.

2. Innovate with Speed: Adapt to changing markets and customer needs by creating new business models on demand and making changes on the fly.

3. Connect with Ease: Seamlessly integrate your apps, data, and processes to get a 360-degree view of your customer.

4. Offer Simple Self-Service Online Buying: Give your customers the same easy, consumer-like shopping experiences they enjoy in their personal life — anytime, anywhere, on any device.

5. Lower Your Cost to Serve: Equip your customers with self-service tools and guided experiences, so you can reallocate both time and money to other growth opportunities.

6. Solve B2B Commerce Complexities: Simplify online buying with features specifically designed for B2B, including fast reorders, account hierarchies, contract pricing, custom catalogs, and more.

7. Empower Your Team to Sell More: Free up reps’ precious time by offering digital ordering, so they can focus on finding new accounts and building lasting relationships.

8. Unify Your Customer Journey: Connect every buyer touchpoint with a single source of truth powered by the world’s #1 CRM.

9. Tailor B2B Commerce: Make purchasing recommendations tailored to each customer in real time — no data scientist required.

10. Stay connected across every touchpoint: Make purchasing recommendations tailored to each customer in real time — no data scientist required… and maybe most important of all:

11. Keep customers coming back: Build customer loyalty faster and ensure repeat business with guided buying experiences that are fast, efficient, and personal.

Meet B2B Commerce Accelerator

Feel like you need to get into the eCommerce space – or upgrade your current platform ASAP? Did you know that AdVic’s B2B Commerce Accelerator – an out-of-the-box package – enables you to jump-start the platform and start selling online in weeks  – not months? It’s true! Watch the video below for more details. And if you would like a free demo, email Lynda Lewis. 

AdVic’s dedicated B2B Commerce team is ready to apply their knowledge and passion to your challenges. Whether you are migrating from a legacy eCommerce solution or just starting to dip your toe into the B2B eCommerce world, our team has the skills and expertise needed to get your branded storefront up and running quickly so you can drive new revenue. Reach out and talk to us today!

Related Resources:

B2B Customer Success Story

B2B Commerce Accelerator 

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of

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Is your organization B2B, B2C, or B2B2C? The way you interact with your clients, the way you define success, and the technology you use all tie into the business model that defines your company. 

How, why, and where your company purchases raw materials or the channels you use to market your products, all tie into your business model. More importantly, your customers are directly correlated to the business model. 

Business models are the blueprint for building a successful company. While the definition of a business model varies from company to company, along with the process, everyone can agree that they are necessary in order to thrive. At a glance, the terms may seem complex and complicated. To understand B2B2C, we’ll break each business model down into simple definitions and discuss the framework of them all. 

What’s B2B?

B2B is short for business to business. It is a business model where companies provide solutions and services to other businesses. B2B companies expand from across many industries. Some include high-tech, manufacturing, and online marketing places such as Alibaba or Amazon Business.

What’s B2C?

B2C is short for business to consumer. That means, businesses sell directly to their customers. Although B2C is traditionally seen as galleria shopping or eating at restaurants, marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon disrupt in-person shopping. These businesses enable consumers to shop from their personal devices often at a lower rate than in-person stores. 

What’s B2B2C?

B2B2C model includes both B2B with B2C, with eCommerce at the core. According to BigCommerce.com, “As the name implies, it’s a business model where Company 1 sells their product or service in partnership with Company 2 to an end-customer. Unlike when you white-label a product, the end-customer understands that they are buying a product or using a service from Company 1.” Uber Eats, for example, sells its delivery service to a restaurant in effort to sell its delivery service to customers. 

Marketing Initiatives

Of course, B2B, B2C, and B2B2C all differ in marketing strategies and sales processes, but they all have a common goal, to sell. Connecting with customers, building and maintaining relationships with customers (or partners) is key for all business models to be successful. 

B2B, B2C, and B2B2C marketing are all very unique, too. B2B’s marketing strategy objectives are to appeal to the challenges of decision-makers for their organization. It seeks to make their target’s company their customer rather than the individual themselves. 

B2C marketing targets individuals through their needs, wants, and interests. B2C marketing seeks to obtain the individuals they are marketing to, like their customers, by way of entertaining ads or  emotional tugging ads on a variety of channels. 

Things to Consider

Evolving into (or fine-tuning) a successful B2B2C company can be challenging. Most focus on having the right team in place to ensure your company is efficient and profitable, which is obviously vital. Equally important is the technology used to support these goals. One option to consider is Commerce Cloud by Salesforce®, a reliable, effective, and customizable eCommerce platform. With Commerce Cloud, both companies can collectively gather information, promote, and share insights on campaigns. It combines the framework of both B2B2C and targets consumers in a way that benefits their common customer – all while automating and streamlining processes to support and augment your team. 

AdVic’s dedicated B2B/B2C/B2B2C Commerce Team is ready to listen to your needs and learn your business processes to see if we are a good fit to help. If so, we’ll apply our knowledge and passion to help you drive revenue. Let’s devise a plan to kick-start your revenue today!

Related Resources: 

B2B Customer Experiences By People, Built For People

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of

The ABC’s of B2B Commerce

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Customer experience (CX) is not a new buzz phrase in the business world. The truth is, we’re actually hearing more and more about CX these days. And whether good or bad, customers remember interactions with your brand that, in the long-term, shape your business. 

A recent guest on the Ad Victoriam “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, customer and employees experience expert Megan Burns defined CX as, “How a person thinks and feels about their interactions with a company.” She added, “Even if you think of your company as superior, if your customers have bad experiences, that is their perception.”

Excelling in customer experience is the great way to increase revenue, and build customer loyalty, which makes it an important aspect of any business. And with that in mind, here are some more highlights and tips Megan offered during the podcast, not only about CX in a B2B world, but employee experiences (EX) as well.

B2B Experiences Should be Created for People

CX brings empathy and a human aspect to any B2B organization. “Yes, you are interacting with all levels – coordinators, directors, and VPs,” Megan remarks, “but first and foremost, they are humans. Customers from all industries want personalized experiences.” She adds, “The first step is human interaction: What messaging are you using? What is the sale process? Is there follow-up and nurturing? All of these interactions with customers shape perception.” 

And it’s no secret that businesses that are intentional about building strategic customer experiences flourish and grow as they build customer loyalty. 

“It’s not that they expect things will never go wrong,” Megan adds. “They know things will go wrong. It’s really important to them how we communicate and how we keep them abreast of what’s going on as they believe we’ll fix the things.”

Lastly, Megan offers, “Center around customer concerns, and strive to resolve them effectively and efficiently. Tending to customers does not require a large budget, instead it requires empath and consistency. Step back and think about things like communication, things like building trust.”

Customer Experience + Employee Experience = Business Growth

It is often said that happy employees create positive, emotional experiences for customers. “An emotional experience is one that both employees and customers go through when they interact with your brand,” Megan remarks. “Emotion impacts the way they shape these interactions. The more intense, the more likely the brain will remember. If it is good, the brain can look forward, but if bad, the brain will avoid it.” She adds, “Emotions shape future behavior as well. In particular, how it feels, how we remember it, and how we retain it.” 

Looking for Ways to Align CX and EX?

Here’s what Megan advises:

• Get feedback from employees: “When setting goals for customer experience, ensure they are attainable by employees. Employees are the source delivering the services. Their feedback should be considered.”
• Reinforce desired behaviors: “Yes, personalizing experiences, reward points, and exceptional customer service are ways we reward consumers for shopping with us. For employees, rewards may look like a bonus, or internal gamification rewards, shout-outs, etc.”

Busting the ‘WOW’ Myth

“As a business, it may be your intention to “WOW” each and every customer, or to receive a 100% satisfactory score,” Megan states. “However, that is not possible or always necessary. Putting that kind of pressure on employees can be demotivating and can cause disruption to their day.”

When strategically planning pleasant customer experiences, you need a goal. One that replaces WOW-ing everyone. To that end, Megan suggests, “The goal should be to be consistently good and strategically amazing. Take a company like Amazon for example, you may not be WOWed by their packaging, but you are WOWed by receiving a consistent two-day shipping experience.”

If your business is struggling to find ways to offer great customer and employee experiences, maybe it’s time to explore effective tools that can better focus your business on establishing not only higher customer loyalty and retention, but more enjoyable employee experiences. Why not reach out to the Ad Victoriam Consulting Team, who will dig deep to get to know the inner workings of your business and roadmap a solution for you?  ​​

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The job of Sales and Marketing is to work together towards common goals, helping their company grow and securing business. While their job functions differ, working together as one maximizes business profits and growth. 

Companies that unify Sales and Marketing hold the advantage of collaboration. Rather than functioning as separate entities, exchanging information and ideas between Sales and Marketing can improve results and create a seamless buying experience for prospective customers. The responsibility of creating content that generates qualified leads lies on the marketing team. From customer stories, case studies, and collateral, Marketing uses methods of promoting services to warm up leads. It is then up to Sales to follow up, build relationships, and close deals.

For Part 2 of our “B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of” blog series (Read Part 1), Vende Digital Founder/CEO/B2B marketing guru, Paul Slack, who recently guested on AdVic’s “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, offered a five-step guide of strategies that can unifying Sales and Marketing teams: 

1. Importance of Sales and Marketing Alignment

“Sales and marketing have to work together as a system within an organization,” Paul states. “It’s not the sales department and the marketing department, it’s sales and marketing working together because at the end of the day, buyers don’t buy the best solutions. Wouldn’t it be awesome if they did and we had the best solution? But what they actually buy are the solutions that they understand the most from people that they like. And so when you think about that statement, that they buy the solutions that they understand from people that they like, sales and marketing plays a role in both of those. 

“Marketing’s job is to make sure that there’s a solution out there that your solution is one that they understand. 

“Sales’ job is to make sure that the solution they’re buying is from somebody that they like. That’s that human component.”

Paul describes the content Marketing produces as “Chum in the water that attracts prospective customers, that then allows reps to go in for the sale.”

2. Content Warm Up

Marketing uses methods, tactics and a variety of channels such as content marketing, social media marketing, SEO, email marketing and ads to target consumers. The content that Marketing produces is used as bait. Paul describes it as “chum in the water that attracts prospective customers, that then allows reps to go in for the sale.”

3. Cutting Through The Noise: Create Meaningful Content

Cutting through the noise is providing your prospects with impactful content. There is an abundance of content available that may not resonate, empower, or educate them, be the brand that does. 

Paul provides us with questions and solutions to be successful in content creation:

“If you’ll take the time to really understand who your customer is and what are the problems that they’re trying to solve, and not only as a business, but what are they trying to solve as a human? And really began to talk about what we call kind of an aspirational identity. What is their business going to look like when they solve their problem with your solution? What are they going to look like? How are they going to be the hero of their organization? And you can create content around those things. Instead of speeds and feeds, instead of features and benefits, really talk about the customer where you can kind of begin having, engaging in the conversation that’s already going on in their head.”

4. Social Ads for Optimal Success

Paul advises, “Promoting your content [on social media] is just as important as creating it. Promoting content to your audience is a way to stand out. It provides their problem with solutions and allows them to make educated buying decisions.

5. Reps on Socials 

Social media is a powerful tool for digital selling and marketing. LinkedIn in particular is notorious for networking, job hunting and connecting with previous colleagues and classmates, but is also beneficial for B2B selling. 

Pauls says, “Sales reps on social media should present themselves as experts that solve problems, not candidates looking for the next big opportunity. Their profile should display expertise in their field.”

In addition, Paul suggests a ”3×5 LinkedIn Marketing Plan” for sales reps:

• Reach Out to Five New Contacts: Send connection requests to five new contacts. 
• Comment on Five Posts: Engage with content on your newsfeed, especially from prospects.
• Send Five Direct Messages a Day: Use five direct messages to provide connections with useful information.

“If you’re doing this in tandem or coordination with the marketing department,” Paul remarks, “again sales and marketing alignment, then you should have lots of great resources that you can DM (Direct Market) or the sales reps can DM to their audience.”

Download Your Free “Developing a Digital Marketing Plan” Template

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Related Resources:

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of – Part 1 – Blog

B2B Marketing Tips You Have Not Thought Of – Podcast

Commerce Cloud – Unifying the Buying Experience Across all Channels

What is B2B2C?

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