We generally get two or three questions a week from our clients asking what kind of content to include in their blogs and how to guide a prospect through their buying cycle. I thought it might be helpful to put together a post that covers the Business-to-Business buying cylce and the mindset that a propect/buyer has at each stage. Paul McKeon with Marketing Profs had a great discussion on this topic.
Here’s what he says: “Marketers aren’t alwyas aware how their prospects and buyers use content” “B2B (Business-to-Business) marketing is no longer just in the business of brand management and lead generation,” he continues.
Marketers must match their content with their prospect’s current buying stage
So how you, as a B2B marketer match the your content to your prospects’ needs throughout a possibly long buying cycle? “The B2B buying cycle can be broken down into four separate stages,” McKeon explains, “each requires a different approach to content.”
Here are the four stages he discuss —as well as suggested ways to grab your prospect’s attention at each stage.
- “Unaware.” Your prospect is not yet in the market but soon will be. Your content needs to be able to get your prospect’s attention so your content needs to be “interruptive.” Some suggested attention-grabbers would be to speak to their “pain” or provide “news,” such as a research report or other white paper.
- “Tentative.” The buyer is at the edge of the market. Your content should be educational. Attention-grabbers at this stage would include: talking about your prospects’ likely problems and and how to address them, (not about your solution). Encourage “buyer interactivity” at your website.
- “Engaged.” The buyer is in a conversation with your company. Your content should be “confirming.” Here is where you should provide case studies summarizing previous clients’ success stories. Where possible, provide your prospects with third-party articles to support your position.
- “Invested.” The buyer is your client. Your content should be more exclusive at this stage. You should personalize your content so your clients know they are being rewarded for being your client. Offer insider tips, more breaking news and exclusive offers.
The Take Away: The key to creating valuable marketing content is to identify where your prospects are in their buying cycle—and then address the challenges they are likely facing at that stage.
Focus on these four areas when you are designing your web pages, blog posts and landing pages. You’ll see a nice increase in your traffic and your prospects will be turning in to buyers more often.
Good luck!
