B2B buying has undoubtedly grown in complexity, a sentiment echoed by 77% of buyers as per Gartner data. One prime factor is the ballooning size of internal buying committees, often comprising of 10 or more stakeholders with diverse priorities, making consensus more difficult than ever.
Apart from larger committees, other complexities include:
Enhanced social connectivity influencing decisions.
Higher stakes in vendor selection impacting organization morale and individual reputations.
The influx of millennials into leadership and buying committees.
Vendor information overload.
The traditional linear sales model no longer works under these new dynamics. The buying cycle has become fluid, with buyers demanding information at their convenience, irrespective of its source being sales or marketing. This necessitates a unified front from sales and marketing, aimed at reducing friction and enhancing the buying experience, thereby positively affecting close rates.
Transitioning From Leads To Engagement
In the evolving B2B marketplace, marketing teams need to transcend the “lead mill” approach. The era of siloed lead generation is over. Now, the focus should be on crafting engaging content that aids buyers at every step of their journey, instead of just showcasing the vendor. The digital era has brought a paradigm shift in the buyer-seller relationship, compelling B2B organizations to adopt a customer-centric approach. However, a whopping 65% of B2B buyers find vendor content self-serving, signaling a need for a more buyer-centric content strategy.
65% of B2B buyers find vendor content self-serving
Marketing teams should pivot from lead-centric to empowerment-centric content, tailored to address the unique concerns of each persona within the buyer’s organization. This also calls for a refocus of content strategies in line with the customer journey, ensuring that marketing engages buyers in meaningful dialogues, guiding them from awareness to brand advocacy.
Reframing The Marketing Structure
Despite the growing popularity of journey maps among marketing teams, a significant portion still primarily emphasizes product promotion. A startling revelation by a Forrester report showed only 40% of marketing teams prioritize solving customer problems over product promotion. As B2B buyers’ expectations shift due to superior buying experiences in the B2C domain, the essence of customer experience (CX) over price and product is emerging. Marketing structures need a revamp to support buyers at every stage of their journey, possibly through the creation of dedicated teams or pods for each stage, employing a variety of engagement channels like email, social media, and field marketing.
Orchestrating Buyer Experiences Through Sales Enablement
The transition from a conventional lead hand-off to a more dynamic engagement strategy requires marketing to comprehend its role in aiding sales to meet revenue targets. Sales and marketing should collaboratively design buyer experiences, facilitating well-informed purchasing decisions. Sales Enablement acts as a bridge, providing a vantage point to align marketing resources with sales needs, and also aiding in quantifying marketing impact on revenue pipeline.
Transitioning from a lead-focused to an engagement-focused strategy necessitates a thorough understanding of the buyer’s journey. This should be a collaborative effort among marketing, sales enablement, and sales to ensure that buyer interactions at every stage are conducive to moving them to the next stage. It’s about mapping out a journey that answers buyers’ questions and meets their needs at every stage.
For a seamless navigation through the buying cycle, leaders should:
Familiarize themselves with the six stages of the modern buying cycle.
Understand buyer motivations at each stage.
Be cognizant of all buyer-seller interactions to guide buyers effortlessly through the cycle.
Mapping Interactions Throughout the Modern Buying Cycle
In the modern buying cycle, it’s crucial to understand and effectively engage with buyers at different stages of their journey. Here’s a concise overview of each stage and the key interactions and resources to leverage:
Stage 1: Problem Naive
Buyer Mindset: Buyers are unaware of major business problems.
Resonating Interactions: Create disruptive, emotional messages to highlight business issues and offer assistance.
Resources: Utilize video marketing, influencer marketing, and social media to grab attention.
Stage 2: Realization
Buyer Mindset: Buyers realize challenges and seek to understand specific problems.
Resonating Interactions: Educate buyers on relevant variables and consultatively guide them to the depth of their issues.
Resources: Leverage SEO/SEM, social media, podcasts, and educational content for informative engagement.
Stage 3: Exploration
Buyer Mindset: Buyers understand their problems and explore potential solutions.
Resonating Interactions: Assist in understanding solution types, weighing pros and cons, and considering long-term goals.
Resources: Utilize third-party reviews, case studies, product webinars, and sales demos for informed exploration.
Stage 4: Confirmation
Buyer Mindset: Buyers look to confirm capabilities and select vendors.
Resonating Interactions: Demonstrate understanding of their requirements, showcase successful cases, and offer competitive comparisons.
Resources: Provide competitor comparisons, solution impact analysis, personalized videos, and consultative calls.
Stage 5: Decision
Buyer Mindset: Buyers make a final choice based on various factors, including the buying experience.
Resonating Interactions: Show deep understanding, act as trusted advisors, and personalize interactions.
Resources: Offer free trials, customer success stories, testimonials, and personalized implementation plans.
Stage 6: Evaluation
Buyer Mindset: Customers evaluate their decision and may seek additional solutions.
Resonating Interactions: Reinforce trust, commitment, and success, treating customers as strategic partners.
Resources: Provide customer success services, scheduled follow-ups, milestone showcases, and benchmarks.
Sales and marketing teams should align closely throughout this journey. In addition, sales enablement plays a pivotal role in ensuring effective communication and measuring impact. This approach leads to the Revenue Engine’s effectiveness in engaging modern buyers, guiding them through the buying process, and facilitating informed decisions leading to increased odds of closing more deals and increasing revenue.
Interested in learning more?
Check out The RevEngine™ Podcast YouTube Channel
