Sales Strategy. The Role of Digital

In the digital revolution era, when the rapid transformation of purchasing processes by consumers and business customers is upending markets, companies are striving to quickly and thoroughly transform their Marketing & Sales strategies and functions. Given the scale of the changes underway, some important management questions naturally arise: are companies planning for a clear digital strategy? What are companies focusing on, when they undertake the digital transformation of sales? With what results?

These are some of the fundamental questions which we have tried to answer concretely in the Commercial Excellence Lab at SDA Bocconi School of Management, in partnership with Hilti, Luxottica, P&G, Vodafone, GfK and 3M. We conducted interviews with 540 executives of medium-sized companies headquartered in Italy, Great Britain, Germany and the United States. Our qualitative and quantitative research study, co-authored with Guenzi and Caiozzo, has enabled the mapping and modeling of the main managerial variables that are at work in Digital Commercial Transformation (DCT).

Several findings are of interest for managers and executives. First of all, the vast majority of companies (74%) are interpreting digital transformation with caution and in a planned manner. They see it as an evolution rather than a revolution, and motivation for change comes proactively within the company, rather than from customers and competitors. Companies seem to be keen on supporting and simplifying sales processes (especially pre-sale ones), by providing customers with high-value digital solutions. These are the main priorities and not, as some might imagine, the rationalization of sales networks. Shrinking the number of people working in sales is not currently listed as one of the main reasons behind digitization of sales functions. More generally, while companies across the world perceive DCT as a top priority in their strategies, execution levels differ according to the country analyzed. In the United States and Germany companies think they are well ahead, while Italians think they still lag behind.

But what are ultimately the most strategically successful companies in commercial transformation? The study indicates that it's brand leaders, companies that are primarily digitizing supply with respect to sales, which are focusing digital transformation mainly on new and attractive customer categories, rather than existing ones. They are also the companies where DCT is associated with superior economic performance, in terms of profitability levels and growth of turnover.

The research also shows how fundamental the presence of dedicated resources is, as well as a clear organizational responsibility for the digitization of sales. At the moment, leadership in DCT usually falls to technological roles (IT function), but there are also several companies that signal the presence of new cross-functional organizational units. Finally, thanks to the identification of four profiles, the study allowed us to draw concrete ideas to develop a first managerial model for the planning of commercial transformation. In short, according to the perceptions of executives the DCT challenge is still open, with profound and lasting implications for the organization and management of sales processes and networks, and especially business profitability.