A strong marketing strategy should always keep the customer top of mind. But what happens when “the customer” is comprised of several different people? The groups that make up the buying committee are growing fueled, in part, by the pandemic. More people than ever have a personal stake in making sure the strategic needs of the organization are met when making purchasing decisions. In fact, research by Gartner found the typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves six to ten decision makers. Furthermore, 77% of B2B buyers state that their latest purchase was overly complex or difficult.
For marketers to be relevant in this space, they must move toward a hyper-personalized model to engage members of the buying community through the lens that makes sense with their role.
Aligning messaging based on a role’s needs
For example, if your buying team tends to include the CEO, what will she or he need to know, and how much time will she or he take to learn it? A spec sheet that breaks down your firm’s offering vs. the competitors may work later in the funnel, while an infographic that gives them everything, they need at a glance might work better earlier on.
On the other hand, for those in more technical roles like IT, a white paper could provide them the comprehensive deep dive that answers their biggest questions. An in-house lawyer might want to look at a case study of a firm in the same industry – or they might want to hear the details on a downloadable podcast as they drive to their next meeting.
Alexis Oger leads a team of over 300 talented marketers driving the digital acceleration at Dell Technologies. He recently gave a keynote presentation at a GDS Group CMO Digital Summit and in a recent interview Alex shares, “We all want content that is tailored for us, so we need to think about tailor-made content at scale, because you can’t do a message for every single person.” So, how do you reach the right person and tailor your message to different people within a buying committee? Here are a few approaches to consider.
TARGETING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE
- Do your research. LinkedIn is a great place to start. Identify and build out the team of decision makers within an organization via their LinkedIn profile. Discover philanthropic interests, backgrounds, and shared interests.
- Listen. When a potential lead publishes a post contribute to the group discussion.
- Tailor. Customize your content to the appropriate stage along the customer journey.
The more you can refine content marketing assets to different audiences, the more they will feel your organization recognizes who they are and what they need. That, in turn, builds more credibility and appreciation for your brand.
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