B2B buying behaviors and preferences have changed dramatically. I know this first-hand since the gamer generation (including my son the video kid whiz) are now the CEOs in the organizations we want to buy from us. This is a generation that was raised on the web. Often, most of their research and evaluation is completed before any human interaction occurs.
Many of my clients have invested heavily in second-generation Web technology to support social networking and video sharing. There are many pages of content assets and brochureware that inform and educate the general population and web visitors. So today, when knowledge is “king,” how do you direct potential customers to the specific information they need to make buying decisions?
Enter marketing automation and nurturing strategy.
Savvy marketers are leveraging a digital + dialogue approach to drive individuals (like my son) to the information that is specific to their needs, interests and roles. I’m not talking about email blasts. Rather, this is about using very specific strategic thought leadership content and approaches designed to address your ability to solve business problems.
The purpose of nurture is to build relationships, enhance the customer experience, and create brand identification in your markets. Nurture is an ongoing dialogue via both digital and human contact that provides relevant and actionable messaging to the purchasing execs and other specific titles you’re seeking to engage with. The buyer wants to be in control of the buying process, but they’re willing to exchange information with you if the nature of the conversation is reciprocal (i.e., value given for value received). A well-planned nurturing strategy (if necessary deployed by a partner who has the expertise and bandwidth to execute it correctly) can accelerate pipeline conversion and eliminate the dreaded marketing lead leakage.
Well-managed data, marketing and nurture activities are most successful when they can be repeated and predictions can be drawn, so when I do speak with people (like my son), I know they are already well-informed and further along in the sales cycle, perhaps even at the much-desired “ready to buy” point.
I would love to hear about the nurturing strategies that you are using and how they are working for you.
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One Comment
Your answer was just what I neeedd. Its made my day!