Adapting to the rising demand for digital channels and competing for top sales talent are among just two of the significant challenges facing B2B companies, Deloitte Digital says in a new report covering ecommerce growth strategies.
“After a period of strong revenue growth, many B2B sales organizations are now grappling with how to do more with less while still keeping the momentum going,” the management and digital technology consulting firm says in the report, which is based on a summer 2024 study of 650 B2B sales executives across 13 industries. Lawless Research, which conducted the study for Deloitte, surveyed executives at a director or higher level at U.S.-based companies with at least 500 employees and $500 million in revenue.
In its report, “Is RevOps the new driver for B2B growth?” Deloitte asserts that “the most resilient B2B companies “have tackled their challenges and fortified double-digit annual growth by powering up a robust revenue operations function (RevOps).” Deloitte describes RevOps as a system for “helping companies exceed their sales targets by aligning all revenue-related go-to-market (GTM) areas — including marketing, sales, customer success, service and partners — to enable a seamless end-to-end experience that today’s B2B customers expect.”
Deloitte says RevOps strategies fuel digital commerce and AI programs
Deloitte says that RevOps strategies are “fueling continuous reinvestment in capabilities, programs, AI, and technologies that amplify seller effectiveness, support dynamic GTM/sales strategies and foster innovation.”
Deloitte adds that RevOps stands out as an effective strategy when companies experience sharp declines in sales activity.
“40% of surveyed respondents acknowledged that less than half of their sales team hit their quotas in 2023,” it says in the report. “That’s where RevOps can make a difference.”
The report notes that B2B organizations with firmly established RevOps were more likely than other companies to invest in strategic GTM model changes and showed the following characteristics:
⦁ 1.4 times as likely as other companies to launch new digital channels, expanding their footprint.
⦁ 1.9 times as likely to invest in new tools to accelerate digital transformation.
⦁ 2.2 times as likely to launch new products and services.
⦁ 1.4 times as likely to develop and execute a sales talent upskilling program.
⦁ 1.4 times as likely to exceed revenue goals by 10% or more.
Among the 13 industries Deloitte covered in the study, seven of them said “expanding digital channels” was a top strategic investment in their go-to-market model. Those seven industries are:
⦁ Automotive.
⦁ Consumer Goods & Services.
⦁ Manufacturing.
⦁ Media, Entertainment & Publishing.
⦁ Retail.
⦁ Technology.
⦁ Telecommunications.
Deloitte finds digital channel expansion a top priority
Deloitte noted that Automotive companies said “expanding digital channels” tied with “launching new partner/alliance route to market” as the top priority. Among Retail companies, digital channels tied as a top priority with “accelerating digital transformation by investing in digital tools,” “developing/executing a sales talent upleveling and upskilling program,” and “launching new products and services.”
The study also noted that Industrials & Resources companies said that “expanding digital channels” was their second-highest priority after “entering a new market.”
The study noted that companies with sales enablement applications showed improved performance in communicating value to customers, enforcing discount and rebate policies, bundling products / services, and optimizing prices through price analytics.
Deloitte cites innovative GenAI use cases
Deloitte said that “nearly all surveyed organizations were integrating Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities into their sales motions, but those with a firmly established RevOps function again had an edge. On average, these organizations were more than 2x as likely to say they were leveraging GenAI in innovative ways that drove competitive advantage.”
The study notes that 21% of respondents were at the most advanced or “innovative” level of using GenAI projects “to support the overall company strategy and drive innovation and competitive advantage.”
Deloitte adds that these companies were
“1.5 to 2.4 times as likely” as others to use GenAI across such areas as:
⦁ Automating customer follow-ups
⦁ Providing prompt-based customer performance reporting.
⦁ Recommending next-best actions to mitigate leakage.
⦁ Automating contract creation and review.
⦁ Tailoring customer activation plans and journeys.
“As B2B organizations seek to drive revenue growth by working and serving customers more efficiently, it’s more important than ever to deploy GTM strategies and models that focus on the end-to-end buyer journey and eliminate siloed operations and redundancies,” Deloitte says in the report. “A firmly established and consistent RevOps-oriented GTM approach helps make that happen.”
Deloitte asks: What digital channels could boost revenue?
Deloitte suggests that B2B companies address questions about their GTM approach and the role of RevOps, including:
⦁ What digital sales channels and/or technologies could best help increase revenues and reduce costs for your organization?
⦁ How are you leveraging or planning to leverage AI/GenAI across different stakeholders (e.g., buyers, selling team) and functions (e.g., RevOps)?
Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. [email protected].
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