Trend B2B people are used to challenges, from powering cities and economies to transporting food to tables. It’s in their DNA. Hard has never meant impossible. By MICHAEL Still, the last two orbits around the sun an outsize ability to find growth and LOMBARDI have been extraordinary in the hurdles and opportunity. the tectonic shifts the industry has seen. Customer expectations have changed; The good news is this need not be an supplier dynamics have remained in exclusive club. Adaptive Business and constant flux across a borderless supply leaders can be built. In 2022, we see four chain; traditional sales organizations have critical strategies they’ll harness to drive become immersed in a move to virtual business growth: engagement. The unexpected has become the only reasonable expectation—and with 1. They’ll challenge the traditional norms pandemic-related complications piling on, of how relationships and trust are built, the quantity of revolutionary change has mastering the complexities of hybrid jolted even the most hardened B2B leaders. customer relationships across virtual and in-person environments. What does this mean for the year ahead in 2. They’ll build networked ecosystems 2022? A whole lot of adaptation is what. designed for continuous growth, And B2B may help show the way forward from traditional routes to market to for everyone else through a concept called unconventional direct-to-consumer, “Adaptive Business.” e-commerce, or “frenemy” partnerships. Adaptive Businesses are customer- 5centric companies that succeed through 3. They’ll create more meaningful adversity—not despite it—by pivoting customer interactions with innovations quickly and confidently and innovating in created through next-gen technology. new landscapes. Having endured the last 4. They’ll champion social and two years of upheaval, B2B leaders will environmental change through active begin reshaping their organizations around and influential planet- and social-forward the qualities of the Adaptive Business. actions. These companies will demonstrate 21 BUSINESS & GROWTH TRENDS 2022 OGILVY GROWTH & INNOVATION