Buyer Enablement | Marketing Mindshifts

Are You Really Customer-Centric? How Your Funnel Definition Reveals Your Content Strategy

We all talk about customer-centricity and a customer-centric content strategy.

But are you as customer-centric as you think you are?

One red flag is how you define your funnel.

Many organizations use a company-centric funnel without realizing how it contradicts their customer-centric aspirations. Recognizing this misalignment is the first step towards genuinely putting the customer at the center of your strategy.

The Company-Centric Funnel: A Misaligned Approach for a Customer-Centric Content Strategy

Awareness: The customer becomes aware of my company or solution.
Consideration: The customer considers our product vs. competitors.
Evaluation: The customer evaluates our product vs. competitors.
Decision: The customer makes a purchase decision.

This is often viewed as a linear process—customers go from one stage to another until they decide and purchase. A customer-centric content strategy aims to support the reality of what the buyer’s journey really is: complex and non-linear.

The Buyer-Centric Funnel: A Buyer Enablement Approach to Customer Centricity

The buyer enablement approach, as described in this article by Gartner, Marketing’s Role in Buyer Enablement, emphasizes the importance of guiding customers through critical buying tasks rather than just providing thought leadership content. Here is how this funnel is defined:

Problem identification: The buyer begins to understand that they have a problem.
Solution exploration: The buyer reviews all potential solutions — including not addressing it — for the problem. This is not that the buyer is determining which vendors — they are defining their strategy to address the problem.
Requirements building: The buyer builds out the requirements for solving the problem, which includes the entire solution, not just a single product or technology.
Supplier selection: The buyer now breaks down this program into the suppliers needed and potential vendor list and reaches out for the selection process.
Decision validation: This happens throughout the process, as the buying team continuously validates their decisions.
Consensus creation: Since buying teams are large, the buying team continuously determines if the entire team is aligned.

In this buyer-centric funnel, the focus is on helping buyers complete a set of jobs as they navigate the buying process. This approach aims to support the reality of what the buyer’s journey really is: complex and non-linear.

As I’ve previously discussed in the post “Marketing is Change Management for Our Prospects,” every purchase decision involves a change in our client’s behavior, and failing to understand the larger context makes it harder for them to make decisions effective. Effective change enablement content serves as a beacon, guiding buying groups through the fog of uncertainty by bringing stakeholders together, driving productive conversations, and supporting decision-making

Bridging the Gap: Multiple Funnels Create Strategic Misalignments

Often, there’s a significant disconnect between different departments regarding supporting buyers throughout their journey. Many companies operate with multiple disconnected funnels—one for marketing, one for the content team, and one for sales.

This disjointed approach often leads to a content strategy heavily skewed towards ‘beginner content,’ failing to support the buyer throughout their purchasing journey. Such an approach undermines a customer-centric content strategy.

This disconnect can also leave sales teams struggling to effectively assist buyers in doing the jobs required to solve their problems.

The result? Inconsistent messaging, potentially inaccurate information, and off-brand content reaching prospects. To truly implement a customer-centric content strategy, it’s crucial to align all departments and ensure a unified approach. This means creating content that supports the buyer at every stage of their journey, not just at the awareness stage.

Check in for future ways to determine if you are truly customer-centric

More details to come in future blogs! How effectively does your organization’s content development support buyers throughout their complex journey? Are there clear opportunities to bridge the gap between your stated values and their practical execution?

When Technology Drives Change: B2B Marketing for Digital Transformation

When it comes to B2B marketing for digital transformation technologies, it’s important to understand that purchasing a technology or infrastructure solution is often driven by a desire for organizational change. This change may involve breaking into new markets, shifting strategies, or fundamentally altering business operations.

Organizational change is a complex and multifaceted process that involves various stakeholders, discussions, and alignment on project milestones and success criteria. As such, the real power of B2B marketing lies not just in selling a product but in facilitating these transformative conversations and decisions.

Shifting to Customer-Centric B2B Marketing Strategies

As B2B marketers, our role in facilitating these conversations and decisions is crucial. Instead of just focusing on product features, vague benefits, or competitive comparisons, we should pivot to a customer-centric approach. This means developing content that supports completing complicated buying tasks and aids in orchestrating organizational change.

For instance, let’s say a company is grappling with integrating complex new IT infrastructure, such as the cloud, 5G, or AI. The decision to purchase isn’t just about the capabilities of the technology; it’s also about how it will transform their current processes, impact employee roles, and propel the company toward its strategic goals. It may require costs and resources way beyond the solution we provide. It also comes with the massive risk of organizational change. This is one reason that the number one reason for not closing a deal is “no decision.”

Developing Change Enablement Content for Complex B2B Purchases

As marketers, we have an opportunity to provide change enablement content that helps stakeholders understand the implications of the change, manage its impact across the organization, and unify around a shared vision for the future. Effective change enablement content serves as a beacon, guiding buying groups through the fog of uncertainty by bringing stakeholders together, driving productive conversations, and supporting decision-making.

To achieve this, we should craft discussion guides or tools that facilitate alignment on project milestones and success criteria. This is crucial in a landscape where buying groups consist of 6 to 11 stakeholders, each with distinct priorities and perspectives. We should also offer resources that delineate the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, enabling them to engage in constructive dialogue about the purchase and its broader implications. Additionally, providing clear, actionable information that helps groups make informed decisions confidently can reduce the time and friction typically associated with B2B purchases.

Shifting focus from a brand-centric narrative to one that deeply understands and addresses customers’ internal challenges can unlock new avenues for impact and value. Aiding buying groups in navigating the complexities of organizational change empowers customers to make ambitious, confident decisions.

Aligning B2B Marketing with Strategic Organizational Goals

In today’s interconnected business landscape, the lines between functions are blurring. Marketers are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between products and the strategic objectives they enable. By simplifying and strategically focusing efforts, leveraging existing resources, and fostering cross-functional collaboration, marketers can gradually integrate change enablement into their repertoire.

In doing so, we not only elevate our marketing practices but also contribute to a landscape where businesses are equipped to navigate the tides of change with confidence and resilience. The path forward is one of collaboration, insight, and, above all, a shared vision for success in the dynamic world of B2B commerce, with their expanded role as facilitators of change.

Upcoming articles:

What specific strategies can B2B marketers employ to facilitate organizational change.
How B2B marketers can effectively address the deeper narrative of organizational change in their content.
How B2B marketers can balance their core product promotion and lead generation
Case studies with real-world results.

When Technology Drives Change: B2B Marketing for Digital Transformation

When it comes to B2B marketing for digital transformation technologies, it’s important to understand that purchasing a technology or infrastructure solution is often driven by a desire for organizational change. This change may involve breaking into new markets, shifting strategies, or fundamentally altering business operations.

Organizational change is a complex and multifaceted process that involves various stakeholders, discussions, and alignment on project milestones and success criteria. As such, the real power of B2B marketing lies not just in selling a product but in facilitating these transformative conversations and decisions.

Shifting to Customer-Centric B2B Marketing Strategies

As B2B marketers, our role in facilitating these conversations and decisions is crucial. Instead of just focusing on product features, vague benefits, or competitive comparisons, we should pivot to a customer-centric approach. This means developing content that supports completing complicated buying tasks and aids in orchestrating organizational change.

For instance, let’s say a company is grappling with integrating complex new IT infrastructure, such as the cloud, 5G, or AI. The decision to purchase isn’t just about the capabilities of the technology; it’s also about how it will transform their current processes, impact employee roles, and propel the company toward its strategic goals. It may require costs and resources way beyond the solution we provide. It also comes with the massive risk of organizational change. This is one reason that the number one reason for not closing a deal is “no decision.”

Developing Change Enablement Content for Complex B2B Purchases

As marketers, we have an opportunity to provide change enablement content that helps stakeholders understand the implications of the change, manage its impact across the organization, and unify around a shared vision for the future. Effective change enablement content serves as a beacon, guiding buying groups through the fog of uncertainty by bringing stakeholders together, driving productive conversations, and supporting decision-making.

To achieve this, we should craft discussion guides or tools that facilitate alignment on project milestones and success criteria. This is crucial in a landscape where buying groups consist of 6 to 11 stakeholders, each with distinct priorities and perspectives. We should also offer resources that delineate the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, enabling them to engage in constructive dialogue about the purchase and its broader implications. Additionally, providing clear, actionable information that helps groups make informed decisions confidently can reduce the time and friction typically associated with B2B purchases.

Shifting focus from a brand-centric narrative to one that deeply understands and addresses customers’ internal challenges can unlock new avenues for impact and value. Aiding buying groups in navigating the complexities of organizational change empowers customers to make ambitious, confident decisions.

Aligning B2B Marketing with Strategic Organizational Goals

In today’s interconnected business landscape, the lines between functions are blurring. Marketers are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between products and the strategic objectives they enable. By simplifying and strategically focusing efforts, leveraging existing resources, and fostering cross-functional collaboration, marketers can gradually integrate change enablement into their repertoire.

In doing so, we not only elevate our marketing practices but also contribute to a landscape where businesses are equipped to navigate the tides of change with confidence and resilience. The path forward is one of collaboration, insight, and, above all, a shared vision for success in the dynamic world of B2B commerce, with their expanded role as facilitators of change.

Upcoming articles:

What specific strategies can B2B marketers employ to facilitate organizational change.
How B2B marketers can effectively address the deeper narrative of organizational change in their content.
How B2B marketers can balance their core product promotion and lead generation
Case studies with real-world results.