The B2B sales and marketing landscape is shifting, adjusting to the rapid advancements in social networking and online buyer behavior. From start-ups to multi-billion dollar organizations, the industry is facing the hard fact that traditional, old school methods of marketing have become largely ineffective. Traditional online marketing tactics are losing traction at increasing rates. It’s now all about trust and “heartfelt marketing.”

Traditional tactics are being replaced by new approaches designed to catapult prospecting and retention efforts into never before seen realms, connecting with customers while providing more transparent access to information. As part of this shift, marketing must focus on sales enablement, to help sales professionals better communicate with and understand whom they are selling to.

The dramatic changes in online buyer behavior are driving a need for adaptation – as the Customer 2.0 spends more time online engaged with social media and networks, they create more information about themselves and the products they use, which can really help sales organizations engage more effectively with this new type of prospect. The Customer 2.0 will always lead the way, but savvy Sales 2.0 professionals can keep pace with efficiency-driven solutions.

At InsideView, our sales productivity technology allows sales teams to gather real-time insight about their prospects and customers. Information is aggregated and organized from thousands of sites, providing any and all information about a company and the employees within, including new hires, employee transfers (or termination) and news. With this information, the sales and marketing teams can drive sales through social media, tapping into social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to keep pace and communicate with the Customer 2.0.

The fact is that “old ways” of marketing are dying.

The impact of mass marketing and mindless telemarketing is drying up. Those that will find a way to enter the same playing field as their (increasingly social) customers will thrive. Those that stick with archaic methods will wither.

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