CEO | Tony Zambito Founder of Buyer Personas and Buyer Insights Research

CEO

Reboot Buyer Insights To Drive B2B Growth

B2B companies are faced with the most transformative era in business history. On a greater scale than that of the first Industrial Revolution over a century ago, we are witnessing a technological and digital revolution that will disrupt business-to-business profoundly in the next 10 years. The scale of which is still unpredictable and undoubtedly will continue to have more disruption in store for businesses over the next decade. The scale of disruption will mean the B2B buyer and seller dynamic will continue to be rocked. We are seeing many industries feel the impact of new technologies upending previously accepted norms of…

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New Buyer Insights Needed To Unlock Growth In An Era Of B2B Digital Transformation

The digitization of the global business economy has been taking place at an unprecedented rate. Consider this. Approximately forty years ago, 83% of the market value of the S&P 500 were tied to tangible assets – physical products. Today, the complete reverse has happened. Intangible assets, such as copyrights, patents, training, procedures, data, digital innovations, and intellectual property, now comprise 84% of the market value of the S&P 500. This startling transformation of the S&P 500 is just one snapshot of what is taking place globally. A new era of business will develop in the next 10 years that will…

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How The Content Illusion Is Leading Marketing Astray In The Era Of Digital Transformation

In the past five years, the often-unquestioned hymnal has been that to succeed in today’s digital world, businesses must produce content. Produce high-quality content, yes. But, produce massive amounts of it to get in front of customers. According to various statistics on the Internet, we are living in a world where every minute over 200 million items of online content is produced. Where nearly 1500 blog posts are posted every minute. Whereby over 200 million email message are sent every minute. The amount of content exploding online is staggering. Leaving the content dilemma facing many organizations – how to stand…

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New Approaches To Understand Customers Needed In A Digital Transformation World

In numerous surveys of CEOs in the past few years, predictably, you will find growth strategies as one of the top priorities going into any new year. Strikingly, in these same few years, you will also find developing customer understanding also on the list of CEO priorities. What is changing in the past two years, is that CEOs are focused on globalization and digital transformation. Per recent surveys by IBM, KPMG, and Gartner, you will find that more than half of CEOs surveyed believe their organizations will be significantly transformed by digital-centric globalization. What becomes clear considering these surveys is…

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Rethinking Buyer Personas In An Era Of Digital Transformation

In the past five years, we have seen exponential disruption each year in multiple markets. Digital technologies and resulting transformation turning markets literally inside out. Fundamentally reshaping markets in five years’ time compared to the fifty to seventy years it may have taken to build up a market. Take for instance the iconic yellow cab, a fixture in New York City for decades. In the past few years, the yellow cab companies have been unable to stem a rapid decline from the onslaught of Uber, Lyft, Juno, Via, and other ride platforms. Revenues falling by as much as 40% and many…

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Is Your Organization Ready For Market Strategy In A Digital Economy?

The digitization of the global economy is resulting in a tidal wave of new business and operating models throughout the world. Sparking rapid forms of innovations and turning existing markets upside down with new market rules and design. Digital disruption means organizations must stay alert to how an existing market strategy may have to undergo reinvention. Well before the impact of the next tidal wave of change hits with full force. Change can happen in just a few short years. Causing shifts in organizational, consumer, and customer behaviors. Digital disruption can affect both consumer and business markets simultaneously. For instance,…

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How Understanding The Goals And Intent Of Buyers Can Transform Marketing

People and professionals in organizations can have different intentions while working towards the accomplishment of organizational, as well as, individual goals. Understanding the difference between intent-driven and goal-driven behaviors allows for deeper levels of understanding buyers (customers). Leading to more effective online engagement, content design, and sales conversations. The relationship between intent and goals is a very important one. Understanding this relationship allows for a deeper analysis of buying behavior and what truly is driving purchase decisions. Primarily, it helps with making sense of the tasks and activities buyers perform. Tasks Versus Goals This is also an important principle behind…

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Why Brexit Will Affect The Future Of Global Business Marketing

The stunning outcome of Britain’s decisive vote to exit the European Union has caught the political, economic, and business world by surprise. Creating uncertainty in world financial markets, the future of the European Union, the pace of globalization, how to strategically plan for an eventual exit, and how to prepare for potential risk from this event. One area of concern for businesses is how to approach and conduct global business marketing. What we can be certain of is that businesses, people, and various types of organizations will undergo a transformation in how they make decisions, exhibit buying behaviors, and recast their…

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How To Lead With Customer-Focused Content

The explosion of content in the digital world is an unprecedented phenomenon just a few could have predicted twenty-five years ago. Content is ubiquitous in all phases of life and in business. In fact, it is getting harder and harder to find a slice of time where content is not invading precious personal or business space. The voluminous nature of marketing and sales content is making it harder for organizations to get through to customers and potential customers today. In several hundred qualitative buyer persona research interviews conducted last year, I heard firsthand about new behaviors related to filtering, managing,…

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State Of Buyer Personas 2016: Strong Correlation Between Effectiveness And Goals

In 2016, we will mark the fifteenth year since buyer personas were first introduced. The journey, however, continues towards professionals and organizations gaining a true understanding of what buyer persona development entails. What is clear is buyer personas are now entering the mainstream of dialogue when it comes to overall customer understanding. Incorporating Survey Data I wish to thank the (124) respondents of the State of Buyer Personas 2016 Survey for taking the time to complete the survey. While there may have been redundancy in previous surveys, this particular survey is devoted to understanding the best practices associated with buyer…

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