Strategic Lead Management for Optimized Marketing: The Approach of Innogy in Innovative Energy Solutions
摘要
According to Gartner, “B2B buyers increasingly want to engage with suppliers through digital and self-service channels.” (Travis et al., The Future of Sales in 2025, 2020, p. 2). About 80% of sales interactions between suppliers and buyers in the B2B field will take place in digital channels, according to Gartner’s study “The Future of Sales in 2025.” (Travis et al., 2020). Guiding customers in their customer journey is what it’s all about these days. That means creating a sales-supporting digital experience in which customers are accompanied at crucial touchpoints with the company, provided relevant information for their purchasing decision, and given guidance (Accenture, 80% of B2B buyers have switched from suppliers that are unable to align their services with buyer expectations, 2019). This is even more important when considering that buyer and customer journeys are no longer linear but complex, or as Google puts it: “chaotic.” Purchases take place simultaneously rather than successively. The “messy middle” model describes a funnel in which touchpoints are widely spread and everything that happens between the first incentive (trigger of a need) and the actual purchase varies for each person (Rennie et al., Goodbye funnel: Why the path to purchase decision is becoming increasingly complex, 2020). According to this model, buyers are in a continuous process of searching and evaluating, which is constantly retriggered by the many, mostly digitally available, information (Talentgarden, What is the Messy Middle and how it affects the funnel and conversions, 2023). It has become a lot easier for buyers today to find information themselves, independently of sellers. And at the same time, the variety of available information complicates the purchase decision. Sellers, on the other hand, find it increasingly difficult to gain access to buyers, thereby reducing their opportunities for influence. Before a buying center contacts a supplier, it has already found itself information about new products and services. “To succeed in today’s B2B ecosystem, sellers must invest in both digital and service-oriented customer experiences that will help drive powerful outcomes for themselves and for their buyers” (Accenture, 80% of B2B buyers have switched from suppliers that are unable to align their services with buyer expectations, 2019). Considering these changes in sales, this article describes the solution the former energy company innogy (innogy SE is a former publicly listed subsidiary founded by RWE, which was bought by E.ON in 2020 and integrated into the group.) developed to reach its B2B target groups more effectively and efficiently than before. Innogy’s active contribution to the energy transition, how the company has reinvented and positioned itself as a solution provider in the market is discussed. As a result of this change, innovative products were developed and new markets entered. For the successful commercialization and scaling of one of its offers, an energy monitoring solution, innogy identified the pains & gains of its buying centers, sharpened the Unique Value Proposition (UVP), and developed a Go-to-market concept which considers the changed conditions. A strategically developed and implemented end-to-end lead management, which includes a lead nurturing program that is supported by a marketing automation software, is a key component of this concept and explained in this article.