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

© DirectionGroup [November 2012]

Web Enabled Buyers– and why we have to change

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

Follow industry conversations on the topic and source information from social media

Buyersphere Survey 2012: Inside the mind of the business buyer

Information sources

Self-serve information on the increase

Paid for media on the decrease

Social media usage decreaseCyclical: 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

“80% of new leads will come from

inbound marketing by 2015”B2B Marketing Directions, March 2012

Push-pull marketing has become Pull-push

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

Pull-push?

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

'Lead Generation’ is ranked as the main objective for the content that marketers are producing (48%)

B2B Lead Generation & Content Marketing Survey 2012, eMedia

We have seen 80% growth in content formats since 2005

IDG Connect IT Buyer Survey, 2010

36% of marketers say producing engaging content is their biggest challenge

Content Marketing Institute, Budgets and Trends Report 2010

Creating the right content

Listening18%

Reading29%Hands-on

26%

Seeing27%

IDG Connect, 2010

Different people prefer different content formats to most easily absorb information

Consider buyer behaviours and preferences for channels and media

We need to cater to all kinds of content requirements and produce in a variety of formats

Learning Styles

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

Three-quarters of executives said they watch work-related videos on business related websites at least weekly.

More than 80% of senior execs said they are watching more online video today than they were a year ago.

65% of senior execs have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video.

(Forbes Insights, 2010)

Video content in B2B Marketing

Don’t forget about sales

Content is important for the sales teams

Sales enablement is about ensuring the sales reps have the information they need to close sales

Ensuring the right conversations take place, with the right content, matched to the correct stage of the process / cycle

“The average sales person

spends 7 hours per week

looking for information to

prepare for a sales call.”IDC Sales Advisory Service

Sales and Marketing alignment

Alignment of the sales and marketing team (or lack of) has become more transparent to buyers

31% of sales reps are not prepared with even

a basic level of Web available information

before taking a buyer's valuable time.

- Only 16% are extremely prepared.Technology Marketing Blog (IDC),

“Sales Enablement and the Year of the Sales Rep”

Information provided by both

entities needs to be consistent

and relevant

We need to consider the types of

tools sales force need when

creating marketing content

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

Collaboration is key:Agreed lead definitions

Established lead scoring metrics

Understanding of communications and content

shared with prospects

Role of marketing has expanded from brand

awareness building to cultivating qualified

leads over an extended time period

“Over 95% of qualified prospects on your web site are there to research and not ready to buy. As many as 70% of them will EVENTUALLY buy from you – or your competitors.”

Marketo, 2011

Mini Case Study: Fujitsu

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)

Customer facing: Internal facing:

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

In the age of the social web, every customer is an influencer

Plan beyond soliciting testimonials from best customers

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

“Word of mouth is the primary factor in up to

50% of all purchase decisions. Its influence

tends to rise in direct proportion to the risk

and expense of the purchase.”McKinsey & Company

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 experienceThink about customer engagement

www.DirectionGroup.com

Eoin Rodgers

Tactical Planner - DirectionGroup

uk.linkedin.com/in/eoinrodgers

@eoinrodgers