The buying process or “cycle” is an interesting process to say the least. Why do customers buy? What goes through their mind before, during and after a purchase? Why do they choose what they do to buy? How do they process all the information about products and services available to them? Marketers, as well as sales and business development professionals alike all seek to answer these questions to yield success.
The buying cycle can viewed as having 5 phases, as indicated in the graphic below
For the purposes of this discussion, we will focus on the first phase – Problem Identification. (Have no fear, we will discuss the remaining phases in the next series of blogs.)
The buying cycle begins when either (1) the buyer notices a problem is starting to arise, or – which happens more often than not – (2) the buyer begins to see the effects of a problem without knowing what the problem is exactly. For example, a car dealer who wants to communicate frequently and maintain a relationship with customers fails to employ a reputable CRM. They notice that their customer retention is low and can rightlyfully attribute the problem their CRM system. On the other hand, you have a car dealership who uses the best CRM system available in the industry and has a consistent direct marketing schedule but they also notice customer retention is low. This dealership is left scratching their head as to why their customers aren’t returning to their store for service needs and/or to purchase another new car.
This begs the question: how can companies who have products and/or services that can solve a particular issue reach prospects who are in the “problem identification” stage of the buying process? One suggestion that we strongly recommend is to have stimulating and engaging conversations online to get yourself infront of prospects who are in the midst of the buying cycle.
We’re not simply recommending that you jump on the social media bandwagon and create profiles on all the major social networks (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn). Since a “build it and they will come” mentality does not succeed in social media, we urge companies to get their hands dirty by really getting involved online after profiles are created. You should ask thought-provoking questions to prospects, answering questions posed by prospects online, offer up “best practices” and tips and provide concrete information that will get prospects thinking more about their problem and how it can be solved. This can be done on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube…and each can drastically improve your business development processes by generating qualified sales leads.
Don’t believe us? According to DemandGen’s recent report “BtoB Buyer Transformation Survey,” social media activity on networks such as those named above are “having a growing impact with business purchases.” In fact, they reported:
Over 20% of buyers connected directly with potential solution providers on social networks
Almost 40% posted questions on social media sites with the intent of looking for suggestions and feedback
A majority of respondents said Twitter and LinkedIn influenced their purchasing decisions during the “Problem Identification” phase
The results of this survey clearly indicate that social media has a significant impact on the b2b buying cycle and provide evidence to our recommendation above. Though “Problem Identification” is still the first step in a sometimes long and frustrating buying cycle, remember that engaging with prospects early in the game and building rapport throughout will improve your chances for a sale in the end.
For more information and recommendations, please watch as Gateway partner Jason Bahnak elaborates in the video below:
As Web Video has become the #1 tool used in social media, we’ve seen many companies invest thousands this past year in creating a video of their own. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen companies have a difficult time achieving ROI on their video, or generating leads with it.
To have your video pay for itself many times over, and more importantly, generate leads for your organization, consider the following prior to production:
Who’s Watching?
“Who is your target audience?” is a standard question when developing a video. However, a common mistake when creating a video is to address an industry as a whole, but not necessarilythe interests of the key decision-makers that you’re trying to attract. If a “key point” relative to the interest of your audience isn’t highlighted within the first 30 seconds of the video, it’s very likely the viewer will move on before the video is complete. If your audience, for example, are CFOs then try to stress the financial benefits that they’ll gain from your solution within the first 5-12 seconds of the video.
No Offense, But You’re Not Brad Pitt…
Here is the truth….95% of the time, professional talent can do a better job of professionally, enthusiastically and effectively conveying your message than someone at your organization. I’m sure you can find published stats to support this, but Gateway has produced a lot of videos. Many years ago, we used to invite clients to star in them themselves. Bad idea.
Although coming across with a strong conviction about your organizations abilities, far too often a CEO, VP of Sales, or your star-salesperson will can not successfully “jump off the screen”, which is absolutely needed to grab attention. You’ve heard the phrase “the camera adds on 15 pounds”. I’m not sure that’s true, but the camera does reduce your perceived enthusiasm by a good bit. Professional spokespeople know how to exaggerate the right key points, using words and gestures, which come across in a memorable and effective manner on screen.
For a few hundred dollars, invest in a spokesperson that will make your message shine. It will be worth it in the end. We know from experience. Much like your company is an expert at what you do, professional talent is the same.
Give Targets a “Heads Up”
Here are two interesting stats: Email containing video is clicked-through 2-3 times more than standard email. And (drum roll), video-email that is preceded by a phone call is opened 4 times more than email alone.
Ideally, you should be only sending an email to a qualified key decision maker. That being said, a prospect is rarely “really qualified” without an investigatory phone call. Why not kill two birds with one stone? At Gateway, we call every prospect on behalf of our clients. We quickly, politely insure they are in fact the decision maker, and exit the call by asking them to keep their eyes out for an email containing a video. This call takes just a few minutes, and can make a tremendous impact in your response rates.
What About Prospects That You Don’t Know Exist?
Your prospect list consists of the targets that you know exist. What about the hundreds or thousands of companies that you don’t know exist, but are a fit for your product or service? How do you get your video in front of prospects that aren’t looking for your company?
Without overcomplicating this, find industry blogs and forums that your target audience uses to discuss their daily issues. Comment on these sites. Provide a link to your video in support of your comment, or as a resource for other readers. Or, when the comment form asks for your web site address, use the URL where your video is hosted (this will now be the link attached to your name, a common place people click if they find your comment interesting).
Commenting on industry blogs and forums and providing a link to your video (also known as “link building”) is a proactive way to drive viewers to your video.
Finally, Don’t Be a Spammer
In short, when sending a video to a prospect via email, send a link to the video, not a video file. This is worth mentioning because we still see companies make this mistake. A video file coming across a company’s server appears to MOST spam blockers like a gallon of gasoline in a carry-on bag. Just don’t do it. The accepted standard is to send a screenshot of your video in the email, linked to the video hosted on a URL.
Hopefully this post will help your company place an exciting message in front of the right decision maker.
If you need help producing a video, or getting it into the hands of hundreds of decision makers, give us a call today.
Web video is the fastest-growing content channel on the Internet, theWeb Video Marketing Council reports. And while consumer video sites like YouTube make up a sizeable share of the web video explosion, web video is making inroads into B2B web marketing quickly.
B2B marketers have embraced the fact that online marketing channels, because of their lower delivery costs and higher response rates, have a much greater ROI potential than traditional mediums, such as print and television.
Today, the majority of internet users have a high-speed connection, and over 95% of their computers are flash compatible. This means there is a very good chance prospects will be able to easily access web video.
Time is Money – Reading vs. Watching
Simply put, decision makers at business are usually pressed for time. They need information quickly, so they can take action. If they’re searching for a service provider, it is probably because they have an issue that needs a solution now. So given the choice of watching video or reading print, which do you think they prefer?
Web video enables businesses to present key pain points and their solutions’ benefits in an easily comprehendible format, all in minutes. This shortens the amount of time and effort needed for a prospect to become familiar with, and understand, your brand and offering, thus reducing sales cycles.
Forrester Research predicts that websites will start to become video rich. Features like “virtual demonstrations” and “video FAQ’s ” help companies selling complex products and services deliver their message in a manner that is easy for prospects to absorb and remember.
Tracking Provides Insight
Who is interested in what you offer? Who could care less? If someone’s interested, what feature intrigued them the most?
Web video can provide the user experience of television, with the tracking ability of email. For salespeople, this means they can identify who opened and viewed a prospecting email containing a video, and then focus their follow up on hotter targets. For the Marketing Department, this means they can see that “product A” was viewed X% over “product B”, thus future messaging can be tailored accordingly.
Consistency in Message Delivery
Let’s face it, every organization has their “star salesperson”, and those that could use some help. Web video enables you to arm every sales person with the best presentation possible. Sales managers can take ease, knowing that their salespeople only need to get that video in front of a prospect and hit “play” to deliver the exact message they want to convey. Consider this….how many “pitches” do your salespeople make in a given week? 5? 10? A web video can essentially sit online and “pitch” prospects 24/7/365, always delivering the right message at the right time. It can be hosted on popular video sites like YouTube, emailed to hundreds of new prospects, or looped on a big screen at a trade show. Wherever it’s used, it’s consistent, inexpensive, and doesn’t require commission for a sale .
This blog was created to share our thoughts on B2B customer development in the hopes that this information will be useful for organizations working toward increasing new sales opportunities.
