Yeah, we're all guilty of adding these seemingly important phrases to our content. Which one makes you roll your eyes the most?
September 5, 2008 | Posted by: Marty | Be the first to comment on this...
A series of posts that looks at the complex B2B technology sale. Specifically, what's changed, who's involved, what they want, and where they go to find answers.
The decision maker leads the charge, but influencers weigh in.
Typically at this stage the decision maker is leading the charge. They will, however solicit the opinions of influencers such as the product manager (or key researcher).
The user may also be brought back in to evaluate features, but they tend to have less impact on the purchasing decision than the influencer.
Details vary by company.
Because every company had different needs, the specifics on what individual companies are looking for varies. Typically, however, they're looking to nail down details in terms of:
Additionally, if there's more than one company still in the mix, they'll want to compare you to others on a point-by-point basis.
Personal interactions key.
During the final stage, buyers are looking for face-to-face meetings with prospective vendors. This is where people in your organization play a key role. Buyers are sizing you and your solution up against all the information they’ve gathered in the buying cycle.
Third party validation and your web site still play a role.
In addition to meeting and getting to know your company on a personal basis, purchasers are continuing to reach out to social network sites for 3rd party validation about what you're saying. It's a "trust but verify" mentality.
Today's buyer is more informed than ever before. They often have specifics about pricing, implementation, and more information about your competitor that you might expect. Just like in the research phase, the more you can do to help the buyer answer their remaining questions the better.
Since you know they're comparing you to others, come to meetings prepared to share point-by-point comparisons with other vendors.Additionally, since many purchasers are soliciting opinions from others online, it's important that you're aware of what people are saying about your products and services, as well as your competitors, on other sites. Monitor the most popular social networking site and forums related to your industry and be prepared to address issues or comments about your company and it's solutions that appear on those sites.
September 3, 2008 | Posted by: Lee | Be the first to comment on this...
In the morning after you get your coffee and sit down at your desk, you click (or double click) that icon to launch yourself into the wonderful world of the internet. What you then see varies from person-to-person, browser-to-browser. So...
August 29, 2008 | Posted by: Marty | 3 comments
A series of posts that looks at the complex B2B technology sale. Specifically, what's changed, who's involved, what they want, and where they go to find answers.
Bring on the decision makers.
At this point in the sale, the buyer is comparing vendors on their short list to each other, talking specifics about pricing, support, and features. They're also looking to develop a personal relationship with your company.
When it’s time to start comparing vendors, the true decision makers start appearing. Typically, these individuals have final say when it comes to costs, and ROI, and are often a key part of the negotiations.
If you've made the short list, the buyer continues to collect information about your solution, but they're diving deeper into features and functionality. They're also ready to know more about the company and people behind the solution.
Specifically, they're looking for information on:
Social network sites provide validation and pricing info.
At this stage, buyers are using social networking sites to reach out to others who've used your products. They're looking for price points and specifics on implementation and customer services.
If they can get information on what another company paid, they’re in a better position to negotiate a better price for themselves, or at least they’re armed with what the pricing might be. That’s difficult for you as if the information they’re getting is too high, they may bolt. If it’s too low, then negotiations start off on the wrong foot. Either way, be prepared for the buyer to have some expectation of what pricing should be.
Webinars and podcasts become more important.
MarketingSherpa found that webinar and podcast attendees are more senior members of the buying team who are further along in the buying process. Because representatives of the company are involved, buyers get a better sense of who's behind the solution. Webinars that allow audience participation also allows buyers to see how you interact with and address potential buyers' questions and concerns.
Make it easy to get in contact with you. And respond quickly.
Because much of the negotiations process is offline or face-to-face, your buyer is starting to rely on direct communications to get their questions answered. Be sure your contact information is easily accessible. Include both email link and phone number. We recommend putting both in the footer of every page.
It’s not surprising that the faster you respond to inquiries, the better it is for your company. What is surprising is how fast you need to respond. A MarketingSherpa study found that at least half of the organizations responded within 1 – 2 days, but a third said it typically took more than three days. Your buyer, however, wants and expects a response within 24 hours.
Give buyers insight into your company and the people behind your solution.
Don't skim on the "Company" section. Help buyers get to know what you're all about. In addition to company history and the obligatory management bios, link to photos or videos of events you've held or attended to show a more personal side of your company.
If budget allows, shoot videos of your leadership talking about your philosophy, successes, and key differentiators. Include quotes from clients that back up what your leadership says.
Develop podcasts and webinars with rich content.
Consider creating and posting webinars and podcasts that focus on benefits, ROI, and integration concerns. Post these to your site as well as push them out to other industry related sites.
The most often cited reason for bailing on a webinar was that the “content was not as advertised,” followed by “the presenter read directly from the slides,” and “the webinar began with company/sales information”. Be sure you’re clear about the content you’ll deliver and then be sure you deliver on that promise. Don't make it a sales call, make it informative.
Monitor social media sites for your name and products.
If you don't monitor the blogosphere you won't know who's talking about you (and potentially providing inaccurate information). Set up a Google alert to search for your company and product names. Monitor influential social media sites and provide clarification when needed about products and services. Be sure not to sell or "call out" people, but simply provide clarification as needed.
In the next and last post (woot), we'll dissect the final phase of the buying cycle - Purchasing. Who's involved, what they're looking for, and where they go to get it.
August 27, 2008 | Posted by: Lee | Be the first to comment on this...
As digital and interactive ads continue to gain popularity among advertisers, more and more data is available about what visitors will tolerate and what sends them running for the hills. Ad Age Digital put out an article last week on preroll ads (ads that run before you can view a page, video or other content), and the surprisingly high level of tolerance among visitors.
Abandonment rates do not seem to rise drastically for most prerolls, especially when users are waiting for a video or interactive content. Rates ranged somewhere between 15% and 25% for many of the sites polled, which is a comparable rate to channel surfers who change the channel during TV commercials. Overall, tolerance levels have increased rapidly; especially for those sites at which the ad being served up is relevant to the content the visitor is waiting to see.
What about you, do you bail on prerolls? Would/does it stop you from visiting your favorite sites?
August 25, 2008 | Posted by: Neil | Be the first to comment on this...
A series of posts that looks at the complex B2B technology sale. Specifically, what's changed, who's involved, what they want, and where they go to find answers.
Project managers take over and dig deeper.
Once the need for a new, or different, solution has been established it's time to research potential vendors and make a short list.
For many companies, a project manager will step in at this point, pull together research on different vendors, and reach out to other departments who may be impacted.
Proof of how technology meets their needs is key.
The focus here is identifying the right vendors. When creating the short list, buyers are looking for:
Your site is key.
Once they know who you are, buyers are going to your site for answers. If fact, IT buyers ranked the vendor's site as one of, if not the most valuable, source of information.
Online and offline sources for validation.
They're also looking for 3rd party validation that you can do what you say. They're using both online and offline sources as well as recommendations from colleagues. Popular online sources include:
Offline validation comes from:
Pump up your web site with relevant content.
The good news is that buyers are still looking to you (at least your site) for answers. The trick is to give them what they want and that's where things have changed.
Buyers are looking for a deeper, more detailed level of information than every before. Specifically, your site should:
If possible, consider targeting content to specific industries. It's one of the ways to make it more valuable to the buyer.
3rd party validation is critical.
While buyers are coming to your site to hear what you have to say, they're also looking for outside sources to validate your claims. Vendors who don't have that 3rd party validation are less likely to make it to the short list.
It's important to identify the influential industry sites that your buyer visits, then establish a presence on those sites.
At this stage, buyers are looking to collect as much information as possible. Anything you can do to help them find what they need the better. These individuals are heavy influencers and their opinions carry weight when making the final decision.
In the next post, we'll dissect the third phase of the buying cycle - Negotiations. Who's involved, what they're looking for, and where they go to get it.
August 21, 2008 | Posted by: Lee | Be the first to comment on this...
A series of posts that looks at the complex B2B technology sale. Specifically, what's changed, who's involved, what they want, and where they go to find answers.
Potential users of the solution typically lead the charge.
Individuals who will use the product, or solution, are typically involved early on in the decision-making process. They’re often the first group to bring the need for a new or improved solution to the attention of management.
They're instrumental in defining functional specs or baseline requirements, and may often recommend vendors. They tend to fall out of the mix after requirements have been defined, but are often brought back in the final purchasing phase to provide input.
Heavy focus on features and functionality.
As potential users of the solution, they’re looking first to ensure your solution does what they want. Specifically, they're looking for:
They're also interested in rich media presentations, especially when it comes to complex solutions. Rich media is often easier to digest and lets them get a quick sense of what you provide.
Word of mouth still rules. But web and offline have impact too.
Recommendations from colleagues are still the most important when it comes to initial awareness, but online and offline channels are also influential.
Technology buyers spend roughly the same about of time reading and relying on offline, or traditional media channels, as they do online sources of information. Specifically:
ITtoobox found that “IT decision-makers and influencers spend more time with and increasingly consider online communities as extensions of their existing network of personal contacts.” Social media sites have influence and your buyer is spending time listening to what others are saying.
According to MarketingSherpa, nearly half of IT buyers learned about a product or service that they began using through a social networking site.
Be where your customer goes for answers.
The increase in the amount of online sources means your buyer is more informed and educated than ever before. And this awareness and education is happening earlier in the buying cycle.
Buyers no longer have to wait to have sales meetings or presentations to get a better understanding of what solutions are out there. And many times, they may not even be looking for a specific solution to a problem but instead come across a solution as part of their daily search of the blogosphere looking to get smarter about what they do.
With all these different sources of information available, it’s critical to be where your customer goes to find information. It's not enough to just have a web site.
Creating targeted content that answers your buyers' questions and distributing that content on multiple sites increases your chances of being found online.
Help them spread the word.
In the early stages of the decision making process, users often need to convince others that a new solution is needed. Providing downloadable content they can pass on makes it easier for them to create awareness for others in their organization and make the case for a new solution.
In the next post, we'll dissect the 2nd phase of the buying cycle - Research (or making the short list). Who's involved, what they're looking for, and where they go to get it.
August 13, 2008 | Posted by: Lee | Be the first to comment on this...
This is the first in a series of posts that looks at the complex B2B technology sale. Specifically, what's changed, who's involved, what they want, and where they go to find answers.
Lots of different people. All with different needs.
According to MarketingSherpa, there can be as many as 21 people involved in a complex technology sale. Multiple people come and go throughout the buying cycle and some will wear multiple hats.
No matter how many people are involved, they all want the same thing - clear answers to their questions. What's tough for B2B companies is that different people ask different questions at different times in the buying process.
Buyers want product details first. Company details second.
As buyers move through the decision making process, they first want to be sure your solution does what they need. Once they're convinced it's a viable option and within budget, then they take the time to learn more about your company.
Buyers want content that informs.
The biggest shift overall has been the role that content plays in complex B2B technology sales.
According to a study by KnowledgeStorm, 85% of technology buyers said they needed 3-5 pieces of content before they had a clear understanding of what the company provided. They're looking for educational content that explains concepts, strategies, and benefits.
Additionally, because of the amount of information available online, buyers aren't reaching out and contacting companies as early in the process as before. Instead they're doing more research online (on your site and others) without engaging your sales team. This shift means B2B companies need to start providing content online which may have been more typically covered in the first contact with sales.
What does this mean for me?
It’s the combination of multiple types of content, each meeting a different need at a different point in the sales cycle that works best.
Content that is more relevant to the buyer (because it answers their questions) will be perceived as more valuable. And companies that provide that information will be more likely to get invited to the table.
In the next post, we'll dissect the first phase of the buying cycle - Awareness. Who's involved, what they're looking for, and where they go to get it.August 11, 2008 | Posted by: Lee | Be the first to comment on this...
In the last few years, we've seen how the wealth of online content and online resources has shifted B2B technology buyers' expectations in terms of what information is available (they expect more) and how we engage them (they expect 2-way conversations) online. That's why we talk a lot about content and social media on this blog.
Along those lines, I was recently interviewed by Chris Butler from Newfangled Web Factory about our strategy for building a content-rich, engaging site. We were excited to see our site and our approach featured in their latest eNewsletter.
For those of you who are tasked with the sometimes daunting task of creating content for your organization, what are you finding works well? What tips would you share with others?
July 30, 2008 | Posted by: Lee | 2 comments
As B2B marketers we all know that what our customers say about us is more important than what we say about ourselves. So how do you make the most out of the customer testimonials you have on your site?
Make them real.
For a testimonial to have impact, your prospect has to believe it. A recent study by MarketingExperiments, found that in the B2B world, video testimonials had higher credibility with viewers than audio testimonials. And, text-only testimonials were less likely to be perceived as genuine by prospects (this is doubly true when they're anonymous).
Video has more credibility because the customer is real - your prospect can see and hear them. They can also pick up on tone and body language, which adds to credibility in ways that text alone can't.
Address real issues and concerns.In complex B2B technology sales, buyers come to the table with specific issues and concerns. They're most often worried about ROI, implementation issues, and how you'll handle customer service.
You can use testimonials to get specific about how you'll address these issues - the more specific the better. Being up front about buyers' concerns and objectives makes you more trustworthy and credible in their eyes.
Placement matters.
You can increase the effectiveness of your testimonials by matching the content of the testimonial with similar content on your site. For example, place the testimonial that raves about your customer support on the customer support page. Put the one about ease of implementation on your "How it works" page.
So what does this mean for me?
Use testimonials to add credibility and proactively address your prospects' issues. If you're going to include testimonials, the more real you can make them the more impact it will have. Look at videotaping key clients where you can.
July 24, 2008 | Posted by: Lee | 3 comments
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