On Perception and Value: Crafting a Sublime Buyer Experience
I received a cold LinkedIn message the other day.
“Will, I would love to learn more about you and your business - use my calendly link to schedule a time to meet”.
They could have been selling magic fairy dust and I still wouldn’t have responded.
My first impression was their last.?
In the grand theater of commerce, we often focus narrowly on the final act, the point of purchase. Yet the discerning buyer seeks not just a transaction; they require more than that if you want to have a successful outcome. To truly resonate, organizations must approach sales as a courtship, with product marketing as the virtuoso conductor, attending deeply to the inner movements of the buyer’s journey. Each touchpoint presents an opportunity to craft a narrative, to curate an experience that speaks to the buyer’s soul. A considered sale requires a philosophical orientation, beyond simple mapping, toward understanding the subjective realm of perceptions, desires, and transcendent yearnings that shape the buyer’s path.
Many organizations have mastered the art of customer experience post-purchase, but the prelude to this dance - the buyer experience - remains an enigma, often relegated in importance and many times a clumsy tango at best. Oftentimes organizations, wrongly, believe that the experiences the customers have as they progress through the buyers' journey are untethered to their assessment of your product.?
?Every touchpoint, every step, from the initial marketing outreach to the final stages of the sales process, plays a crucial role in their decision-making.?
Prospects evaluate more than just the product when considering a partnership or purchase. Every touchpoint, every step, from the initial marketing outreach to the final stages of the sales process, plays a crucial role in their decision-making.?
In the end your “Product” is not just your product it is a gestalt: Each email, each call, each visit to your website, and each sales presentation is an opportunity to showcase not only your product's value but also the company's professionalism, responsiveness, and commitment to meeting their needs. In essence, the entire sales and marketing journey becomes a reflection of the brand, influencing the prospect's overall perception and decision to engage. It is these experiences combined with all those great problems that your product solves that form the scorecard you will be assessed on.??
The Essence of the Buyer Experience
But what constitutes this 'buyer experience'? It is not merely a linear path from problem identification to purchase finalization. Rather, it is a rich tapestry of perceptions, interactions, and engagements that a buyer navigates. Organizations must transcend traditional buyer journey maps and delve deep into the psyche of the buyer, understanding their emotions, desires, and sentiments as they traverse the path of procurement.
It is not merely a linear path from problem identification to purchase finalization. Rather, it is a rich tapestry of perceptions, interactions, and engagements that a buyer navigates.
The Quest for Value: The Heart of Buyer Experience
In the grand theatre of B2B commerce, value perception plays a pivotal role. Buyers yearn for more than mere products or services; they seek meaningful connections, relationships, and benefits that resonate with their core values. The very act of buying becomes a quest for value, where every interaction, every touchpoint, is an opportunity for the buyer to feel understood, respected, and valued. When buyers perceive this value, they not only find satisfaction in the present but also evolve into loyal patrons, ensuring a harmonious relationship in the long run.
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The Role of Product Marketing: The Maestros of the B2B Sonata
Product Marketing teams emerge not merely as players, but as the maestros, the conductors of this grand symphony. Their role, often underestimated, is pivotal in orchestrating the harmonious melodies of the buyer experience.
In the vast orchestra of B2B marketing and sales tools and processes, where a myriad of instruments play their distinct tunes, the Product Marketing teams emerge not merely as players, but as the maestros, the conductors of this grand symphony. Their role, often underestimated, is pivotal in orchestrating the harmonious melodies of the buyer experience.
Product marketers naturally take this role for this command performance as they possess a unique vantage point. With their deep immersion in understanding buyer personas and the intricacies of journey mapping, they have an unparalleled insight into the psyche of the buyer. They don't just see the path a buyer treads; they sense the buyer's behavior at every juncture, understanding their hesitations, their accelerations, their moments of reflection, and their bursts of enthusiasm.
Crafting a Symphony of Value Perception
Every touchpoint, every interaction, is meticulously crafted to resonate with the buyer's quest for value, meaning, and connection
Armed with this Product marketers are perfectly positioned to be the architects of value perception. By expanding their insights to encompass not just the steps of the buying process but the very emotions and perceptions that accompany each step, they ensure that the buyer's journey is not just a path, but a narrative. A narrative where every touchpoint, every interaction, is meticulously crafted to resonate with the buyer's quest for value, meaning, and connection.
The Collaborative Maestro
(Product Marketers) stand at the nexus of various organizational functions - from digital teams crafting the online experience to sales teams engaging in face-to-face interactions
Yet, the genius of the Product marketer lies not just in their insights but in their ability to collaborate. They stand at the nexus of various organizational functions - from digital teams crafting the online experience to sales teams engaging in face-to-face interactions. Their role is to ensure that these diverse functions, each with its own language and rhythm, come together in a harmonious ensemble, delivering a cohesive and resonant experience to the buyer. They are the bridge, the translator, ensuring that the language of value is consistently spoken across all touchpoints.
The Future of Portfolio Marketing
The role of Portfolio marketing teams will only become more pivotal. They will be the composers of the whole product experience, ensuring that all the movements of the buyer's journey are in time, in tune, and in harmony.?
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