Tag Archives: Persona-Based Marketing

Jun 2016

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…

Article by Tony Zambito

Apr 2016

Overcoming The Content Personalization Challenge With Buyer Persona Research

It is clear that one of the top challenges facing marketing, especially B2B marketing, is the ability to connect with potential buyers on a personal level. Recent surveys of marketing professionals by Rapt Media, Forrester, Seismic, SAP, IBM, and others all indicate that content personalization remains the biggest challenge for marketers this year and for the foreseeable future. The percentages of marketers indicating this as their top challenge are not measly either. For example, in a survey of 500 marketing professionals by Rapt Media, over 80% stated content personalization as their biggest challenge. This coincides with previous studies and surveys…

Article by Tony Zambito

Mar 2016

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…

Article by Tony Zambito

Feb 2016

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…

Article by Tony Zambito

Jan 2016

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,…

Article by Tony Zambito

Jan 2016

Informed Customer Understanding Should Guide Marketing

At the start of every year, CMOs and their teams can be besieged by proclamations of the three, four, five, or six things that they must do to succeed in marketing. Each of these proclamations can come with dire warnings that if you do not heed this advice, then you are bound to fail. While others portray that if you just do these few things, then there will be a proverbial pot of gold, at the end of the year filled with overflowing coins of new leads and customers. If it were only that simple…. As many CMOs are finding,…

Article by Tony Zambito

Jan 2016

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…

Article by Tony Zambito

Dec 2015

Study Confirms Importance Of Qualitative Research To Success With Buyer Personas

A recent survey conducted by Cintell*, entitled 2016 Benchmark Study On Understanding B2B Buyers, indicates that high performing organizations utilized qualitative research for their buyer personas. The study focused entirely on the use of buyer personas for understanding B2B buyers. Findings also found that 70% of companies who missed their revenue goals did not conduct qualitative research for their personas. While 82% of those who exceeded their revenue goals conducted qualitative research. These facts from the 137 respondents, from a variety of roles primarily in marketing, shows a strong correlation between the use of qualitative research and the effectiveness of…

Article by Tony Zambito

Dec 2015

Buyer Decisions Are Not What You Think

When marketing and sales leaders often think about how buyers make decisions, they are viewed through a prism of buyers making rational and process-driven decisions. Leading to many strategies and tactics devoted to attempts to market or sell to the rationale behind decisions and buying processes. Of late, the term “buyer’s journey” has come into vogue. Essentially another name for mapping the buying process. It is yet another example, however, of the search to understand the process of decision-making. There is a significant problem with this prevalent perspective that exists in the world of marketing and sales: humans, thus buyers,…

Article by Tony Zambito

Nov 2015

7 Elements Of Customer Understanding The C-Suite Must Master

Changes in customer and buying behaviors continue to rock the very foundations of many industries. According to recent surveys by PWC, Forrester, IBM, and McKinsey, disruptive trends in customer and buying behaviors are expected to continue over the next five years. Many organizations are undergoing digital transformations in order to improve customer interactions, engagement, and understanding. For CEOs and their C-Suite teams, developing deep customer understanding is becoming strategically important to staying competitive and relevant to customers. While customer understanding is becoming of vital importance to the C-Suite, the struggle continues on just how to attain customer understanding. New digital…

Article by Tony Zambito

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