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The Web Enabled Buyer – and why we have to change?

The document discusses the evolution of B2B buyers, highlighting their new characteristics such as being more informed and demanding, leading to a shift in marketing strategies from raw lead generation to managing buyer relationships and dialogues. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the buyer's journey and utilizing both inbound and outbound marketing techniques, along with the necessity for sales and marketing alignment to effectively engage these web-enabled buyers. The changing landscape requires marketers to adapt to new communication methods that foster customer loyalty post-purchase, transforming the traditional sales funnel into a continuous engagement loop.

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Web Enabled Buyers – and why we have to change © DirectionGroup [November 2012]
B2B Buyers – a new breed Out of the ashes, a new breed of B2B buyer has arisen A species that is more connected, more impatient, more elusive, more impulsive and more informed than its pre-millennium ancestors And much more demanding “ 9 out of 10 buyers say when they’re ready to buy, they’ll find you. ” Breaking out of the funnel, DemandGen
B2B marketing evolution A whole new set of skills and activities is now required across marketing and sales teams Content marketing Inbound marketing Account based marketing Lead nurturing Lead to revenue management... We need to shift our thinking as B2B marketers from a focus on raw leads to a focus on managing buyer dialogue as a means to nurturing sales-ready relationships An absolute requirement of doing these activities well is a deep understanding of your buyer – and their journey to making a purchase
B2B sales funnel The B2B sales funnel has worked pretty well over the past two decades Solution providers contacted prospects and guided them through the typical buying phases of AIDA Awareness Interest Desire Action Soon enough, a purchase was made
The new rules The rules of engagement are being re-written Sales and marketing have traditionally controlled the conversation Buyers now dictate how and when they want to be contacted B2B buyers select vendors from press reviews, analyst briefings or tradeshows B2B buyers start their journey online, and turn to social media and peer connections to learn how other companies have handled similar business challenges B2B buyers expect and demand solution vendors to respond to their information needs in a timely manner, and through their choice of channel
B2B sales funnel What has changed? Web 2.0 tools have enabled B2B buyers to self educate. They’re well versed in features, functionality and pricing – long before they have their first conversation with a provider Social media has fostered an on- going dialogue amongst peers Breaking out of the funnel, DemandGen
How do buyers inform their purchase? Starts with informal information gathering around a business challenge Engagement with peers who have addressed the challenge Value of real dialogue over static content Buyersphere Survey 2012: Inside the mind of the business buyer Follow industry conversations on the topic and source information from social media
Information sources Self-serve information on the increase Paid for media on the decrease Social media usage decrease Cyclical: burn out amongst current users? Has marketing ruined social media? Gen Y will compensate – using twice as much as their predecessors Buyersphere Survey 2012: Inside the mind of the business buyer
Pull-push? Push-pull marketing has become Pull-push “80% of new leads will come from inbound marketing by 2015” B2B Marketing Directions, March 2012 The new rules of engagement mean that you can no longer rely on a blitz of emails, webinar invites or other outbound media to drive a flood of prospects to the top of the funnel To successfully engage the web enabled buyer, expertise in both inbound and outbound marketing is critical
What is content marketing? A marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience. Content Marketing Institute, 2012
Content marketing landscape We have seen 80% growth in 'Lead Generation’ is content formats ranked as the main since 2005 IDG Connect IT Buyer Survey, 2010 objective for the content that marketers are producing (48%) B2B Lead Generation & Content Marketing Survey 2012, eMedia 36% of marketers say producing engaging content is their biggest challenge Content Marketing Institute, Budgets and Trends Report 2010
Creating the right content Different people prefer Learning Styles different content formats to most easily absorb Listening information Seeing 27% 18% Consider buyer behaviours Reading and preferences for Hands-on 29% channels and media 26% We need to cater to all kinds of content IDG Connect, 2010 requirements and produce in a variety of formats
Content creation You don’t need to create lots and lots of content from scratch ATOMISE – one piece of content, re-purposed into different formats to better suit the wide range of B2B buyer profiles
Video content in B2B Marketing More than 80% of senior execs said they are watching more online video today than Three-quarters of they were a year ago. executives said they watch work-related videos on business related websites at least weekly. 65% of senior execs have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video. (Forbes Insights, 2010)
Don’t forget about sales Content is important for the sales teams “The average sales person Sales enablement is about ensuring the spends 7 hours per week sales reps have the information they need looking for information to to close sales prepare for a sales call.” IDC Sales Advisory Service Ensuring the right conversations take place, with the right content, matched to the correct stage of the process / cycle
Sales and Marketing alignment Alignment of the sales and marketing team (or lack of) has become more transparent to buyers Information provided by both entities needs to be consistent 31% of sales reps are not prepared with even and relevant a basic level of Web available information We need to consider the types before taking a buyer's valuable time. of tools sales force need when - Only 16% are extremely prepared. creating marketing content Technology Marketing Blog (IDC), “Sales Enablement and the Year of the Sales Rep” Ensure sales tools and customer facing comms carry the same story Consider sales enablement in every campaign and throughout the campaign process
The changing role of marketing and sales With the buyer now in control, they will choose how and when they engage to buy Both sales and marketing must re-focus efforts to support nurturing activity “Over 95% of qualified prospects on your web site Collaboration is key: are there to research and Agreed lead definitions not ready to buy. As many Established lead scoring metrics as 70% of them will Understanding of communications and content EVENTUALLY buy from shared with prospects you – or your competitors.” Role of marketing has expanded from brand Marketo, 2011 awareness building to cultivating qualified leads over an extended time period
Mini Case Study: Fujitsu Customer facing: Internal facing: Storage Campaign Sales force briefed and trained using the same customer facing campaign materials Video briefings from Fujitsu Sales Leaders and Product Marketers “Chatter Live” – 15 minute personal phone-based campaign briefings Interactive Campaign Playbook – containing all supporting materials (case studies, elevator pitch, third party content, video, etc) Sales tools for lead nurturing (emails templates, content, etc)
What’s happened to the sales funnel? It’s not dead… but it isn’t a funnel anymore…
The new customer decision journey It’s a loop – not linear AIDA hasn’t disappeared – its become IDEAL Adapted from McKinsey, The consumer decision journey.
Creating brand advocates The customer journey doesn’t end with a sale The “loyalty” aspect of the buyer journey is one which is typically forgotten about “Word of mouth is the primary factor in up In the age of the social web, to 50% of all purchase decisions. Its every customer is an influencer influence tends to rise in direct proportion to Plan beyond soliciting testimonials the risk and expense of the purchase.” from best customers McKinsey & Company Continue to nurture existing customers to build longer term relationships and loyalty Consider facilitating a “communication loop” to be in control of feedback post purchase
In Summary – the communication context Digital culture is changing how brands communicate. Smart businesses engage customers Move from interruption to interaction Move from brand experience to user experience Advocacy and customer conversation are key
Mapping content to the new buyer journey
Conclusions Success lies in mastering the new rules of engagement through understanding of the new B2B buyer’s motivations and behaviours Expertise in inbound marketing is as critical as outbound marketing – think Pull and Push Content is king and great for attracting information hungry buyers Sales and marketing alignment is key As an organisation - be responsive – use tools to facilitate on-going conversations. Think about lead nurturing. Don’t think linearly – think loopily! Post-purchase experience is as important as pre-purchase experience Think about customer engagement
Eoin Rodgers Tactical Planner - DirectionGroup uk.linkedin.com/in/eoinrodgers @eoinrodgers www.DirectionGroup.com