The Economic Buyer Reigns With two recessions over the past decade, research

shows that B2B buyers have become more frugal -

requiring each investment to deliver quantifiable

bottom-line benefits, a quick payback and significant

return on investment (ROI).

Empowered by the Internet, these frugal buyers have

taken control of the decision making process, which

makes it more difficult for sales people to engage and

every deal is more competitive.

The condition termed Frugalnomics, where the

economic buyer is firmly in control of the buying cycle,

is not expected to end, even as the recovery takes hold.

This trend is forcing marketers to rethink the content they produce and dictates changes in how sales

needs to engage and facilitate the buying lifecycle. To fight Frugalnomics and meet the challenges

of today’s more empowered, skeptical and frugal buyer, B2B sales and marketing needs to

evolve from the current product / solution selling approach to an outcome/ value-based

methodology.

Overloaded:

Challenged to

do-more-with-less

Skeptical:

Thinks sales isn’t adding

enough value

Demanding:

Seeks the best value from

every investment

Frugal:

Requires every investment

deliver bottom-line impact

Meet Buyer-Frugalnomicus:

Over 90% of buyers rely on vendor content to

help identify issues, set strategy and make

purchase decisions

However, less than 1 in 4 are satisfied with / trust

this content

90% of buyers require a business case on most

investments

81% of buyers expect vendors to quantify ROI /

superior value of proposed solutions

However, 85% require 3rd

party research /

validation for credibility

Fighting Frugalnomics with Value-Based Sales & Marketing Alinean diagnostic demand generation and sales tools help your team better connect, engage and sell

to today’s economic-focused buyers:

1. Engage Despite Overload Buyers rely heavily on vendor provided content to help make purchase

decisions, especially white papers, but the effectiveness of this content

to connect and engage decision makers is slipping as buyers are

getting lost in information overload and the clutter of one-size-fits-all

campaigns.

Advice> One-to-one personalization of white papers can increase their effectiveness.

Traditional content can be easily converted into Interactive White Papers,

dynamically customizing messaging based on a prospect’s profile - precisely

matching the buyer’s industry, geographic location, size, stage and role in buying

decision, and pain points.

©2011 Alinean is a trademark of Alinean, Inc., in the United States. All other brands, products or

service names are or may be trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of, and used to

identify, products or services of their respective owners.

For more information, please visit www.alinean.com

Alinean, Inc., 111 North Magnolia, Suite 1050, Orlando, FL 32801

TEL: 407.382.0005 | FAX: 407.382.0906 | TOLL FREE 866.693.6271

Engage

with Interactive White Papers 1 Diagnose

with assessment tools 2

Justify

with ROI Tools 3 Differentiate

with TCO Tools 4

2. Diagnose to Provoke Change Buyers have been forced to do-more-with-less, and as a result often

don’t have the time necessary to properly assess issues and identify

projects which could deliver savings and competitive advantage. At the

same time, budgets have been slashed, leaving <15% discretionary

funding for new projects / proposals. It is easier for buyers to maintain

the status-quo, than invest in innovation and change.

Advice> Vendors can help buyers pinpoint where it hurts most, and consult on the

available remedies. Diagnostic Assessment tools provoke buyer action by

benchmarking best practices, spending and performance to help identify

ailments, and delivering a roadmap of prioritized solution remedies- helping

drive executive level engagements earlier in the buying cycle, as key strategic /

discretionary budget decisions are made.

3. Justify Proposed Investments Buyers are inclined to not make significant investments in a time of

austerity, and as a result, sales and marketing needs to prove there is a

“cost of doing nothing”, and justify the bottom-line impact of proposed

projects.

Advice> Sales and marketing needs to justify proposed investments to ever more

economic focused buyers in order to advance stalled sales cycles. ROI tools and

campaigns can be used to engage and convince economic-focused buyers of the

benefits of proposed solutions, fast payback and significant return on investment

(ROI).

4. Differentiate Your Value Buyers today are focused on purchasing only what they most need, at

the lowest possible price. The focus on value from each investment has

never been higher, forcing sales and marketing to quantify the

advantages of their solution versus the competition, or stand being

knocked-out in later critical buying decision cycles.

Advice> Differentiating your competitive value is key with buyers often only focused on

the lowest price solution. Tools that prove your superior value and lower total cost

of ownership can help counter discounting and drive competitive wins.

Benefits of Demand Generation Benefits of Sales Enablement Personalize to connect better with

overloaded / skeptical buyers

Engage better with diagnosis and value

quantification

Drive 50% more leads than traditional

content marketing

More quickly advance prospects through

buying lifecycle

Engage higher, with economic-focused

executives

Elevate relationship from salesperson to

trusted advisor

Increase deal size / reduce discounting by 20%

Accelerate sales cycles by 20-30%

Double competitive wins

The Bottom Line Buyers have fundamentally and permanently changed, and savvy B2B sales

and marketing leaders recognize new campaigns and tools are needed to

connect, engage and sell to these empowered, skeptical and frugal buyers.

Join leading B2B firms leveraging value-based sales and marketing

programs and Alinean tools including: HP, IBM, Microsoft, EMC, Dell, Intel,

NetApp, BMC Software, SolidWorks, ShoreTel and AT&T.

Learn more at the Fight FrugalnomicsTM

Resource Center

http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com, or by visiting http://www.alinean.com,

or calling 407.382.0005.

How Do You Get Started?

Free Sales Enablement and

Marketing Assessment at:

http://alinean.com/diagnostic

or call 407-382-0005

©2011 Alinean is a trademark of Alinean, Inc., in the United States. All other brands, products or

service names are or may be trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of, and used to

identify, products or services of their respective owners.

For more information, please visit www.alinean.com

Alinean, Inc., 111 North Magnolia, Suite 1050, Orlando, FL 32801

TEL: 407.382.0005 | FAX: 407.382.0906 | TOLL FREE 866.693.6271

demand generation Generate Highly Qualified Leads

Engage with Interactive White Papers

Diagnose with Assessment Tools

Justify with ROI Calculators

Differentiate with TCO Calculators

sales enablement Enable Better Sales Effectiveness

Diagnose with Assessment Tools

Justify with ROI Tools

Differentiate with TCO Comparisons