Aligning Marketing Campaigns With Consumer Needs
Identifying the biggest concerns of the customers requires companies to first identify all of their customers. However, this task is becoming increasingly challenging. According to a survey customers state that there are more people involved in their decision-making process than ever before. In fact, according to the survey, a B2B buying journey these days tends to involve up to ten different decision-makers. Each one of them has several pieces of information they’ve gathered independently. That means each decision maker has a role in the decision-making process during the B2B buying journey. Because of this, the buying journey has lengthened and become a lot less linear. This provides companies in the B2B industry with an opportunity because the more times a B2B company appears in the research that the decision makers are doing, the more brand awareness the company will generate with the consumers.
B2B decision-makers
When a B2B company is developing its marketing content, it should keep each member of the buying team in mind. Then, the company can target them with relevant content at each step of their buyer’s journey, from problem identification to supplier selection. The company’s objective is to provide answers to their questions and address their concerns, regardless of where they are in the process or how many times they revisit a certain stage. Persistence and patience are key. When a company is able to keep providing useful information, eventually, the customers will find it.
Context with new information
B2B buyers are more likely to engage with a sales representative who provides new insights about their business rather than someone who reiterates what they already know. This principle also applies to brand marketing material. Customers who perceive the information received from suppliers as helpful in advancing their buying jobs are more likely to experience a high degree of purchase ease and more likely to make a larger deal with less regret. The stereotypical B2B buying team these days is highly engaged with the latest studies, insights, and opinions circulating within their industry. They keep track of the content both a company and its competitors are creating and are aware of how their competitors view both. They have formed their own conclusions. A B2B company’s job is to address those conclusions and make a compelling case for their product on their terms. When creating marketing content, companies should pay close attention to what they and their competitors have already communicated to the buying team. Instead of repetition, it’s best to contextualize and respond to the information that the committee is already processing. B2B businesses can incorporate the studies that the consumers have already seen in their content and provide fresh insights or conclusions about the statistics they’ve been debating. This way, the company can demonstrate that the brand is well-informed and deeply interested in the contemporary challenges of its industry.
Repetition
The most important step is for companies to constantly repeat this strategy. The B2B buying team will continue to evolve as rapidly as their industries. The faster their industries grow and develop, the more quickly the needs and concerns of the consumers will change. Companies should be revising this strategy regularly, and updating it to stay ahead of consumer’s needs, no matter how fast they’re evolving.
