Are You a Marketer or a Mind-Reader? How to Know What Your B2B Buyer is Really Thinking

Andrew MoravickResearch AnalystAberdeen Group@Amoravick

Matthew T. GrantDirector, Content StrategyAberdeen Group@MattTGrant

Andrew Moravick – Research Analyst, Aberdeen Group

• Marketing and Sales Effectiveness• Recent Research:

• Understanding Best-in-Class CRM Usage for Marketing

• Demystifying Complex, Multi-Channel Sales Data

• Mainer

Matthew T. Grant – Director, Aberdeen Group

• Content Strategy• Aberdeen Essentials Editor-in-Chief • MarketingProfs Alum• Likes words and music

What’s on Your Mind?

What We’re Going to Cover

• The Standard Approach to the Buyer’s Journey: Its Benefits and its Challenges

• Three Approaches to Mind Reading• News You Can Use

We Want to Control Influence Buyers

What’s the Standard Approach?

We Map the “Buyer’s Journey”

The Buyer’s World

The Vendor’s World

Business as Usual Awareness of Problem

Consideration of Options

Evaluation of Solutions

The Customer Journey

We Imagine it Looks Like This

The Buyer’s World

The Vendor’s World

Business as Usual Awareness of Problem

Consideration of Options

Evaluation of Solutions

The Customer Journey

We Want Our Influence to Look Like This

The Buyer’s World

The Vendor’s World

Business as Usual Awareness of Problem

Consideration of Options

Evaluation of Solutions

The Customer Journey

We Create Content by Answering Questions

The Buyer’s World

The Vendor’s WorldAwareness of

ProblemConsideration of

OptionsEvaluation of

SolutionsThe Customer

Journey

“There’s a better way?”

“How do we make it

happen?”

“What’s the best option?”

“Can we get promoted

now?”

Behind Our Map, Our Objectives

The Customer Journey

The Buyer’s World

The Marketer’s World Awareness of Problem

Consideration of Options

Evaluation of Solutions

“There’s a better way?”

“How do we make it

happen?”

“What’s the best option?”

“Can we get promoted

now?”

The Business

Leads Opportunities Sales Wins Retention

This Approach Yields Real Results

Better Marketing Performance

Better Business Performance

Lower Cost-per-Lead

But…This Approach Has Real Problems

The REAL “Buyer’s Journey”

The Buyer’s World

The Vendor’s World

Business as Usual

Awareness of Problem

Consideration of Options

Evaluation of Solutions

The Customer Journey

“Oh, S#%t!!” “What the &#%^ do we do?!”

“What the &#%^ SHOULD we do?!”

“Can we stop freaking out

now?”

Signals Get Crossed

The Buyer’s World

The Vendor’s World

Business as Usual Awareness of Problem

Consideration of Options

Evaluation of Solutions

The Customer Journey

What Goes Wrong?

Our Assumptions Get in the Way

[Sadly not #ProfsB2B]

Our Assumptions Get in the Way

How Can We Really Know What Buyers Are Thinking?

We Have Three Options

Option #1

Ask Them

46%of all marketers don’t interact with customers directly

77%of all Leading Content Marketers interact with customers directly

Three Approaches

1. Talk to Sales

Salesfolk Have Insights

1. What questions are customers asking?2. What are the problems they are talking about?3. What drives decisions?4. What gets in the way?

Is Your Content Answering the Right Questions?

2. Talk to Customers Yourself

1. Identify target customers2. Draw up your list of questions3. Make sure you have cleared things with sales4. Make your calls (or visit if you can)

What’s Going On?

(PS. You might be able to turn these conversations into content!)

“Just observe someone while they are doing something”

3. Hire Someone to Talk to Customers for You

You Have to Know What You Want to Know

1. What do customers see as their most pressing “needs”?2. How do they normally address these needs?3. Why do potential customers choose competitors?4. What do customers think when they hear your message?

You Might Not Hear What You Want to Hear

Option #2

Use Data

Use Your Own Data

Data Nada

Are There Patterns to Customer Behavior?

1. Is there a piece of content that EVERYONE touches?2. Is there content that gets ignored?3. What searches lead them to your site?4. What are people searching for on your site?5. What do your best customers have in common?

Create a Unified View of the Customer

Find Data Partners

Find Data Partners

Complete the Data Picture

Complete the Data Picture

1. What data do you already have in your organization?2. What are you using and what are you not using (but could)?3. What data are you missing? 4. Who has that data?

Option #3

Write Their Minds

A Very Powerful Tool

Create a Category

Create an Industry Standard

Watch Out for Competition!

Watch Out for Competition!

Be Where the Buyers Are

Be Where the Buyers Are

Be Where the Buyers Are

Final Thoughts

Assumptions and Content Alignment

Data Nada

A foundational framework for what’s going on

Assumptions + Data

Data Nada

Static/ general constructs to improve scalable relevance

From “Alignment” to “Mind Writing”

Data Nada

The aspiration of many; the achievement of a strong few

Things to Do

• Analyze the assumptions you are making about the buyer’s journey

• Talk to customers to test those assumptions• Refine and complete your picture of the buyer with data • Ask yourself…

If you could write your customer’s mind, what would you write?

Images Sources (Creative Commons)

• https://flic.kr/p/EzHYq• https://youtu.be/22P_PSUzx3I• https://flic.kr/p/4ua9wX• https://flic.kr/p/7aHHq• https://flic.kr/p/fBLcyX• https://flic.kr/p/npwZRM• https://flic.kr/p/8qexoZ• https://flic.kr/p/bzRzNy• https://flic.kr/p/aVteMH• https://flic.kr/p/fnTjdR• https://flic.kr/p/uL7TrW• https://flic.kr/p/d8ZdYN• https://flic.kr/p/62EciS

Email:Andrew.Moravick@Aberdeen.comMatthew.Grant@Aberdeen.com

Follow us on Twitter via:@Amoravick & @MattTGrant