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How B2B Purchasing Decisions have Changed
Your Host
Larry Reeves CEO
@AA_ISP
Today’s Topic
Buyer Personas
Please Welcome
Curtis Bendt VP of Customer Success
@GetMarketJoy
Lets start from the beginning
What is a Buying Persona? • State of mind of a Buyer • Responsibility of a Buyer
You may find‌
The State of Mind and Responsibility Personas want the same things
AWARENESS
They need to know the product is out there According to Google, 71% of buying decisions begin with a generic query Here you find unaware social buyers
EDUCATION
They need to know what the product does for them They now know they need it! What problems does it solve?
VALIDATION
They want to know who does it best Here are what most sales agents ask for! It becomes a battle of features and costs
BUY!
They want to know they made the best choice Ongoing validation of product value helps retention
B2B Purchasing Decision Process
Realize problem/need
Awareness
Perform Research
Educational
Establish buying criteria
Validation
Evaluate vendors
Sales
Purchase
B2B Purchasing Funnel
Types of Personas
Awareness
Unaware/Social Buyers
Education
Social/Online Buyers
Validation
Sales Leads
Bu y
Customers
So….
What’s new?
Important variables for purchase process Connections to executives in your company Analyst rankings Case studies/testimonials Sales team demonstrated knowledge of our company and insights into our problems Demonstrated experience with/knowledge of our industry Peer reviews Pricing
32% 34% 41% 59% 63% 67% 75%
Deployment time/ease of use
80%
Solved a pain point
81%
Features/functionality
81%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Types of Buyers Based on Decision Making Online Buyers • Aggressively do online research before buying • Want to know what makes you the best • Concerned with why your product is the right fit for them
Social Buyers • Love to socialize • Strongly believe in word-of-mouth • Concerned to know exactly how your product solves their problem
Unaware Buyers • Don’t know their pain points or if there is any solution outside
Lead Generation Channels for Online Buyers • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) • PPC (Pay Per Click) • Social Media Ads (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) • Answering on Q&A websites (Quora, Reddit and other relevant community websites)
Lead Generation Channels for Social Buyers • Events • Webinars • Podcast • Educational Videos
Lead Generation Channels for Unaware Buyers • Email Marketing • Strategic calling • Content Marketing • Referral Marketing
OWN THE WHY
Two Key Points You have to give customers the reason WHY they need your product Customers are looking for the Ownership Experience in EVERY buying stage
AWARENESS 2.0
Create the Need Tap into Online Buyers 66% of B2B prospects rank industry-specific content as very important- DemandGen Leverage online publishers that cater to your industry Operate SEO, PPC and Social Marketing campaigns to increase content distribution Market in alternate verticals that lead into your product
AWARENESS 2.0
GIVE THE WHY This persona is going to need to know why they need your product so keep this in mind on all content and marketing Identify on the SOLUTION of the pain vs the pain when approaching this persona This persona likely doesn’t even know they HAVE a pain
AWARENESS 2.0
OWNERSHIP This persona does not want to be ‘sold’ to as they don’t understand they need the product/service You have to let THEM discover their need Educational Seminars Webinars Whitepaper / Online publications Trade Shows and Events
EDUCATION 2.0
Feed the Need Tap into Online Researchers 67% of buyers utilize peer reviews Leverage online publishers that cater to your industry Operate SEO, PPC and Social Marketing campaigns to increase content distribution Market in alternate verticals that lead into your product It sounds familiar but‌.
EDUCATION 2.0
GIVE THE WHY This persona is going to want to know WHAT it does for them and WHY the need it Here you want to bring the PAIN into the SOLUTION Let them know how easier life can be with your product/service Content focus should be on life without the solution
EDUCATION 2.0
OWNERSHIP This persona is going to want to find YOU. You have to let THEM find YOU SEO / PPC Marketing Email Campaigns Phone Campaigns Trade Shows and Events
VALIDATION 2.0
Remove the Need This persona is looking for who to buy from Focus marketing on differentiators Pay attention to what customers like and listen to Highlight your features AS features along with their benefit Competitor comparisons Nothing sells like human interaction Leverage email, phone and social lead generation to schedule demos Video testimonials go a long way
VALIDATION 2.0
GIVE THE WHY This persona is going to want to know why they should choose you Challenge your customer Customers want to be educated and shown a new approach to what they know Engage in conversation Pay attention to what pains sell your product and focus marketing on these 81% of Buyers buy directly due to a pain point being addressed Train your sales team on how to probe for customer needs Cater your product to fit each customers specific pains
VALIDATION 2.0
OWNERSHIP This persona is going to want to be involved in the decision making process Understand that an average of 6.8 people are involved in a decision Understand what your clients needs to sell to their peers 76% prioritize vendors suggested by their peers- LinkedIn Publish Case Studies and provide customer quotes 41% of Buyers use case studies/testimonials when making decisions Implement a referral process Who gives the client the most control in their buying decision? Custom options/Industry specific features all help
BUY 2.0
If only it ended here! This persona is always going to want to be reminded of value Launch new products and educate customers on their value Monitor product usage and create customer retention teams that ensure your customers are trained and USING your product 81% of Buyers buy (and stay) due to product features/functionality
BUY 2.0
GIVE THE WHY This persona is going to want to know WHY they should keep you Enhance differentiators through newsletters and email campaigns Monitor client support issues to identify product/service enhancements Identify trends in attrition (competitors, lifespan, where value depreciated) Get ahead of the curve- address concerns before they become concerns
BUY 2.0
OWNERSHIP Make sure your customers have ownership of their experience Ease of product use Ability to customize/cater Product enhancements that address customer needs Give them use case studies to demonstrate new product uses or service benefits
B2B Purchasing Funnel
Types of Personas
Awareness
I FOUND IT!
Education
What does it do for me?
Validation
Who gives me the value?
Bu y
Why should I keep it?
Q&A
Curtis Bendt VP of Customer Success MarketJoy marketjoy.com curtis@marketjoy.com @GetMarketJoy
Larry Reeves CEO AA-ISP aa-isp.org info@aa-isp.org @AA_ISP
THANK YOU! A replay of today’s session will be available in our Knowledge Center at aa-isp.org