Read the above case on LG B2B solutions then answer the following questions:

1. Who are LG's buying center participants?

2. What challenges did LG face with its B2B marketing during COVID-19?

3. How did it manage through these challenges?

Make sure a minimum of 3 journal articles are cited and listed in your reference list when answering the above questions.

LG BUSINESS SOLUTIONS' TIPS ON MARKETING STRATEGY Optimize your platforms for mobile. Toma suggests reducing the barrier of entry for users as much as possible, making it accessible on desktop or mobile "In looking at our stats, mobile accounts for more than 50 percent of usage for the platform, so it's something that, yes, it costs more, it takes more development time, but make that investment," she says. "Not only are people at home now, but once it becomes a hybrid platform and you're able to go back to in-person events, you'll be able to pull it up on a device on-site easily while speaking with a customer or client." A LITTLE OVER a year ago when LG Business Solutions pulled out of ISE in Amsterdam over growing COVID concerns, the b-to-b arm of LG that relies heavily on the trade show calen- dar decided it needed to play the long game. After months of research, the brand launched the Digi Tour, an immersive and customized 3D showroom that would allow the group to scale and leverage it through 2021 and into the hybrid event future. "We knew trade shows would eventually come back, but we knew they would come back differently," says Damaris Toma, experiential marketing lead at LG Business Solutions. "We needed to set the tone, this new way of doing events that's right for us. And we didn't want to simply launch something, because these digital and virtual tools can be very expensive. Instead, we thought, why not do something that we can control. That we can own." Tasked with the challenge of showcasing high-end, large- scale, high-tech signage and screen products for use in expansive lobbies, airports and stadiums, LG Business Solutions surveyed the product landscape and settled on the Unreal Engine plat- form. The DigiTour leverages advanced real-time 3D environ- ments allowing attendees to walk through commercial spaces to view products in the context of their relevant environments. Four spaces represent the verticals the brand is focusing on and within them attendees are prompted by a host (an actor recorded in a studio) before they begin exploring via navigation- al markers within a photorealistic setting. Visitors have a 360- view of products, from signage to video walls, so they can see all of the specs up close, including how thick a screen is, how tall it would be, and how it would look in a spaceall the nuances of the products, which were reproduced via 3D CAD drawings. And Easter eggs are planted throughout, including scenery from major cities pictured outside windows and a discoverable portal into a "bonus" space to explore. The DigiTour experience is both a marketing tool and a sales tool, and it gives the brand the ability to scale and grow.get more immersive with the effects and functions, and host events tied to the platform. For each product, visitors can click on a module to download case studies, spec sheets or connect live with a sales rep. Having "actionable next steps was essential, Toma says. "The customer doesn't need to install anything, plug in any- thing, download anythingif they're comfortable with a video call, it'll pop right up." Toma says. "Not everything is available when you're not in person. We get that. But we're going to make it as painless as we can to do business this way. S -Rachel Boucher Work closely with the sales team. The sales team plays an important role and functions as an additional user group for a virtual platform. Seek their input and think about how the platform can evolve to bring them for more interactivity with customers. For example, hosting lunch-and-learns tied to the platform or working with sales teams from other verticals to insert non-endemic products into the platform. For example, the Digi Tour right now includes a conference room space where there's a por- tal to then explore LG Business Solutions for the home or remote work. It could be a space to tie in lifestyle product lines as well. "The great thing for us is every single sales person uses it differently." Toma says of the DigiTour. "It's been a great learning for us that when you make it simple, everyone else can make it their own." Consider a phased approach. LG Business Solutions is rolling out the DigiTour pro- gram in phases, with phase one serving as a "show- case" of all the different types of products that the brand produces, a kind of "flexing of our muscle," as Toma puts it. In future phases, the brand plans to add more functionality and storytelling on portfolios of products as the company continues to roll out market- ing messaging and as the brand aligns with any future virtual, in-person or hybrid events this year