Why B2B companies need a virtual assistant for sales

Virtual assistants are ready to go.

Is your company the same?

artificial intelligence is changing our world and economy sustainably. AI technologies are influencing the B2B landscape with increasing speed, at the same time become virtual assistants (VA) increasingly popular. AI-based virtual assistants are becoming more and more numerous and are constantly offering more sophisticated solutions for a wide range of challenges. They are also used as intelligent virtual assistants (Intelligent Virtual Assistants, IVA).

Customers tend to maintain contact with companies from which they have received and expect the best services in the future. In a B2B environment, the process of closing a deal is time-consuming and usually includes product demonstrations, pilot tests, negotiations and, if successful, the final purchase. The processing time varies from a few weeks to months. Each phase of this journey consists of multiple interactions between the customer and the service/product provider. For sellers, these phases are crucial. Here, a lead becomes a customer as soon as the customer trusts the seller and is convinced of their services or products.

During the above process, it is the task of the sales agent to answer customer inquiries that are repetitive in their own way, often for several customers at the same time. Overwork and a drop in productivity may follow. If the range of functions and the processes shown are defined in a customer-oriented manner, it turns out AI-supported assistants as Gamechanger in customer communication.

Why should B2B organizations invest in IVAs?

1) 24/7 service

90% of customers prefer companies that answer inquiries immediately and competently. Especially for companies that operate worldwide, IVAs can answer inquiries and provide advice around the clock. Thanks to the appropriate range of functions and continuous training with actual conversations that have taken place, the interaction of the iVA with the customer is quickly becoming even more competent in consulting.

The decisive 5 minutes:”Risk or Reward”.

Only 7% The companies surveyed achieve an average Lead response time 5 minutes or less.

Die Lead management study by Dr. James Oldroyd shows that the chances of the lead entering the sales process or qualifying are 21 times higher if answered within 5 minutes.

Digital marketers know how important it is to respond to incoming leads so as not to lose them to competitors. The investment in an IVA thus pays itself off in a very short period of time. IVAs can interact with multiple customers at the same time and thus ensure a higher conversion rate.

2) Data quality and availability

To be successful, your salespeople need meaningful information to the relevant markets and customers. However, detailed market research and analysis are naturally time-consuming and expensive. In order to still obtain suitable information, virtual assistants are put into action. This support your sales team right from the start and enable a seamless data access with data integration with CRM systems, SAP and other systems to store customer information. Each conversation includes important information about your customers' questions, pain points, and interests.

The ability to get an overview of the A lead's needs and concerns In order to be able to take more effective and efficient measures, but also enables your sales team to be even more successful.

3) Personalization: “User Experience”

A visit to Starbucks always includes a barista calling your name and handing you the drink. Starbucks uses this service offering strategy to know its customers, and that's much more important to build long-term customer relationships. A simple yet effective personalization strategy.

Virtual assistants can also provide a personalized experience by responding to user questions and input or proactively communicating information based on previously collected user data. With powerful AI, you can individual customer journeys be analyzed, evaluated and used as a basis for actions.

With access to the user's purchase history and preferences, the intelligent, virtual assistant can Cross- and up-selling potential use. Let's understand how IVAs achieve this goal:

Listening and understanding customer needs

An IVA learns from every chat with the user and remembers the interests, products and specific inquiries. Another option is to connect to existing CRM or ERP system data to guarantee a comprehensive view of customers and leads.

Relevant recommendations

Based on the analyzed data and the buying behavior of your customers, relevant recommendations can be easily displayed to the customer. An example: Customer X buys product Y, product Y has cross-selling potential to product Z, customer X also receives product Z suggested.

Use the appropriate channels

The biggest advantage of a well-adapted IVA is that it can be integrated into various channels that your customers use (omnichannel integration capability). Finding out what your customers' preferred method of communication is paramount to effectively communicate offers, promotions, and other information.

4) Field Service Support: “Time, Money, Scalability”

Why invest in virtual assistants?

The answer is simple: Automating certain processes makes life easier for your sales team and helps the company scale.

According to a survey by GetResponse, the biggest benefit of automation in sales is saving time, followed by lead generation and increased sales.

Here are a few numerical examples that illustrate the need:

According to Forbes Salespeople spend around 64.8% of their time switching tasks, searching for information and only 35.2% of their time actually selling.

An automation demonstrably increases sales productivity by 14.5% and reduces marketing overhead costs by 12.2%.

Up to 30 percent increase in deals, a significant shortening of the sales phases and less time for sales administration.

In addition, an IVA can significantly improve internal team productivity. Your sales team saves valuable working time and can focus on important activities. Team meetings can be even more results-oriented, as information can be retrieved quickly via voice or text command.

5) Multilingualism: “Localization”

Imagine how much more comfortable a customer would feel if they knew that they could always contact you in their native language. Global reach is important and goes hand in hand with good communication. A survey in Unbabel Report that 74% of customers say they would be more likely to make a second purchase if customer service was available in their native language after the sale. Here are other reasons why the introduction of an IVA with multilingual features has a positive impact on your sales:

Access to a larger market

Studies have shown that customers are more likely to give positive feedback to companies that offer multilingual customer service.

Building trust and brand loyalty

Trust is the basis for B2B relationships. You have the best product but you can't communicate with potential customers to build a trust-based business relationship

Avoid miscommunication

Miscommunication causes prospects or potential prospects to go to competitors

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The intelligent virtual assistant relieves your customer service workload and scales even thanks to its multilingualism.

Conclusion

All of these points help improve your organization's bottom line. Investing in an IVA can give your sales team a competitive advantage and bring your customer service even closer to the customer. There are misconceptions that AI will take the place of humans in the sales process. The aim is to relieve the sales team much more and provide them with important information so that they can focus on the more important tasks. An IVA also improves the customer's experience and journey with your company.

Implement an intelligent virtual assistant, the sooner the better.

To find out how Sally can help your business, try Sally.

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