According to Gartner, 33% of customers seek to avoid interacting with a salesperson. While in the past, websites often featured a “Do not call me” option where you could check a box, now the norm is the opposite: a “Contact me” window. So, by default, communication with a salesperson is considered an additional option. This phenomenon has given rise to the prominent English term – Sales-free experience. It is forecasted that this trend will continue to grow.
Why is this happening? There is no clear answer to this question. First of all, because the sales-free experience is not the result of any revolutionary phenomenon or decision. This situation has arisen due to the fact that there has been another generational change and those born in the range of 1995-2009 have actively entered the game. Some of them have just graduated from universities, some are already middle managers, and some even run their own companies. In short, this is the human resource core of the modern economy in general and business in particular.
Their main feature is that they were born in the era of rapid development of high digital technologies. For them, analog devices are either a museum piece or a vintage-style fashion item. And solving business issues via a phone call is a terrible rudiment: “Why are you calling me without warning – write to me in a messenger and I’ll answer as soon as I can.” – they often get angry when the phone rings. Of course, older managers are mostly the ones who manage budgets and have the final say, but it is Generation Y who are the main idea carriers, developers, and, more importantly, consumers of technology.
These people were born with gadgets in their hands. They are used to searching for answers on the Internet rather than asking other people for them. Googling and finding the answer in a matter of minutes is already the norm for them. Therefore, it is not surprising that their typical behavior is not only to search for information on their own, but also to perform procedures related to the study of a product or commodity, its purchase and setup on their own.
I would like to note that the next generation, still attending school, will have an even more radical approach to working with information. They desire search engines to provide an answer in a zero search result format – the first link without additional clicks. No page-to-page transitions, just minimal scrolling. For example, if my ten-year-old daughter can’t find an answer in Google in a zero search result format, she says, “Sorry, I couldn’t find anything.” Business must adapt and be prepared for this mindset of “We won’t ask or communicate. We’ll either find and do it ourselves or not do it at all,” starting today.
What conclusion can we draw from this? If a customer doesn’t want to communicate in real-time, we must do everything possible to communicate with them effectively through content for product promotion. Your content – presentations, articles, reviews, comparisons, and so on – should be created in a way that:
- Appears at the top of search engines for relevant and related queries.
- Provides potential customers with all the essential (though not entirely comprehensive, as that’s impossible) information, including “How to purchase and set up.” Keep in mind that information should be delivered quickly, succinctly, vividly, and considering the preference of many modern presentation viewers for interactivity.
- Despite the fact that many customers may not want to engage with salespeople, you should “keep the door open” by providing the opportunity for immediate contact with you. For example, by using our service and presentation app, Pitch Avatar, equipped with an innovative “viewer-presenter” real-time communication system. Thanks to this system, every time someone views a presentation, the seller can notify the viewer that they are online and ready to answer questions. Furthermore, the dialogue can be initiated by the viewer, who can use the “Call Presenter” button.
Wishing you all the best, great customers, and high incomes!
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Author: Victoria Abed – Chief Revenue Officer at Pitch Avatar
