4 pearls of B2B wisdom from industry influencers

Navigating that evolution from a traditional B2B business model is a little trickier than simply throwing up a website on top of homegrown or cobbled-together back-end technology. Never fear, we’ve rounded some of the best pearls of wisdom from four B2B influencers to help motivate you when the going gets tough.

What the best B2B voices are saying about B2B

1. “Successful people don’t rely on the approval of others to pursue their goals, causes, or callings. Successful people take the initiative despite social pressures rather than because of them. They are more committed to doing what they love than being loved by others. They don’t wallow or obsess on a single defeat or rely on finding scapegoats or blame when things go wrong. Instead, successful people place higher priority on being effective in getting the outcomes they seek.” – Mark C. Thompson, Executive Coach, New York Times Bestselling Author & Former Chief Customer Experience Officer at Schwab.com

At the Game Plan B2B Conference, keynote speaker and industry all-star Mark C. Thompson will deliver a talk that focuses on Transforming the Customer Experience. He’ll be discussing the forces driving change in the world of B2B today and what companies must do to successfully respond while acting as leaders, remaining competitive, and keeping ahead of the curve. Don’t miss Thompson’s presentation, which kicks off Game Plan at 9:15 a.m. on the 22^nd.

2. “Omnichannel customers spend more than single-channel, offline-only customers. For example, 60% of B2B companies report that their B2B buyers spend more overall when those customers interact with multiple channels. Omni-channel B2B customers are also more likely to become repeat and long-term customers.” – Andy Hoar, Principal Analyst at Forrester

Andy Hoar will present the industry’s first look at Forrester’s just-completed research on B2B buyer expectations for digital engagement while also exploring the gap between these expectations and what B2B sellers can offer. Tune in for his presentation, entitled Engaging the B2B Buyer Across the Customer Journey, at 11:00 a.m. on the 22^nd. A positive preview? Forrester predicts that U.S. B2B e-commerce will grow from $780 billion in 2015 to $1.13 trillion in 2020, when it will come to constitute 12.1% of the total $9.39 trillion U.S. B2B commerce market.

3. “It’s an online-driven, omnichannel transformation that is forever changing the way the world’s most successful B2B brands connect with, engage, and retain customers. In fact, B2B e-commerce has now more than doubled B2C, with $559 billion in 2013 sales. In many ways, it’s a brave, new world in B2B commerce – and it’s happening right now.” – Brian Walker, Chief Strategy Officer at hybris Software & SAP CEC

Walker spends his days creating the vision and structure for solution and product development within SAP’s customer engagement functions and for hybris’ suite of commerce solutions. Directly following Hoar’s new research unveiling, he’ll be discussing Customer Engagement Vision & Strategy in a special presentation at 11:50 a.m that’s sure to enlighten and inspire.

4. “Outstanding business ideas do not spring from innate creativity, high IQ or necessarily from the minds of brilliant people. Rather, breakaway ideas come to those who are in the habit of looking for such ideas—all around them, all the time. In short, idea hunting behavior trumps raw brainpower.” – Andy Boynton, Dean of Boston College’s Carroll School of Management

Dean of one of the world’s top business schools, Boynton is set to wrap up a stellar day of presentations with a talk aptly called, The Idea Hunter: How to Find Great Ideas and Make Them Happen – which also happens to be the title of his 2011 book, co-authored by IMD Business School professor Bill Fischer. He’ll cover what it takes to cultivate successful habits of The Hunt while taking a look at what you can do to help your B2B organization become a magnet for great ideas and leverage those ideas to drive competitive advantage.