The Buyer Persona Blog
- May 20, 2013
Map Content to the 5 Phases of the B2B Buyer Persona Buying Cycle
B2B business strategies were much simpler back in the day. In the pre-Internet and pre-digital age, the target of one customer or buyer was an accepted viewpoint. We are no longer back in those days. We are in the new digital age. This new age consists of more complexity, collaboration, co-creation, and new emerging buying behaviors. Recently, I introduced the concept of the Persona Buying Cycle™. It represents a view of understanding new buying behaviors via the B2B buying cycle. Designed to help us address not only new behaviors – but address new complexities. The Why Last year, I…
- May 19, 2013
How Google is Beating Apple with Buyer Foresight (What B2B Marketing Can Learn)
At the recent Google I/O 2013 Keynote, Google announced a laundry list of new enhancements and services. Solidifying its’ game plan of playing offense rather than defense with innovation. Which, at this writing, is putting the challenge on Apple to respond. My thoughts shared here are heavily influenced by a brilliant article from Mike Myatt entitled –Leadership Lesson: The Difference Between Google and Apple. Mike is one of our best thinkers on leadership and is the author of Leadership Matters . . . The CEO Survival Manual. Here is Myatt’s view on how Google is gaining the edge on…
- May 16, 2013
3 Ways to Be a Market Leader with Buyer Foresight
Every company has aspirations to become the market leader in their space. Leading your market has built-in advantages over your competition. Market leadership helps to ensure a level of stability and longevity. Getting there and staying there is the hard part. The demands of the market and the buyers within them can set the bar very high. Being the market leader can be very tenuous as buyers evaluate new emerging technologies and options. Rising to the top also comes with a heavy responsibility. Which is this: Customers and buyers expect market leaders to provide them with a roadmap of…
- May 15, 2013
4 Reasons Why Content Marketing Should Care About Audience Development
Over the past year, questions about content marketing effectiveness are beginning to surface. The Content Marketing Institute as well as a survey sponsored by eConsultancy, indicated belief in effectiveness was under 40%. Most recently, SiriusDecisions made this statement: “Fully 60 to 70 percent of content churned out by b-to-b marketing departments today sits unused. This stark statistic underscores the urgent need for a content revolution in b-to-b organizations.” There is consistency on both the customer/buyer as well as the seller side regarding this issue. In my qualitative research work in the past year, this view was evident. Digging into…
- May 14, 2013
5 Buyer Behaviors Reshaping B2B Marketing
One thing we can count on is by the time you have finished reading this buying behavior may have been altered one again. Changes in buyer behaviors continue unabated. This is making it difficult for marketing and sales leaders to plan the right mix of strategies and tactics resulting in a winning formula. 5 Buyer Behaviors B2B Marketing Must Keep An Eye On New buying behaviors means B2B marketers have to become more responsive today. Creating nimble organizations and improving knowledge in buyer understanding. Here are ways buyer behavior will continue to reshape marketing: Buyers Embrace Collaboration Social and digital…
- May 12, 2013
7 Big Questions for B2B Marketers in 2013
The more change occurring the more questions arise. This year is no exception. B2B Marketers are experiencing on evolving as well as new challenges as we start to hit stride in 2013. What are the big future questions for B2B Marketers? Let’s look at a few: How do we generate more leads and keep them? Survey after survey indicate B2B marketers have this issue top of mind. Creating demand and filling up a pipeline is loaded with pressure-packed environments. In my qualitative buyer research work, I see shifts in behavior on the part of buyers. There are unique sets…
- May 8, 2013
One Way to Know the Ideal Buying Scenarios for Lead Nurturing
Depending on which reports you may read (Marketing Sherpa, Forrester, and etc.) approximately 60% or more of B2B businesses do not have a formalized lead nurturing program. Yet, these same reports benchmarking such effort tell us this: companies who perform lead nurturing enjoy a better than 25% higher return on their efforts than those who do not. Which begs the question: why are companies slow to adopt to lead nurturing? Reasons I suspect one reason may be the pressure for instant results. Which makes you think: how much potential revenue is being left on the roadside? If organizations evaluated…
- May 7, 2013
Is Your Lead Generation Off-Target?
A problem facing organizations today is generating more leads. Making this issue even more challenging is changes in buying behavior. Depending on which study to reference, buyers are performing different activities for up to 70% of their buying evaluation before sales intervention….
- May 6, 2013
4 New Values Affecting How Buyers Perceive You
A key component of understanding buying decisions is gaining a reality check on how buyers perceive you and whether you match to their criteria. How well organizations are perceived will serve as one of the primary influences shaping buying behaviors and purchase decisions. Buyer research can reveal many aspects of what comprises buyer perception. Buyer experience is now becoming one of the most important factors contributing to and influencing perceptions. The new digital age is introducing new types of criterion buyers place a value on, which can directly affect their perceptions: Buyer Experience: previous as well as current experiences can have an enormous…
- May 5, 2013
5 Buying Behaviors of the Persona Buying Cycle
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ernest Hemmingway The concept of buyer personas, as a means for understanding buyers, has been around now for over a decade. It is an understatement to say many things have changed in the world of buying and selling since their beginning. We have witnessed the changing dynamics of the buyer-seller relationship. The dynamics I refer to are buying behaviors and buyer goals. On the other side of the coin, we see marketing and sales making attempts to adapt. …