B2B marketers need to reach and motivate decision-makers.
This may seem obvious, but it’s a simple statement that hides a complex reality. How many decision-makers are on the buying committee? Who do they influence, and whom are they influenced by? What types of content are they taking in, and where do they turn for purchasing advice?
If it’s been a while since you’ve checked the preferences of the decision-makers in your industry, this post is for you. Let’s take a look at what’s changed—and what hasn’t—with the people you’re trying to reach.
What characteristics define a B2B decision-maker today?
Rare is the decision-maker who doesn’t run with a pack. In the vast majority of instances, there isn’t a single decision maker – it’s a group of people with varying titles. The current economic climate has only expanded the buying committee. In a recent survey from TrustRadius, 27% of B2B buyers said there were more members of the buying committee than in past years. And 14% said there were more executives on the committee than previously. Research from Demand Gen Report’s 2022 Buyer Behavior Study showed that over half of companies involve four or more decision makers in the buying process. When the economy constricts, business decisions come under tighter scrutiny, with more stakeholders making sure every dollar counts.
While there may be a key decision maker – usually someone from the C-suite when this is the case – it can be costly to assume that the most senior member of the buying committee wields more influence than the other members. Sometimes they do, but sometimes they purposefully play a supporting role. Often, the end users research options, identify which ones to explore further and actually trial them. That’s why it’s so important to map the B2B buying committee, matching each member with the role they will play. As we saw in this year’s B2B Marketing Benchmark, sales and marketing alignment is a pretty big deal in this regard.
How are purchasing timelines changing?
According to Demand Gen’s study, over half of buying committees saw an increase in the time spent reaching a purchase decision, with 20% reporting a significant increase.
What’s taking up that extra time? Respondents identified four processes that stretch the timeline:
- Using more sources to research and evaluate purchases
- Spending more time researching on social media
- Reviewing peer recommendations and reviews
- Conducting a more detailed ROI analysis
While longer sales cycles are no marketer’s favorite thing, it’s a good thing that buyers are doing more research. There’s an opportunity to bring valuable content to buyers that can help inform and guide their decision-making.
How are B2B buyers consuming content?
First, some good news for content marketers: 72% of respondents in Demand Gen Report’s Content Preferences Survey consume at least three pieces of content before making a purchase decision.
The most useful type of content depends on the stage of the buyer’s journey. Infographics, blog posts and podcasts are the most valuable in the early stages. Webinars are an overwhelming preference for midway through the customer journey. In the late stages, content plays a smaller role. Podcasts, webinars and white papers prove useful to a small percentage of buyers.
If content isn’t king for the late-stage buying process, what is? TrustRadius reports that buyers rely on the following resources:
- Free trials
- Product demos
- Prior experience
- User reviews
- Consultant recommendations
Content can make a sizable impact on a purchase decision in the awareness and deliberation stages, but it’s clear buyers want a hands-on experience before they make the final decision.
The B2B buying process: What’s happening when?
Demand Gen Report also asked B2B buyers about when they perform certain activities in the buying cycle. They then used the most popular responses for each activity to create an average journey:
Note that the early stages are almost entirely self-serve and that seeking input from industry analysts and consultants is all the way at the end of the cycle.
With this type of customer journey, it’s critical for B2B marketers to invest in creative, attention-earning brand marketing. The only way for your brand to be present in those early stages of research is to be top-of-mind before the research starts.
For more on how to do this without throwing your lead gen goals out of whack, check out this primer on Pocket Guide to Brand and Demand Marketing.
To what extent do ads influence the buying decision?
As part of its 2020 survey, Demand Gen Report asked B2B buyers about the role advertising played in influencing their perceptions.
What’s somewhat surprising here is that more than seven in 10 respondents recall seeing ads from the winning vendors, and nearly 50% of those respondents said the ads contributed toward a positive impression of the vendor. Remember, we’re talking about ads here. Considering how many ads we see daily and how likely we are to recall them, these figures seem to suggest that B2B vendors who advertise enjoy a significant advantage over B2B vendors who rely solely on organic strategies.
What are the most important qualities of content for B2B buyers?
In their 2022 report, Demand Gen Report asked B2B buyers what they like, don’t like, and would like to see in vendor content. The results are a stark counterpoint to marketing conventional wisdom.
For example, 52% said they wanted to see content organized by issue or pain point. Nearly as many said they’d like to see organization by topic or industry vertical. Finishing dead last: organization by content format. If your resource center features categories for eBooks, webinars and case studies, you’re likely missing the mark with buyers. The message is the key, not the medium.
Speaking of the message, when asked how marketers can improve the quality of their content, buyers had specific advice: Less salesy, shorter and with more support from research and data.
These preferences taken together should lead marketers to focus on the experience of browsing and consuming content. How easy is it for people to find what they’re looking for? How valuable is the content, how credible is it, and how does it reward the time investment?
Which content formats are most useful for marketers today?
In the latest Content Marketing Institute benchmark report, marketers confirmed that buyers are looking for credibility and data-backed research in their content. Original research is No. 3 on the list of most successful content marketing tactics.
It’s important to note, however, that No. 1 and No. 2 are interactive, multimedia content: in-person and virtual events. The long-form articles that are still the staple of many content marketing efforts are still in the top ten, but languishing at No. 8.
Of course, not every marketing department has the budget for attending or sponsoring (let alone hosting) in-person events. But webinars, virtual events and online courses are cost-effective ways to offer an interactive, highly-valuable content experience.
Demand Gen Report’s survey did not include in-person events, but webinars, e-books, and research/survey reports were the top three types of content buyers consumed in the past year.
How important are user reviews?
In both Demand Gen Report and Trust Radius’ research, user reviews are a strong source of information for late-stage research. Demand Gen Report respondents listed reviews, third-party analyst reports and ROI calculators as the most useful. In the B2B Buyer Behavior Survey, 56% said they used reviews to evaluate solution providers.
In TrustRadius’ report, over half said that user reviews were a commonly-consulted resource, second only to product demos.
This data might be anxiety-inducing for marketers, as user reviews are beyond the marketing department’s control. But you can actively solicit reviews from satisfied customers and make these testimonials an integral part of your social proof.
Where do decision-makers look for content and buying insights?
In short, the internet. When asked to name the first three sources that informed them about the potential solution, decision-makers overwhelmingly listed web search and vendor web sites as their top choices:
- 51% said web search was the top resource
- 36% said vendor websites
- 32% said information from peers and colleagues.
For B2B marketers, the takeaway is to achieve a balance between web-indexed content (also optimizing content for social search) and user and peer reviews. The two feed off each other – favorable reviews and links can boost content visibility and content visibility can lead to more buyers seeing the reviews – so think about ways to integrate your “findable” assets with your most compelling reviews or the review sites you want decision-makers to visit.
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Topics: Content marketing
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