Innovation makes great headlines. Whether it’s the latest SpaceX rocket launch, a new iPhone hitting the shelves, or the rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines, doing something new and different never fails to capture attention and create excitement. It’s why we all want to read about the latest technological discoveries, cool startups, and what Elon Musk has been up to this week. Innovation sells.
And it’s no different with technology buyers, who are as dazzled by innovation as the rest of us. In the digital age, businesses are increasingly aware that partnering with the most forward-thinking companies can give them an edge over the competition. That’s why nearly half of buyers said they would swap vendors if the product was more innovative, according to the latest LinkedIn Technology Buyers Report - The Age of Agility 20/21.
But while innovation is a key factor for tech buyers today, it isn’t enough on its own, with the report revealing that for three quarters (76%) of respondents, experience and knowledge are as, if not more, important than the latest tech. What tech buyers really want is the whole package; the innovation that they associate with challenger brands, along with the reliability that they expect from a more established provider. Tech marketers must somehow find a way of straddling the two.
Managing head and heart
In the past, B2B tech buyers might have been driven by cold hard rationality, but as technology has become central to how we all do business, the nature of tech buyers, and how they make decisions, has changed. Now, they behave more like consumers, using both their left and right brains when assessing their options. So, while their heart might prefer the novelty and excitement that they would get from a challenger brand, their head – and procurement team - is telling them that the safer option is the household name. Vendors must ensure their marketing strategies connect on both these levels.
“At the end of the day, B2B customers use both their head and their heart to make buying decisions,” says Ashling Kearns, CMO EMEA for Salesforce. “Our customers aren’t just looking for a technology platform but a strategic partner that they will go on a journey with. Our relationship with brands like PensionBee or the Co-op involves aligning around values that will enable them to do great things. That connection is how we operate.”
Appealing to the head: building trust
Never underestimate the value of reliability, with the report finding that reputation and past experience with a solution are amongst the most important considerations when making tech decisions. But, if we dig down to what these factors really mean, buyers ultimately want to know that they can trust you; whether that’s to deliver on your promises, be transparent about pricing and costs, or being open about any issues. In short, having the most innovative product is irrelevant if buyers don’t believe that they can depend on you.
Building trust isn’t simple of course; it spans everything you do as a business, from the consistency of messaging, to the reliability of your product, and the behaviour of every employee. If buyers notice inconsistency between any of those elements, then trust is compromised. Getting it right requires clarity of purpose, values and vision, from the top to the bottom of the organisation. And increasingly, it also incorporates your approach to wider issues such as sustainability and diversity, to show that you stand up for your values in the real world.
“To create trust, you need to show concrete engagement on these global challenges,” says Sébastien Imbert, Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft France. “When Microsoft announced that we will be carbon neutral by 2030 and carbon negative by 2050, it drove a lot of engagement, and we’ve created specific content for our sales teams that continues the conversation.”
Appealing to the heart: staying agile
Reputation and trust appeal to the head, but brands must simultaneously create that excitement and ‘newness’ that is so attractive to the heart, by showing that they can respond to buyers’ constantly evolving needs and innovate with the times.
While taking an agile approach is typically easier for smaller, younger brands, nowadays it is non-negotiable for vendors of all sizes, and marketers have a key role in driving constant innovation. Marketing strategies and campaigns can no longer be planned months in advance, they must have the ability to flex as the economy, business landscape and customer needs shift. That means drawing on data to listen to customer and buyers’ needs and adapt accordingly.
“The idea of setting out a marketing plan for the next year, or the next two to three years… I don’t know that it’s fit for purpose anymore,” says Kearns. “The North Star and the vision can be there, but how you execute needs to be agile, with a flexibility to manoeuvre to where customers are going.”
In addition, marketers need to be open to experimenting with new technologies and techniques to capture the attention of buyers and demonstrate that the organisation is investing in being at the cutting-edge. The last 12 months have seen organisations forced to think differently in terms of delivering more interesting, online experiences, and that needs to become standard practicegoing forward.
“As digital marketers, I believe that’s a big part of the benefit we can provide to our businesses. We put them in touch with what’s coming next,” says Björn Radde, Head of Digital Marketing at T-Systems International.
“Challenger or established player?” used to be an ‘either, or’ question. But not anymore. With the array of options now available, buyers no longer have to compromise between head and heart, challenger or established player, innovation or trust. They want it all, and marketers are at the forefront of ensuring that they get it.
The LinkedIn B2B Technology Buying Survey – Age of Agility EMEA Report 20/ 21 lays out the five key trends in a new and dynamic landscape for technology marketers. Discover what your buyers need from you today.
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