> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nearmedia.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Angi's Leads, B2B Sales Inefficiency, Car Buying to Move Online - URL: https://www.nearmedia.co/angi-walmart-deal-b2b-sales-out-of-step-car-buying-moves-online/ - Published: 2022-02-07T21:03:58.000Z - Updated: 2022-02-07T21:18:03.000Z - Author: Greg Sterling - Tags: News ### Angi Hopes Walmart Delivers Cheaper Acquisition Seeking to further diversify its customer acquisition strategy, Angi (formerly Angie's List) partnered with Walmart. The deal, [announced](https://ir.angi.com/news-releases/news-release-details/angi-coming-soon-walmart?ref=nearmedia.co) last month, grows out of a more limited 2018 relationship with Handy, which Angi [acquired](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/11/1620318/0/en/ANGI-Homeservices-to-Acquire-Handy.html?ref=nearmedia.co) that year. Angi also operates HomeAdvisor, which uses the same lead-gen methodology. According to Angi PR materials, "Services can be purchased online or in-store... \[at Walmart\]. Once the item is purchased, Angi will reach out to coordinate your booking..." This is not unlike IKEA's 2017 [acquisition of TaskRabbit](https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2019/ikea-furniture-assembly-taskrabbit/?ref=nearmedia.co) or Amazon's relatively lame effort to link service pros (installation) to product sales. However, the Walmart-Angi partnership is broader and more ambitious, with a greater range of services "across 500 tasks." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-07-at-10.55.14-AM.png) **Our take:** - Walmart likes this deal because it expands the scope of the Walmart retail experience for customers online and in stores. - Angi is seeking to lower the cost of customer acquisition. In Q3 last year the "cost of revenue" increased 106% – likely mostly online advertising. - Angi/HomeAdvisor are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with their SEO strategy and PPC prices continue to increase. ### Out of Sync: B2B Sellers and Buyers B2B selling is often complex and frequently requires human consultation. However, B2B buying has become much more like consumer behavior, with buyers doing [more self-service](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/these-eight-charts-show-how-covid-19-has-changed-b2b-sales-forever?ref=nearmedia.co) online research [and e-commerce](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/busting-the-five-biggest-b2b-e-commerce-myths?ref=nearmedia.co). Multiple [studies](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/survey-us-b2b-decision-maker-response-to-covid-19-crisis?ref=nearmedia.co) have documented this, but many companies have been slow to respond. A new article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) [argues](https://hbr.org/2022/02/traditional-b2b-sales-and-marketing-are-becoming-obsolete?ref=nearmedia.co) current B2B marketing and sales models are obsolete. It asserts that "linear" models of marketing/ABM followed by a sales handoff are out of sync with buyer behavior. A recent Gartner survey found that B2B buyers only spent "17% of their total buying time interacting directly with supplier sales teams." The rest consisted of "independent" research and learning (online and offline), together with internal consensus-building. And many buyers say don't want any rep interaction. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/02/headway-5QgIuuBxKwM-unsplash.jpg) Source: [Headway](https://unsplash.com/@headwayio?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText)/[Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/b2b?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText) **Our take:** - The HBR article showcases a company (SMART Technologies) that completely reorganized sales and marketing into functional teams with greater success. - Humans are clearly needed to support a complex sale but skills and roles [need to evolve](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/building-next-generation-b2b-sales-capabilities?ref=nearmedia.co) to better meet customer education and information needs. - The message of the HBR piece is that there's dramatic inefficiency in the way most marketing and sales teams are organized today. ### Inevitable: Car Buying Will Move Online Over the next decade car buying will move online for both new [and used vehicles](https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2022/jan/0111-carbravo.html?ref=nearmedia.co). It will be led – is already being led – by EV makers (i.e., [Telsa](https://insideevs.com/news/558848/tesla-direct-sales-model-positives/?ref=nearmedia.co), [Lucid](https://www.torquenews.com/15975/lucids-sales-model-gives-it-huge-advantage-over-legacy-auto-makers?ref=nearmedia.co)). Buyers will increasingly reserve cars online and then [pick them up at a local dealer/distributor](https://www.axios.com/automakers-shift-toward-reservations-d93e10df-8dc4-45b7-950b-b8b8a98fcac2.html?ref=nearmedia.co) or have them delivered. The auto dealer will become a "commodity." (However, there will always be a need to see and test drive cars before buying.) Yet dealers are huge local advertisers (often on TV and radio) and are [expected to spend nearly $9.5 billion](https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/370082/automotive-dealerships-poised-to-spend-94-billio.html?ref=nearmedia.co) on marketing in 2022; however, this will become less and less effective over time. Yet dealers are [protected in many states by laws](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/01/climate-electric-vehicle-car-dealership-power/621330/?ref=nearmedia.co) that prevent automakers from selling directly to the public. This will be an intensifying battle as dealers cling to their status and try to pass new dealer-protection laws in states where they don't currently exist. Those efforts will ultimately prove unsuccessful. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/02/andrew-coop-hWsP5YDaovk-unsplash.jpg) Source: [Andrew Coop](https://unsplash.com/@andrewcoop?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText)/[Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/car-dealer?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText) **Our take:** - At one time it was inconceivable that people would buy cars online. But COVID, price gouging and the shift to EVs make it inevitable. - Also: Most consumers [dislike the existing dealer-centric model](https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/harris-poll-survey-consumer-automotive-index-beepi-frustration/?ref=nearmedia.co) of car shopping. Millennials in particular [favor online and mobile tools](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/business/buying-a-car-online-carvana.html?ref=nearmedia.co). - Caveat: The legal/power struggle between dealers and OEMs is the X variable that will determine how long this transition takes. ## Recent Analysis - ****FTC: Review Platforms That Got Warned**, [by Mike Blumenthal](https://www.nearmedia.co/ftc-review-fraud-letters-the-platforms-who-got-them/). - **ICYMI: GMB's Old Facebook Page Pwnd by Fake Review Vendor,** [by Mike Blumentha](https://www.nearmedia.co/google-gets/)l. ## Short Takes - **Facebook** [threatens to end service in EU](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/meta-threatens-to-shut-down-facebook-and-instagram-in-europe.html?ref=nearmedia.co) if US data sharing blocked. - **Google**: Stolen articles [outrank originals because of "deduplication](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-answers-why-entire-top-10-is-stolen-content/434317/??ref=nearmedia.co)." - **Google Business Profile UTM tagging** [for multi-location businesses](https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/google-utm-for-business-profile/?ref=nearmedia.co). - **Google** [sued](https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/07/google-shopping-lawsuit/?ref=nearmedia.co) in Europe by **PriceRunner** for €2.1B (\~$2.4B). - **Twitter** expands [downvoting for replies](https://www.adweek.com/media/twitters-test-of-downvoting-on-replies-goes-global/?ref=nearmedia.co) globally. - Report: **Customer loyalty** [mostly about low prices](https://www.localogy.com/inmarket-study-reveals-secret-to-retaining-brand-loyalty-amid-chaos/?ref=nearmedia.co) (sadly). - **SMBs** most [impacted](https://bredin.com/blog/2022/02/bredin-report-how-are-smbs-faring-in-the-pandemic/?ref=nearmedia.co) by inflation, supply chain and hiring issues. - Controversial EARN IT Act (**Section 230 carve out**) [is back](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/592301-graham-blumenthal-reintroduce-controversial-section-230-bill??ref=nearmedia.co). - **Streaming replacing traditional TV** [for 50%](https://www.marketingcharts.com/television/pay-tv-and-cord-cutting-224696??ref=nearmedia.co) of steaming subscribers. - FOMO: [Thoughtful ambivalence](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/02/internet-web3-future-fomo/621481/??ref=nearmedia.co) about **crypto and Web3**. - **Traditional media revenues** [to grow in 2022](https://www.marketingcharts.com/advertising-trends/spending-and-spenders-224702??ref=nearmedia.co), except print. - Social [takes over from email](https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/370758/social-climbing-email-knocked-from-top-slot-with.html?ref=nearmedia.co) as **top B2B marketing channel**. - Opinion: **Traditional SEO** increasingly [a waste of time](https://bettermarketing.pub/content-marketing-is-dying-94a0e12cec27?ref=nearmedia.co). - Google: **Web3** [won't kill SEO](https://www.seroundtable.com/web-3-0-wont-kill-seo-32870.html?ref=nearmedia.co). - About 19% of **Spotify** users [say they plan to cancel](https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/spotify-canceled-delete-joe-rogan-controversy-1235172529/?ref=nearmedia.co) over Rogan. Listen to our [latest podcast](https://www.nearmedia.co/memo/). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2021/02/near_memo_banner.png)](https://nearmedia.co/memo?ref=nearmedia.co) How can we make this better? Email [us](mailto:gsterling@nearmedia.co) with suggestions and recommendations.