Business buyers have high demands, and sellers need to meet their expectations.
B2B buyers are making important investments for their companies. But that doesn’t mean the process should cause real headaches for buyers.
“77% of B2B buyers state that their latest purchase was very complex or difficult,” said Julie Taylor, Lead Product Marketer at Introhive, in her MarTech session. “Well, that was me. The time investment was so heavy and I did most of the work all on my own.”
As a B2B buyer, Taylor found the purchasing process drawn-out, complex, and inefficient.
“Information wasn’t immediately available with the click of a button,” Taylor said. “We weren’t educated. We needed to ask for datasheets. We had geographical constraints. We needed to consider, and there certainly weren’t as many options on the table.”
Meeting B2B demands
“Today, buyers have new demands and if you can’t keep up, you might as well honestly move aside for the next guy because he or she is going to take your chair while it’s still warm,” she added
Buyers have so much more information at their fingertips that they expect sellers to go beyond product data. Instead, they want a personalized experience. This includes understanding the buyer and their business, demonstrating great communication skills, offering valuable customer insights, and focusing on what happens post-sale.
Here are three steps to help B2B sellers better meet customer expectations:
- Get your data in order: Insights run on data, so ensure your collection processes are optimized. These include machine learning and AI systems.
- Provide product insights: Make sure the personalized insights are easily digestible, relevant, and presented in context.
- Don’t neglect the value of speed of implementation: When procurring products from tech companies, ask what the implementation process looks like; gain insights about the tech from your peers.
Nina Butler, Director of Event Experience at Alyce, summed up this shift in buyer expectations in a separate MarTech presentation: “It’s really the sum of the moments in that customer journey that stays with the buyer and ultimately builds that affinity and influences where they choose to spend their mind, their time, their money, and their loyalty on.”
The post 3 steps to win over B2B buyers appeared first on MarTech.
MarTechAbout The Author
Corey Patterson is the Content and SEO Manager for MarTech and Search Engine Land. With a background in SEO, content marketing, and journalism, he analyzes and optimizes Third Door Media content to help marketers find the information they need.
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