The expectations of today’s buyers have undergone a drastic transformation. Consumer-oriented companies such as Amazon and Airbnb have created great user and customer experiences that have set the bar high for more informed and frictionless buying experiences. These expectations have quickly carried over into the world of B2B buying and changed how marketers engage and influence buyers along their purchasing journey.
In our eBook, which is now available for download, you’ll learn that the modern buyer is more informed, more independent, and more demanding than ever before. But are your sellers equipped to win them over?
Today’s buyers are no longer waiting to be educated by sellers. Instead, they are doing their homework and expect sellers to be prepared when they are ready to engage. To illustrate, 74% of buyers choose the sales rep that was first to add value and insight, which means digital content and sales assets are now the center of the sales conversation. But before sellers can engage educated buyers, marketers must equip them with content that will make an impression and demonstrate value.
Modern buyers also prefer to buy from sellers whose content provides value and helps guide them through their evaluation and purchase decision process. CEB found that 53% of customer loyalty is driven by sales reps offering unique and valuable perspectives. Because sellers are no longer the primary source of information in the buyer’s journey, marketers must equip sellers to become the source of the most valuable information.
Selling to the modern buyer has also become more difficult because the number of decision makers and influencers involved in a deal continues to increase. CEB reports that, on average, 6.8 people must formally sign off on each purchase, which is up from 5.4. This is a 25% increase in just 18 months, which may indicate that this trend will continue. Stakeholders within these purchase groups are often from different departments, time zones, hold a range of titles, and have spent countless hours researching and evaluating possible solutions. When they finally engage with sellers, they want information that demonstrates an understanding of their business needs and recommended solutions that will improve their situation.
However, before marketing can begin creating content to engage today’s buyers, there are three important steps that must be taken.
- Define the buyer’s journey.
- Define what content is needed for each stage of the buyer’s journey.
- Use analytics to learn the effectiveness of content.
Content that can meet buyers throughout each stage of their purchase journey is the most important tool any seller has in their arsenal, which means that marketers cannot underestimate the importance of the content they create and deliver to sellers.
Check out the full infographic here for a walkthrough of modern buyers’ expectations during the purchase process.
For an actionable step-by-step guide on how to engage the modern buyer, download your copy of the eBook now and modernize your sales and marketing teams’ selling practices today.
