A new generation of B2B buyer is here and ready to upturn the sales funnel as we know it. So how can B2B organizations look to adapt the sales funnel for their new digital customer?
With a new younger generation of B2B buyers comes a new set of pull triggers that the traditional B2B sales funnel cannot accommodate, leading to many leads' being missed.
B2B businesses have changed; 6-10 people are now involved in the B2B buying process, all with different self-interests. And most B2B buyers (65%) have also started to obtain their primary information through their own research as opposed to getting it from sales representatives.
Considering these new behaviors of B2B buyers, what can a business do to meet their expectations?
A top-to-bottom approach is required to understand the sales funnel, and PR and marketing professionals have a huge role to play. Because a lot of lead interaction is happening online, B2B organizations need to optimize and facilitate those interactions with content marketing and account-based marketing ( ABM) strategies.
PR and marketing pros should focus on four areas to optimize B2B sales and ensure a smooth buyer journey.
1. An all-out media strategy will put your business on the map for leads
At the very top of the funnel, where prospects become aware of a business, the focus must be on all fronts—including social media, content marketing, SEO.
Fully 80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information from a series of articles versus an advertisement before making a decision, research has found, and 9 in 10 B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions.
But how can B2B businesses find out what their leads are looking for and what industry struggles they are having?
Enter social listening, a relatively new skill in B2B PR and marketing pros' arsenal. Through its process of monitoring and analyzing social media conversations, PR and marketing pros can gain insights into industry pain points, market trends, and brand narratives. They can then plan content tailored in accordance with the insights they've gained.
A good place to start is with a case study demonstrating how a company has helped overcome similar situations in its specific industry. To support the study, social posts should be tailored with content and messaging that aligns with leads in key industries. Credibility and trust can be built with leads through such techniques of consistent messaging across multiple sources of content.
But all that work would be for nothing without good technical SEO! There is no point in having informative assets if prospective leads cannot find or navigate a company's website: Technical SEO focuses on the user experience—think speed of website, mobile-friendliness, and ease of use.
Why is all that so important? It can be the make-or-break point of the B2B sales funnel: If the website is not accessible or user-friendly, businesses can lose the lead.
2. Why are you the best in the business? Prioritize brand equity to make leads aware of your standout capabilities
Once prospects are aware of the business offerings, the pressure is on to show why it is the best in the market. How? Prospects want to know that a business understands their pain points, but they also want to know that the business can help alleviate those ongoing issues.
It's all about demonstrating expertise and establishing the company as a thought leader—remember the power of executive profiling. Even though it's a business-to-business relationship and buyers are choosing digital sources of information over human lead sales interactions, human relationships still matter.
It's time to establish executives as industry thought leaders and produce relevant thought-provoking thought leadership content relevant to the pain points that leads are experiencing.
In this way, businesses can address a lead's specific concerns and showcase unique value proposition because over 60% of B2B buyers cannot tell the difference between one B2B brands' digital experience from another. It's called showing off your brand equity—and at the same time making brand equity relatable to build trust in the minds of prospective leads.
And what's not working is just as important as what is. Tracking lead-gen interactions through targeted backlinks, measuring social clickthrough, and analyzing traffic and behavior on owned sites can identify where the buyer journey might be stumbling.
For example, placed content may be generating a ton of clickthroughs—but if the website can't convert, then there's something missing somewhere! Adjust accordingly to unjam the sticking points for prospective B2B buyers.
3. Gen Z B2B buyers prefer personalized processes; meet their needs with account-based marketing
In today's information-driven world, people expect timely and relevant content promptly that can help address their pain points and guide them through the decision-making process. That's why a well-thought-out ABM strategy will prove its worth.
An ABM strategy will rely on analysis to identify target accounts and the correct contacts to reach out to. All data should also be shared among marketing, sales, and PR teams to ensure activities are aligned with the correct information to guarantee a seamless buying experience and a smooth transition through the sales funnel.
Then it's a case of creating targeted content aimed at just a handful of buying personas, delivered strategically across the channels they use. LinkedIn feeds, specific interest groups, the industry publications they read, targeted Web ads, and keywords—all can converge to target a single prospect as many times as possible.
Influencer marketing and executive profiling may be fairly new practices in the B2B space, but they are both key parts of any B2B ABM strategy.
- More than one-third of respondents to TopRank's B2B Influencer Marketing Research report claim that influencer marketing can directly contribute to sales and revenue; it is therefore a key tactic for PR and marketing professionals to use.
- Add executive profiling into the mix and B2B organizations can drive credible thought leadership, loyalty, and brand awareness.
4. The deal is not done, it's only the start of a relationship: Think B2C incentives and trial periods
The last stage of the B2B sales funnel is one of the most important: Closing a deal can be one of the most difficult, and being at this stage doesn't mean it's a done deal. Nurtured leads pay off, as they can generate 47% of larger purchases than non-nurtured leads at a 33% lower cost.
That is not the end state for dealing with the B2B buyer, however; rather it's the start of a relationship and the process of making it an easy decision for the buyer by utilizing incentives and trial periods to encourage repeat business (we can learn from B2C sales strategies and tactics).
Case studies play a huge role in building trust and credibility. Permission to use the case study in the media might be a problem, but customers are often happy to be a sales reference, particularly if incentivized in some way! Real-life success stories of how a company overcame a specific industry problem or achieved exceptional results could just be the tipping point for a buyer to make a decision.
Nurtured leads will come to fruition at this stage, and then it's all about the relationships that can be created and fostered through a positive customer experience to gain customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.
It won't happen overnight; each stage of the sales funnel takes time
The B2B sales funnel is now more time- and resources-consuming than ever before because of the information and data that's available online for new Gen Z B2B buyers.
PR and marketing pros have a key role to play in aligning their approach with other areas of the business to turn leads into customers. This is where a strategic content marketing and personalized ABM strategy at every stage of their sales funnel can help PR and marketing professional secure a successful sale, time after time!
More Resources on Gen Z and B2B Sales & Marketing
Here They Come! B2B Marketing in a Gen Z World
How Buyer Behavior Is Changing, According to Younger B2B Marketers
How to Adapt to the Evolution of B2B Buying: Four Tips for Addressing Buyer Pain Points
