The evolution of B2B purchase – Part 2
Buying isn’t about progression, it’s about completion. The organizations that will succeed going forward will be those that materially simplify the purchase process for customers
– Gartner’s Brent Adamson.
Why do you need to make changes in marketing and sales?
Just for one second, imagine your buyer visits your website, browses through your products, selects one, and buys a 100 unit bulk order and instantly confirms his purchase. Seems too easy to be true, doesn’t it? That’s right, as we saw in the previous blog, the B2B sales process has changed tremendously in the last decade and a lot more factors have now become involved in this process. Buyers are no longer interested in sales reps and cold calling, they can just type the product or service they are looking for online and find a treasure of information that can actually influence their decision in a major way.
More often than not, the buying process involves a lot of back-and-forth between the supplier and the customer, as the former continues to nurture the latter toward conversion. So then what is it that needs to be changed on the supplier’s part in order to guarantee a successful sale? Suppliers need to now pay attention to their online presence more than ever, invest in digital marketing, have an impressive and easy to navigate the website and provide impressive, engaging, eye-catching content to the potential buyers.
The top three sources of information for B2B buyers
B2B buying has evolved completely in the last 20 years, thanks to the increasing percentage of digital natives who now make up the B2B purchasing landscape. So it has become critical to understand how and where do your buyers gain their information which will help you come up with an effective marketing strategy. Your content marketing strategy must meet your buyers in the right places.
- Online Research– Most sales buyers or reps for each organization are between the ages of 20 to 35. This tech-savvy generation only has one source of information, Google. According to recent research, an online search is the first move for 62% of B2B buyers and 94% of buyers report using online research at some point during the purchasing process. So then how do you make sure that your buyers find exactly what they are looking for and make sure your name pops up amongst hundreds of other suppliers? By giving the buyer exactly what he is looking for! SEO strategy is one part of that process but quality content presented in a clear and compelling manner will be your ‘Bramhastra’.
- Supplier’s Website– This is your second most important marketing weapon in a B2B purchase. The minute your name pops up on Google, the buyer will immediately be directed to your company’s website. This will be a major influencer in the buying process since how your buyer interprets the available information on the website will influence his decision on buying from you and possibly a long term sales relationship. A clear, well-sorted, and easy to navigate website should be your target. An impressive landing page, along with crisp, to the point information that targets the technical specifications of your products and services and provides all the information that the buyer is looking for but in visual representations as well as short sentences will woe the buyer towards you.
- Review Sites– A big part of the purchasing process involves review sites, where purchasers seek the opinion of their peers and colleagues. Reviews will tell the buyer how a vendor performs on many ease-of-doing-business elements long before the buyer has actual experience with that vendor. Therefore, you must encourage customers who are advocates of the company to provide excellent reviews on relevant sites. First impressions are a major factor in B2B sales and reviews from well-known sources will definitely tip the scales in your favor.
Yashus Digital Marketing is one of the leading marketing agency with expertise in the heavy manufacturing industry and sourcing organizations. We have worked with leading sourcing and procurement industries in India such as NM India and Niruha Systems. With an experienced team of UI and UX designers, SEO experts and content creators who can bring you into the spotlight of B2B sales because we know how crucial the role of information is in a buying process. Contact us at www.yashus.in or call – +91 – 9370573598.
