Mastering the Art of Buying Group Engagement Part 1
This is part 1 of a two-part article on the B2B journey and how recent research has led to a redesign of the B2B marketing model around engaging Buying Groups rather than focusing on leads. We covered this topic in depth in the most recent episode of our podcast.
Kerry Cunningham, B2B Marketing Superstar
In the latest episode of the Healthtech Marketing Show , my colleague Mark Erwich and I speak with one of my all-time B2B marketing heroes, Kerry Cunningham . Kerry heads up research and 6Sense and has an accomplished career studying and creating breakthrough research in B2B.
His work is based on deep insights about the B2B Buying process and his recent research on the B2B blew my mind.
Mark Erwich is no slouch either, and we are very lucky that he joined us recently as a principal at Health Launchpad . Prior to joining us Mark led marketing at Verato and Imprivata . He is a real marketing scientist.
So, what did the research say?
BUYERS WILL CALL YOU WHEN THEY ARE GOOD AND READY
Much of what we covered in the episode is based on research 6Sense published late last year. Here is a summary of some of the most important findings:
In my view, this last statistic is earth-shattering with a simple conclusion.
As marketers, this means we have two questions to answer:
If we do that well, we will gain more than our fair share of in-market buyers and more effectively generate sales-ready opportunities.
Listen to the Episode
Marketing Matters More Than Ever
So, if buyers spend 70% of the 11+ months in their journey AVOIDING your salespeople (and they say they are, according to the research), it’s up to marketing to find them, engage them, and persuade them.
Your digital presence and the content you provide throughout their journey can help your company achieve its revenue goals.
If you have been in B2B marketing for a while, this will be something you are already well-versed in. However, there are several areas where you may need to refocus:
Individual Leads are No Longer Effective Indicators
As an industry, we have historically focused on generating individual leads. The problem is that single leads often don't tell you much. A single lead does not represent the full buying group or necessarily indicate genuine intent.
Success in B2B sales requires engaging with multiple decision-makers and influencers. This means developing strategies to identify and connect with multiple stakeholders within the same account.
Companies that do this well use data and analytics to map out typical buying group structures for your ideal customers. They map these in their CRMs and track how they engage multiple stakeholders within an organization.
They also tailor content and outreach approaches to address the concerns and priorities of different roles within the buying group.
The Shift from Quantity to Quality
As we have covered in prior articles , there is a shift in healthtech, as there is in other B2B sectors, from measuring lead volume to opportunity quality.??
In fact, traditional metrics like Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and lead volume can be misleading. The challenge is to develop metrics that indicate genuine buying intent and engagement quality.
This results in focusing a few high opportunities intensely rather than following-up to qualify large volumes of marketing leads.
The best practice is to develop criteria for quality engagement, such as depth of content consumption, multi-stakeholder involvement, or specific high-value actions. These criteria will guide your marketing efforts and measurement.
Over time, you will want to study successful deals' behavior to identify engagement and content consumption patterns. You can use these insights to shape your marketing strategies and prioritize efforts that align with buying behaviors.
Leveraging Anonymous Traffic and Third-Party Intent Data
The third skill to master is identifying potential in-market customers. This involves handling anonymous traffic on your website and using third-party intent data .
Anonymous traffic can provide valuable signals about account interest and buying intent. Many tools can help you unmask and analyze this traffic at the account level, which will inform your targeting and engagement strategies.
Third-party intent data can help identify accounts showing interest in your solutions before they reach your website. Experiment with this data to develop a candidate list of potentially in-market accounts. Then, prioritize outreach and tailor messaging to their specific interests.
For smaller brands with lower awareness, third-party intent data may be even more important, as it is less likely that buyers will visit your website. Larger brands benefit from more traffic, so it makes more sense for them to focus more on first-party data.
Crafting an Effective B2B Content Strategy
Kerry had some specific recommendations to share.
Coming Next
In part 2 of this article, we will cover “next level” issues related to these topics:
If you liked this post and want to learn more…
Originally posted on our website
Figuring out next move | Wharton MBA | IIT BHU
2 个月The stats are quite revealing! Where are the buyers in health tech space spending a majority of their research time? Is there an opportunity for SaaS marketplace players to improve the discovery to decision experience and shorten sales cycle?
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. — some guy who doesn't deserve credit for a spot-on idea.
2 个月Thank you for taking on this topic! It's the key to unlocking transformative productivity gains (and better buyer experiences)!
District Manager, Certified Business Performance Advisor (CBPA)
2 个月Very relevant Adam! Thanks for sharing.
I help Fintech, Healthcare, and SaaS companies enhance their user engagement through simple, effective UX/UI solutions.
2 个月It’s clear that marketing isn't just a sidekick but a major player in winning business. With buyers doing so much legwork before even reaching out, investing in marketing is more crucial than ever.