Like just about everything else in business, the digital revolution is changing how your consumers are buying. Learn four ways to transform the modern buyer's journey strategy.
Originally published in The Partner Channel Magazine - Fall 2018
Like just about everything else in business, the digital revolution is changing how your consumers are buying. Since 2015, the number of B2B buyers who prefer to research online, on their own, has increased from 53 percent to 68 percent (1). While companies might be used to owning the sale of their products, consumers are now the ones who dictate their buyer journey. Because of this, B2B buyers are looking for companies
to help them through their buying process by providing them the right content during the crucial research stage.
How can you meet the demands of the modern buyer’s journey? Here are four ways to transform your strategy.
1. STOP SELLING, START SERVING
Imagine you’re in the market for a new car. Typically, you do not just walk into the nearest dealership and wait for
the salesperson to see you, educate you about every type of car they offer, and then make your decision, right? You will probably have already done some research online about various makes/models/features and possibly even specific dealerships you would like to do business with—before ever leaving your house (if you’re like the average car buyer).
B2B buyers are becoming much more like the average consumer in the way they make decisions. They do not want to be sold to, because they see right through the “sales pitch” of the salesperson, and it distracts from the actual content of their search. Instead of selling to your buyer, serve them the information they need to choose your product.
2. DIGITAL VERSUS EVERYTHING ELSE
Digital marketing has changed buyer behavior for the foreseeable future. The digital buyer transformation has modified:
- The way we consume content
- The amount of content we consume
- The content experience consumers expect
- The B2B buyer as a whole
- Company image (online reviews from the public versus company-provided referrals)
As marketers, we take advantage of every marketing channel available—digital, email, web, print, social media
platforms, etc.—until the wall goes up in the buyer’s mind. And by that time, 62 percent of B2B buyers confirm
they can develop their selection criteria, or even finalize a vendor list, based solely on digital content alone (2). Sincedigital marketing has become the overwhelming popular choice for research, your company’s marketing strategyand efforts should reflect the same.
3. BECOME CUSTOMER-CENTRIC
Once the wall goes up and the consumer actively states they no longer want communication from you—via
privacy settings, unsubscribes, spam filters, etc.—that marks the end of the consumer/company relationship. Since there is nothing that can be done after this, you must take precautions before the spam filter to ensure you are meeting consumers’ expectations and fitting into their desired research content. So how can you do that?
To accomplish great consumer retention, marketers need to put their customers first and develop a true
understanding of them. Ask these questions of your consumers:
- What are your customers looking for?
- What questions are they asking their potential vendors?
- Where are they looking for their products?
If your B2B consumer base is mostly comprised of millennials who statistically do not read the printed newspaper, it probably doesn’t make sense to place newspaper ads. The same goes for digital marketing—if your audience isn’t on Facebook or Twitter, but you’re investing a large portion of your budget in Facebook ads, you’re making it more difficult for your consumer to find the information you want them to see. Make it easy for them.
In addition to putting the customer first, you also need to put their experience first. A customer’s feeling about
a company starts with the research and content they find online. When you walk into a car dealership to make a
purchase, you hope the salesperson who greets you is knowledgeable, friendly, and honest about the cars you’re
interested in. If you have a bad experience, you’re probably less likely to buy a car from them. B2B buyers want the same for their purchases. Are you providing an enjoyable and memorable experience for the customer? If you are writing content that doesn’t answer their questions or is hard to find, the answer is probably “no.”
Here are a few ways to focus on the customer content experience:
- Be honest
- Be ethical
- Be entertaining
- Be easy to find
With these first impressions, a customer immediately judges whether or not they trust the company. In a digital
age with so much content and competitors out there, trust is what can make or break your customer relationship.
Trust builds loyalty; loyalty builds the buyer’s lifetime value. If a buyer does not trust a company, they will remain
anonymous and look for a company they do trust with their information, and more importantly—their business.
4. BE ETHICAL, ENTERTAINING, AND EDUCATIONAL
Be Ethical
The biggest way to gain a B2B buyer’s trust is by remaining ethical throughout the sales process. Ethicality comes in many forms: honest content, genuine advice, and true customer reviews. Going back to the car buying metaphor:
If you see online that a dealership is advertising they are offering $500 off every car on the lot, but you arrive and
learn that is not the case—or it comes with a catch not listed on the site—you will probably be less likely to trust that dealership moving forward, right? If a buyer is reading an article and comes across incorrect information on
your site, they will assume your company is being unethical. Once trust is gone, it could be impossible to get that back and can absolutely diminish your company’s reputation.
Be Entertaining
Another change with the digital transformation is the customer’s expectation to be entertained, while also being educated. With so much content on the web, how can you create something that stands out? B2B buyers are researching questions to their answers, but they are more likely to engage with the content that is entertaining them.
Who doesn’t love a good story? Marketers should double as storytellers— this will help your content stand out
versus typical facts and statistics.Stanford professor Chip Heath found in a study that after listening to speeches, only five percent of students could remember a single statistic, but 63 percent could remember stories (3).
Be Educational
More content isn’t always the answer. Marketers shouldn’t publish for the sole purpose of sticking to a schedule or just to create content. Look at metrics to ensure the content being produced is engaging but, ultimately, able to convert. Focus on your customers, provide them with what they want and what they need to know about your company. Serve them in a way that benefits you both and retains their loyalty to you and your products. B2B buyers are crucial for your success—so treat them as such!