How to make your B2B clients successful

January 7 2015 | By: Steve Johnson In: News | Blogs

Do you want to be a miracle-worker for your B2B clients?

A recent survey, published in Forbes, gives a revealing insight into how B2B buyers make their decisions.

The article reminds us that B2B decisions are typically made by more than 5 people, in a buying group. And the participants of the group are very diverse in terms of their job roles. That makes the marketing task more complex, of course. Is there a way to cut through the challenge?

Yes, according to Forbes. They say ‘The vast majority of B2B marketers tend to focus their efforts on proving the ROI of their solution’. Which is all very logical, you might think, but it's a mistake to do only that. It doesn’t engage the prospect.

That’s because it only relates to company values. And that’s only one of three types of message you need to get across.

In particular, it ignores the personal values that nudge individuals to become a champion for your client’s product. And without a champion in the buying group, there’s probably no decision, let alone a chance of a sale.

The survey reveals the three sets of values at play here.

My Company

ROI
Meeting industry standards
Required features
Reliability
Improved performance

My work

Simpler work
Time savings
Productivity
Great service
Achieving personal targets

Myself

Pride in my work
Respect from others
Career advancement
Belonging to a community
Popularity with team
Optimism / happiness about work

All three areas matter. But the company one doesn’t motivate individuals to champion a purchasing decision, whereas the third one – the one about Myself – has twice the impact as the others on the matter of advocacy.

In summary, even in the B2B world, products that help buyers achieve their personal goals do best. And the biggest element of that? The sense of pride. If you can instil personal pride in your clients' marketing, sales will flow and you have a very happy client indeed. Makes you proud...

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickspenner/2014/11/24/making-b2b-buying-personal/