How do organisations secure a future-proof commercial strategy?

Our own research

Benchmark research

Technology

The commercial landscape is changing. New technological developments follow one another at a rapid pace: LinkedIn is used to generate "demand", basic commercial processes are automated with software, data mining is accessible to everyone, meetings are held virtually and the enormous impact of AI on sales and marketing has only recently become clear (think of predicting customer needs, interacting with customers and analysing the CRM database).

(Human) Knowledge

Let's not forget the human factor. The question is not only how technology and strategy can be used to increase efficiency, but also how they can be used to build deeper and more meaningful relationships with customers. Thought leadership and giving away knowledge instead of discounts. A striking remark from the research: "we should try to sell less and start listening better to the customer". It may seem counter-intuitive, but we all understand what is meant.

Commercial strategy

Alongside new technological developments, a shift is also taking place in the commercial strategy of organisations. We see an increase in the use of market intelligence and careful preliminary research (account based sales & marketing). Lead volumes are becoming less important; more thought goes into the market approach — quality is preferred. Sales teams have ever less capacity, so they increasingly focus on ways to identify potential opportunities faster. It is no coincidence that Sales Velocity is becoming more important than the sales and marketing pipeline.

Research

What do these developments mean for your organisation? Are you already applying them deliberately? How are your teams implementing the new technologies? What strategy do you pursue compared with your environment? Is your organisation ahead of or behind these developments compared with your peers? To gain insight into these questions, The Blue Hour is conducting a large-scale benchmark study among more than 450 commercial decision-makers. You receive exclusive insights into what works well. You discover how fellow directors and managers handle transitions and which choices they make for lasting commercial success.

Topics

Commercial artificial intelligence
LinkedIn demand generation
Use of data and market intelligence
Next-level lead qualification
Volume versus value

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Benefits of taking part

What taking part brings you

Personal appointment

You receive a personal presentation of the benchmark report by our specialist at your location.

Compare with your peers

The specialist hands you the benchmark report with your answers and the answers of your peers.

Periodic updates

We send you periodic updates on the results of our benchmark research.

Take part in the study →

Take part

Take part in the research

When you take part in the online survey, you receive our benchmark report, allowing you to easily compare yourself with other anonymised participants. The benchmark report is presented and discussed with you in a personal appointment by a specialist from The Blue Hour. Completing the questionnaire takes about 10 minutes. With these results we can compile your report.

± 10 minutes to complete

From our research

Insights from our ongoing benchmark study

What the numbers say about sales and marketing in the Netherlands, and what you can do with it.

45%

don't get in front of enough prospects

at potential clients who don't yet know them. Winning new clients is the biggest challenge.

44%

acquisition doesn't pay off

feel the time they spend on acquisition is out of proportion to the return.

56%

still cold call

still use cold calling, while nearly half don't get to the table that way.

87%

find their own story clear

say their proposition is easy to explain.

77%

stand out easily

believe they easily distinguish themselves from the competition.

51%

don't fully know the pitch

say not every employee knows their own elevator pitch.

67%

steer on data

use data analysis to optimise their sales strategy.

52%

connect CRM and marketing

have linked their CRM to their marketing automation system.

49%

doubt their content

are not satisfied with their own content marketing strategy.

45%