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topicnews · October 24, 2024

3 tips to avoid the Q4 scramble

3 tips to avoid the Q4 scramble

Let’s face it: If you’re trying to define your strategy on a quarterly basis or looking for panaceas for your business Go-to-market approach In the fourth quarter you are already behind.

This reactive approach is often a symptom of not having a solid GTM strategy in place from the start. In the Business to Business In the tech world, where sales cycles typically span at least six months, finding opportunities within a quarter is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Anything you would close now would probably already be in your pipeline.

So what’s the alternative to this last minute rush? A uniform GTM plan across the board marketing, Sales And Customer Success This has been the case long before the start of the fourth quarter. Ideally, your organization should agree on a plan in the previous fourth quarter of each year during the planning cycle.

How to create predictable deal flow all year round

The best thing B2B companies can do for themselves in the fourth quarter, aside from closing deals in their current business funnelThe goal is to ensure they have a coherent plan for the next year. This means driving radical unity and focusing on the following key areas.

  1. Customer needs-oriented segments: Deeply understand your audience and segment them based on their specific needs and pain points.
  2. Accurate messaging: Create tailored messages that resonate with every segment.
  3. Aligned goals: Ensure all departments are working toward the same goals.
  4. Consistent and pleasant customer experience: Create one seamless journey From prospect to long-term customer.

The latest in customer successAI-powered consumers are here. Is your company ready?

1. Offer time-sensitive offers

Now you may be wondering how you can stand out from the increasing competition and advertising noise this holiday season. The truth is: In B2B technology, technology buyers’ biggest concerns have little to do with the holidays.

Instead, it’s about finishing the year in a way that stays on budget. This means they either spend unallocated money or cut costs and push contracts to the following year.

Given this reality, your Q4 activities should focus on your current pipeline or customer-specific expansion opportunities. Consider offering time-sensitive offers, such as: E.g., fourth quarter incentives or year-end pricing to encourage quick decision making.

These tactics should complement your overall strategy, not replace it.

2. Minimize customer experience friction

Customer experience is essential no matter what industry you are in. It’s about your customers’ holistic experience across their entire lifecycle, from the moment they become a prospect to the end of their journey with you.

This is precisely why marketing, sales and customer success must be aligned around a solid GTM approach Metrics and smooth business processes.

A future-proof GTM strategy will look different than it does today. Given the current AI-powered wave of digital transformation and changing customer expectations Chief Marketing OfficerThe roles of , Chief Revenue Officer and Customer Service Specialist combine to ensure the digital B2B tech customer experience.

The growing importance of additional repetitions revenue from existing customers and pressure from investors to generate lasting value are disrupting traditional GTM strategies. GTM teams are currently working in silos, which can lead to symptoms such as delays in sales execution, unexpected customer churn, wondering if you have the right CMO, or blockages in systems and processes.

Current and aspiring GTM leaders must prepare for the future or risk becoming a legacy themselves.

How can you immediately improve the customer experience? Start by identifying the biggest points of friction in the customer journey. Minimize clicks, submissions, forms and follow-up calls. Offer customers the most direct way to try your product or service and provide them with the most relevant information they need to either solve a problem or understand why they can’t live without you.

3. Target high-value accounts

Over the course of my career, I have seen companies fall into several common traps in their fourth quarter marketing strategies. One of the most common causes is over-allocating budgets to large, untargeted campaigns and failing to prioritize high-value accounts.

Running common programs in modern times hyper-targeted The digital environment is another symptom of the lack of a strategic and radically unified GTM plan. By finding Product-market fit Because prioritized segments are defined in advance, you can coordinate execution using built-in programs (Account-based marketing) for net new and existing customers.

With the right needs-based segmentation approach, you can focus on the customers who want what you have and are most likely to remain a lifelong customer. If you have the right plan in place from the start, marketing can increase or decrease activity with an anticipated investment risk margin.

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SURGE: 5 steps to year-round success

True success comes from a year-round approach. The fourth quarter is also a time when companies prepare their operating plan for the following year. Here are some important steps to set yourself up for long-term success.

  • SStrategy: Define your operating strategy, select your core market segments through needs-based segmentation, and define your end goal.
  • Unity: Driving radical unity of purpose and focusing on the digital-first customer experience.
  • REputation: Create unique positioning and brand relevance to differentiate yourself from the competition by leading with a Brand narrative that differentiates you as a provider rather than just talking about the product’s features.
  • GBenefits: Understand what investors want, drive growth, expand your core base, and manage earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, aka EBITDA, and customer acquisition cost pressures. This is at the core of investor and private equity concerns.
  • EEfficiency: Develop a modern GTM engine for speed, scale, and scalability that embraces radically unified processes, systems, and metrics.

While the fourth quarter often feels like a time of crisis, you can maximize your year-end revenue and lay a foundation for sustainable growth by focusing on customer needs, aligning your teams, and prioritizing a seamless customer experience.

As we approach the final stretch of the year, take a step back, evaluate your current approach, and begin laying the foundation for a more coherent, customer-centric strategy. Your future self (and your bottom line) will thank you.