When 2020 arrived, bringing the explosion of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses worldwide had to rethink their way of operating. In a quarantined world, the B2C segment quickly migrated to digital. This transition wasn’t always smooth, but today we see how this sector was able to rapidly respond to the sudden shift in consumer behavior – a change that’s here to stay!

B2C invested in streamlining processes for customers, personalizing credit offers, and continuously improving the customer experience, a process that is now consolidated and one that no one imagines going back to pre-2020 methods.

But what about B2B? When can we expect to see a similar dynamic happening?

In fact, the new revolution in B2B credit is already underway, driven by personalization, shorter sales cycles, and credit monitoring—areas highly impacted by digital advancements.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out everything you need to know!

Personalization of B2B credit is a trend
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In the B2C field, personalized credit is already a reality and can be said to have revolutionized the way customers and companies interact. Through data collection tools, companies have a wealth of information, helping to personalize the experience.

This allows companies to offer customized credit solutions that perfectly fit customer needs. However, in B2B, despite its high relevance and financial volume, this has yet to happen.

There is a strong trend that personalized credit will grow in the B2B space, and 2024 could be a key year for this shift, which could decisively transform the business environment.

In Brazil's B2B credit landscape, digital accounts for only 2.5% of transactions, while in other countries, the percentage is much higher: 21.3% in the U.S., 24.9% in China, and 31.7% in Japan.

By collecting and cross-referencing client data, supported by specialized tools and software, companies can create personalized profiles, manage and analyze client information, and implement features like chatbots or artificial intelligence tools to personalize service and carry out much more accurate interactions, similar to what already happens in B2C.

The importance of shortening the B2B sales cycle

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The sales cycle refers to the period from the initial contact between companies in a commercial process to the conclusion of the sale, including the entire credit analysis phase.

Naturally, faster and shorter sales cycles result in higher profitability, as it becomes possible to generate more sales and close more deals. However, in many cases, what is observed are longer cycles, due to a range of factors.

The perceived high risk due to economic and political instability, and an excess of options, often lead clients to delay decisions, fearing making a bad deal or that a better opportunity may arise.

On the other hand, when a company receives poorly qualified leads, it can also be more difficult to close sales or other transactions due to the low maturity of a potential buyer who is not prepared to close a transaction.

In all cases, digital tools can help speed up both sales and credit cycles.

• Knowing the client is essential – Using available data intelligently can help offer the right solution, speeding up the sales cycle.
• Qualify your sales team – A well-prepared sales team can quickly identify opportunities and where to invest their time and attention. This perception also depends on developing a sales methodology that makes sense for your business, which is worth focusing on.
• Invest in lead management and team training – Attracting truly qualified leads for the final stage of the sales funnel is crucial for optimizing time, so aligning the marketing team with this goal is essential.

Credit monitoring: one of the most important contributions of digital to B2B

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Within the ongoing revolution in B2B credit sales, one of the greatest contributions of digital tools is the ability to monitor the credit of potential clients and partners. This is a crucial step for business security, reducing the risk of default, facilitating collection processes, and ensuring overall operational solidity.

To implement effective credit monitoring practices, companies will need to use specialized solutions, and in this aspect, the CIAL 360 Credit tool stands out. This B2B credit analysis platform provides data on companies from all over the globe, allowing businesses to assess credit risks and identify business opportunities more accurately.

Tools like CIAL360 Credit are particularly important in B2B transactions, which typically involve higher financial amounts and longer payment terms, where correctly assessing the risk of potential clients is vital.

This ensures faster credit management with a more strategic and business-efficient approach.

Gerdau: credit decisions in 48 hours

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A great example of how a tool can improve processes is Gerdau, a company with over 50 years in the market and a reference in the steel industry. Due to a lack of information, the company used to take up to 25 days to make credit decisions, as it relied on different platforms to analyze national and international market data.

With CIAL360 Credit, which has a database of 460 million companies worldwide, Gerdau now makes credit decisions in just 48 hours—12 times faster—with a 90% reduction in credit investigation costs.

With Gerdau's results, it becomes clear how important digital tools are in the revolution underway in B2B credit management. In such a competitive market, those not paying attention to these changes risk falling behind and losing relevance.

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