[The Essence of DX Vol. 4] How to Utilize Data to Accelerate DX

How COVID-19 Transformed B2B Marketing

B2B marketing is entering an era of transformation due to the diversification of customer touchpoints driven by the spread of the internet and the rise of social media. Particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become commonplace, offline activities such as face-to-face sales and trade shows have been restricted, and the digitization of the purchasing process has accelerated rapidly.

According to research by McKinsey & Company, 57% of U.S. B2B companies reduced their marketing budgets due to the impact of COVID-19. Face-to-face sales dropped from 63% to 20%, while online sales increased from 63% to 73%. This trend is now being observed in Japan as well, making it essential to expand online sales and marketing activities.

Online Initiatives to Promote the Visualization of Purchasing Behavior

Online initiatives encompass a diverse range of methods, including webinars, website content management, and outreach via email and social media. As these are non-face-to-face activities, they reduce the man-hours required to gather people in physical locations, allowing customers to collect information efficiently.

A major advantage of online initiatives lies in data collection. According to research by CEB, B2B buyers complete 57% of the purchasing process before contacting a sales representative. Online initiatives play a role in visualizing these "invisible customer behaviors." By visualizing customer behavior, companies can redefine their purchasing processes and optimize resource allocation.

However, if data is scattered throughout the company, the effectiveness of online initiatives will be halved. It is crucial to integrate and manage information by categorizing customer behavior into phases and making it accessible across departments. This enables the planning of initiatives that target appropriate customer segments.

Data Maintenance Contributes to the Efficiency of Overall Corporate Activities

Data maintenance not only enhances the effectiveness of online initiatives but also leads to the efficiency of the entire company. Accurate and up-to-date data is consistently utilized across sales, marketing, and after-sales services, promoting company-wide efficiency.

In the sales department, maintained data can be used to create lists of prospective customers, enabling effective outreach. This improves the efficiency of the sales process and enhances conversion rates. The marketing department can also use maintained data to quickly measure campaign effectiveness and conduct customer analysis, which can be applied to future strategies. Sharing data strengthens the collaboration between sales and marketing, thereby improving customer engagement.

Furthermore, in after-sales service, data maintenance enables rapid responses, leading to higher customer satisfaction. Improvements to products and services can also be realized based on customer feedback, enhancing the quality of overall corporate activities. Data maintenance realizes seamless information sharing across the organization and becomes a factor that increases the speed and accuracy of operations. This leads to the acceleration of initiatives and the optimization of resources, ultimately resulting in the strengthening of corporate competitiveness and sustainable growth.

Case Study 1: Building a Data Integration System and Internal Initiatives Utilizing Machine Learning

uSonar Co., Ltd. developed a prediction engine to utilize corporate attributes such as revenue scale and industry for online advertising targeting, aiming to improve the accuracy of its own sales activities and ad delivery. This made it possible to integrate online behavioral history with offline data to identify the needs of potential customers.

For example, we utilized uSonar to integrate data sources and applied Account-Based Marketing (ABM) methods to ad delivery as well. As a result, targeting accuracy improved by 1.6 times, contributing to an increase in closing rates. This also reduced the burden of targeting tasks and increased the efficiency of the sales process.

Case Study 2: Success of Online Initiatives at a Major Insurance Company

A major insurance company faced challenges in leveraging web content for corporate clients due to insufficient analysis of visiting company attributes, making it difficult to determine the appropriate approach. By implementing a data integration tool and utilizing features to identify web-visiting companies, they enabled detailed analysis of viewed content and corporate attributes, allowing them to provide optimal content.

Furthermore, by integrating offline client data with web data and implementing efficient approaches toward non-client companies, the number of contracts increased to three times the previous level. As demonstrated, the integration of online and offline data contributes significantly to the promotion of DX.

Integrating Online and Offline Data Leads to DX Realization

As seen in the case study above, the integration of online and offline data is essential for realizing DX. According to research by uSonar, many companies that feel challenged in managing customer information view the fragmentation of data as a significant issue. By utilizing accurate and up-to-date information through data integration, the precision and speed of initiatives are improved, and the efficiency of the entire organization is promoted.

To achieve success in DX, the key is to thoroughly organize data and integrate online and offline information for utilization. This allows companies to respond rapidly to changes and maintain sustainable growth and competitiveness.

Summary

For the success of DX, the organization and utilization of data are essential. By organizing data collected through online initiatives and utilizing it across the entire organization, companies can improve efficiency and enable rapid responses that meet customer needs.

Furthermore, by integrating online and offline data, companies can implement more precise initiatives and strengthen their competitiveness. By recognizing the importance of data organization and utilizing it strategically, companies can achieve sustainable growth and realize the true value of DX.

Previous Articles

The Essence of DX is a four-part series.
You can view the previous articles here.

The Essence of DX Vol. 1: The Surprising Blind Spot of Data in Companies That Cannot Achieve DX ▶
The Essence of DX Vol. 2: Organizing Customer Data from the Entry Point Is the Shortcut to DX ▶
The Essence of DX Vol. 3: Organizing Dark Data Promotes DX ▶