Deeper Relationships Require Intelligence

Other data signals can be false alarms, so Infutor runs seemingly anomalous data against a proprietary database of information collected from employees and other reliable sources to validate or refute any data that seems to be outside of expected parameters.

“You have to be able to control the data quality,” says Steve Zisk, senior product marketing manager at RedPoint Global, a customer data and engagement platform provider.

An understanding of the customer’s intent is just as important, he says, noting that one customer might need to buy an appliance as soon as possible because the existing one failed and cannot be repaired, while another person looking at the same type of appliance might be in the middle of a larger home remodeling project and have a larger purchase window. A short-term discount might entice the first person to buy now, while the second person likely is less interested in that month’s special and more interested in the appliance’s energy ratings, features, and long-term cost of ownership.

Another important element of relationship intelligence revolves around being able to identify where the buyer is in the sales funnel, which can sometimes be found in the time of day he searches (odd hours could indicate an emergency), the length of the search, the length of time on websites, and if the prospect’s search is tightly focused on something specific, such as the delivery window. Other indicators, such as the prospect’s earlier visits to appliance repair websites, take a little more effort to uncover.

“All of these signals require context,” Zisk says. “One signal isn’t enough; you need to track many different things. You need to understand a customer’s journey behavior. Only a few brands do. Using the marketplace of available information allows the customer to have a better experience. You need to use machine learning and have a consistent set of available data.”

B2B AND B2C VARIATIONS

Whether the company competes in the business-to-business or business-to-consumer space, the one commonality is the need for data—lots of data—to shape relationship intelligence.

It gets a little more complicated after that.

B2B companies will need to collect different types of data, often on more people and for longer periods of time, to make a single sale, explains Pat Morrissey, chief marketing officer at sales technology provider Altify.

In the typical consumer purchase, one person—or in some cases, a married couple—typically make the buying decision, Morrissey explains. Purchases for large businesses typically involve many more people.

“You have to be able to map those people, what attributes they have, how they buy, and what they are influenced by,” he says. “You bring those relationships to life if you have those personal attributes.”

Those attributes include not only who is on the purchasing team but also their level of influence and authority in the purchasing decision, he says further, noting that this information typically isn’t captured or stored in most CRM systems.

LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator is one system that does, according to Morrissey. “It’s very powerful,” he states. “It can tell you who really has purchasing authority.”

Additionally, Webb says, more sophisticated relationship intelligence technology can help alert companies to competitors vying for the same accounts as well as opportunities to expand relationships.

B2B companies can also benefit from being able to identify business changes—such as the addition of a new executive—and business intelligence culled from annual reports and news articles regarding product development, new office openings, and planned expansions, says Tuomas Rasila, cofounder and chief technology officer at AI company Vainu, which uses machine learning to build customized solutions for businesses to find the right sales prospects.

Vainu collects more than 1.5 million data elements, according to Rasila. “The large marketplace of information allows the customer to have a better experience,” he says.

But relationship intelligence is just as much about providing a better experience for marketers and sellers.

“They think they know everything about a customer, but often they can’t see all of the signals,” Morrissey states.

That’s why they need relationship intelligence—to identify the purchase decision makers, their relationships with one another, and the priorities of their customers, he and others agree. 

Phillip Britt is a freelance writer based in the Chicago area. He can be reached at spenterprises@wowway.com.