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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.

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Is Your B2B Sales Funnel Gen Z-Friendly? Understanding Buyers' New 'Pull' Triggers

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Georgia Harris

Georgia Harris is PR lead—themes at IBA International, a PR & content marketing agency delivering low-cost, high-impact B2B public relations, digital marketing and social media.

LinkedIn: Georgia Harris