Tag Archives: Customer

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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Pursuit Of Goals Drive Buyer’s Journey

One of my favorite apps is the Starbuck’s app. Being a coffee lover, the app is a major convenience for getting coffee at the nearest Starbuck’s location. Admittedly, the app serves very well as a motivator to stop at Starbuck’s versus elsewhere. So that I continue to reach the goal of enough stars to get the occasional free drink plus other offers. It has long been established in the disciplines of the social sciences that individual and team motivation to achieve a goal or set of goals are powerful drivers influencing choices and decisions. For example, the Starbuck’s app definitely…

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Confusing Customer Segmentation, Buyer Profiling, and Buyer Personas Harms Marketing

In the 15 years since originating the concept of buyer personas in 2001, there has been one issue that continues to plague fully understanding exactly where, how, and why buyer personas can be beneficial. Compounding the issue today is the prevalent use of the term buyer persona to describe customer segmentation and buyer profiling efforts. The issue I am referring to is the confusion that can surround distinguishing between customer segmentation, buyer profiling, and buyer personas today. If you are a CMO or a marketer and you find yourself having a sudden realization that perhaps you are not quite sure…

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Are Your Buyer Personas Data Overkill?

As the concept of buyer personas has crept into the conscious of both B2C and B2B Marketing, so has misguided representations of buyer personas become prevalent. With many touted frameworks and processes being representative of buyer personas in name only. These misrepresentations have also led to a tendency to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, into crafting buyer personas. For example, an organization I helped recently had previously utilized a framework, labeled buyer persona in name only, which consisted of a matrix of 15 plus categories. Why do I say labeled in name only? This approach of having 15 plus…

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Use Buyer Persona Research To Improve B2B Customer Experience

Customer experience has been and will continue to be one of the major influences on how buyers make choices. Recent research by SiriusDecisions found that for 80% of B2B buyers surveyed, customer experience counted as the top significant reason why they chose to work with a specific provider over another. These findings are consistent with others over the years. Whereas in an age of hard to come by differentiation the actual product or service offering plus price combination accounts for only 20% of buying decisions. This 80/20 correlation is not a surprising revelation. However, what should be noted by B2B CMO’s…

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4 Myths Preventing True B2B Customer Understanding

There is a big problem when it comes to B2B customer research. And, most B2B executives may be unable to see or recognize the problem. The scarier notion is some may not even know it exists. What is this big problem? According to various studies over the years (by credible institutions such as Harvard) regarding market and customer research, approximately 80% or better of B2B customer research is conducted to reinforce current assumptions about customers. Rather than, to explore new concepts, hypotheses, uncover new opportunities, gain revealing insights into issues, and seek new innovative ideas. In my years since launching…

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Is B2B Content Engagement Heading In The Wrong Direction?

Sometimes more is truly less. When it comes to the state of B2B content marketing and engagement, this proverb is on the mark. According to a recent study by Track Maven, one among a few on this topic, shows both B2B and B2C marketers have increased their publishing of content in 2015 by as much as 35 to 40%. This study, as well as others, shows that more content creation does not always translate into more engagement. The Track Maven study found that content engagement decreased by 17% in the same period. Track Maven referred to this as the “content…

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State Of Buyer Personas 2016 Survey

This has been an eventful year. We are seeing continued growth in the adoption of buyer personas as a means for understanding buyers and customers. At the same time, the growth is fraught with the perils of buyer personas being misunderstood, mislabeled, and serving as a cover for basic buyer profiling. Each year, since originating the concept of buyer personas in 2001-2002, I have reflected and offered a perspective on the state of buyer personas. As in last year, I wish to incorporate the use of a survey to offer a comprehensive view of the state of buyer personas. This…

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Mapping Buying Experiences: Creating Growth Through Aligning With Buyer Goals

Engaging new buyers and repeat customers are the lifeline to achieving growth. While the context of these fundamental challenges has changed via digital technologies, they nevertheless are constant pressures. Recent surveys of CEOs by IBM, PWC, and KPMG all point to major concerns and priorities in expanding the lifeline to growth. Creating distinctive and engaging experiences, as part of how people and businesses go about making purchases, is getting more attention today than ever. Causing many to rethink long-standing practices on customer acquisition and customer retention. In order to learn how to create distinctive buying experiences, businesses are embracing new…

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Goal-Directed Marketing: How Marketers Can Help Buyers Achieve Their Goals

Many CMOs today are faced with a dilemma. As digital interactions and media become more intertwined into everyday life, marketers need to respond. Respond with content and media that fits into the new world of digital commerce. Yet, as CMOs invest and allocate more to content and digital media, the returns are not occurring as hoped. Various studies have shown buyers continue to find as much as 60-to-75% of content to be non-relevant. In one study, SiriusDecisions found 60-to-70% of B2B content produced goes unused. Basically, results like these indicate content and digital media is having a problem with trust.…

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