The Winding B2B Buying Journey
To no one's surprise, the B2B buying journey is complicated.
👇The illustration below from Gartner really hits this home.
🙅♂️~95% of buyers are not-in-market to buy today, and will not be in-market for months (sometimes even years), according to a study by Prof. John Dawes for the LinkedIn B2B Institute.
5⃣ The report also found that on average, companies change their solution providers every 5 years, which means that ~20% are in market each year (5% a quarter).
👩💼👨💼👩💼 To add to this challenge, a typical B2B buying committee includes 5-10 decision makers. The more complex or costly the solution, the more decision makers are added to minimize the risk of making an expensive mistake and regretting it.
🤝 Gartner research found that B2B buyers spend 17% of the time meeting with potential vendors, which goes down to 6% when they're comparing several vendors.
So what does this all mean to B2B sales?
How do you make the buying process easier?
👨🏫 Educational content is extremely valuable. Share thoughtful and educational content freely and often (no gates!).
📋 Help prospects shape the selection criteria through educating them on what they should look for in a solution and why.
⏳ Shift focus from short-term sales goals to long-term goals- this is a long game.
🎯 Have a solid understanding of your ICP and best target accounts.
✨Define and show how you are different than your competitors and/or the status quo.
🧭️ Show prospects what would happen if they get your solution (should be good things), and show them what would happen if they don't (should be not so good things).
💯 And of course, make sure your solution is a good one that solves a problem in the market, no amount of stellar marketing and sales can make up for a crappy product.
The B2B Buying Committee
Knowing who makes up your B2B buying committee is essential to understanding their specific goals, pains, worries, and potential objections as it relates to your product or service. This will guide your messaging, content creation, sales process, and objection handling.
The B2B Buying Committee is not one size fits all, and the individual roles may vary across industries.
Here are the typical roles that you need to consider in a SaaS B2B Buying Committee as an example:
✅❎ The Decision Maker(s) - The decision maker could be the head of the department or a CXO. They have the final say (to buy or not to buy) after consulting with the rest of the buying committee.
👨💻👩💻The Influencers - Those are the gatekeepers that influence the decision maker’s decision. They may not even have a high authority role but they have the trust of the decision maker who listens to them. They could be the person tasked with researching and evaluating solutions in the market (IT), the budget keepers (Finance and Accounting), or the head of the department/team that will use the solution.
⛹The Champion(s) - This is the individual who is driving the decision internally and most likely the main point of contact. They want to implement the solution and drive change within the organization.
👩💼👨💼The end users - Those are the individuals who will end up using this solution to simplify and improve their work and to help them achieve the business objectives.
Once you understand who makes up the buying committee, and the roles they play in the buying journey, you will need to support the champion with content assets that satisfy the influencers and the decision maker, as well as reassure the end users on how this will be a positive change for them.
The Rick and Morty Story Circle
I'm a huge fan of Rick and Morty - the popular animated show about the brilliant and morally questionable scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty Smith, who go on interdimensional adventures. You may be wondering what this cartoon has to do with business and customer journey mapping.
I recently came across The Story Circle, a storytelling framework from the show's creator Dan Harmon. The Story Circle is the guiding framework Harmon and his writing team use to write Rick and Morty episodes.
If this was the storytelling framework that helped create one of my favorite TV shows, I wanted to explore if it can be applied to messaging and positioning, to make the customer the center of the story, not the company or product features.
The Story Circle (Embryo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG4WcRAgm7Y&ab_channel=AdultSwim
Dan Harmon explains The Story Circle
The Story Circle is an 8 step story process that guides the hero’s journey.
You - a character/protagonist/hero you can identify with in a state of comfort
Need - The hero has a need/wish/incompletion
Go - The hero crosses a threshold where the story changes direction
Search - The hero goes on the Road of Trials - searching for something
Find - The hero finds what they are looking for
Take - The hero takes it
Return The hero returns to where it all began
Change The hero is forever changed by the journey
Dan Harmon's Story Circle
Dan Harmon's Story Circle
Here’s an example from Rick and Morty as told by Dan Harmon:
You - Morty lives in comfort knowing Rick is a brilliant scientist
Need - He finds out Rick is an arms dealer which is an ethical dilemma for Morty
Go - Morty crosses the threshold and tries to undo the ethical damage from Rick
Search - Morty steals Rick’s ship
Find - He kills an assassin and saves Fart (the victim’s name - no really)
Take - The act of saving the victim’s life will cost a lot of other people their lives
Return - Morty crosses the return threshold getting Fart to his portal. Morty realizes that this will risk all carbon based life
Change - Morty decides to kill Fart to save carbon based life
How can we apply this to business? Can we use this framework to make the customer the center of the story? Let’s take the example of WealthSimple (no affiliation):
You - Jane is saving money but she wants to grow her wealth
Need - She doesn't want her hard earned money to lose value and sit idle in her account
Go - Jane starts searching for investment opportunities and platforms
Search - She explores different options but finds them overwhelming, hard to use and expensive
Find - Jane comes across WealthSimple
Take - She signs up through a referral and starts building her investment account
Return - Jane grows her savings and her wealth
Change - Jane is now able to automate her investments through the app and feels confident that she is securing her financial future.
Jane is the center of the story - not the product features, not what the company thinks is important, not the bells and whistles, but the customer. The story circle framework can guide messaging and positioning across all channels to be centered around the customer, shifting the focus from features to benefits. Yes products and features can be mentioned, but ultimately you need to answer the question: How does your product/service make the customer’s life better?
Using this framework, how would you capture your customer’s story?
Seth Godin's Marketing in 4 steps and Nassim Taleb's AUB Commencement Address | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 36
154881
ISSUE #36Dana's Weekly RoundupHi everyone!Seth Godin writes one post per day. He has the awesome talent and skill of saying a lot with a few words. Great commencement address from the rebel economist Nassim Taleb in my Alma MaterEnjoy!Dana
Maine Coon Cat photographed by Robert Sijka.TAKE ACTION
Psychology has identified three mindsets shared by people who actually follow through on their goals
How did I evolve from a self-proclaimed couch potato to endurance athletics enthusiast? I learned how to change my attitude.MKTG
Marketing in four steps
The first step is to invent a thing worth making, a story worth telling, a contribution worth talking about.IRL
Commencement Address, American University in Beirut, 2016
Dear graduating students,This is the first commencement I have ever attended (I did not attend my own graduation). Further, I have to figure out how lecture you on success when I do not feel successful yet –and it is not false modesty.
Why you're being too easy on yourself when it comes to following your dreams and brainstorm questions, not solutions | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 35
Hi everyone!This week, I loved not one but TWO articles from The Muse. One was hot to complete the work, when working on a project you're passionate about - which I have struggled with before. And the other is about how to navigate hard times - when you're doing you're best but things aren't working out. I take comfort in the fact that others struggle with this too and I love learning about the different tactics they use to thrive during those times.Enjoy!Dana
New born white lion cubs in a private zoo in the Ukraine.TAKE ACTION
IRL
How to Write with Power and Authority, Even if You Feel Like a Nobody and the Gender Wage Gap | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 34
ISSUE #34Dana's Weekly RoundupHi everyone!Copyblogger's take on writing with power and authority without letting the imposter syndrome creep up. To change the gender wage gap, we need to understand how it starts and where it comes from - this study does just that. A great breakdown of what makes PokemonGo so addictive based on gamification theory.Enjoy!Dana
Beach goers stunned as family of bears emerge from the forest to play in the water.TAKE ACTION
The truth about the gender wage gap
Nearly 10,000 people graduated with MBAs from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business between 1990 and 2006.In 2009, three economists decided to study a quarter of those graduates.MKTG
How to Write with Power and Authority, Even if You Feel Like a Nobody
In this overcrowded online world, do you ever wonder why people would listen toyour advice?I’ve learned that mindset was flawed.IRL
What makes PokémonGo so Addictive?
This post is about how I feel Pokemon Go’s game designers have perfectly executed on the “Hook Model” — a framework for gamification and getting users to come back again and again and again.
Send a pain letter not a cover letter and the one content metric to rule them all | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 33
154881
ISSUE #33Dana's Weekly RoundupHi everyone!For those who are job hunting, you know how frustrating and broken the recruitment process is. Spending time on your cover letter and application, following up and hearing silence... Liz Ryan advocates for a Pain Letter instead of a Cover Letter.Enjoy!DanaTAKE ACTION
Cover Letters Are Dead -- Send A Pain Letter, Instead
I don’t want you to write any more cover letters. There is a better way to get a job.You can send a letter to your department manager – the person who will be your boss in your new job — directly at his or her desk.MKTG
One Content Metric to Rule Them All
This post walks through how we combined our content metrics for the Moz Blog into a single, easy-to-digest score, and better yet, almost completely automated it.IRL
Meet the woman who wrote Michelle Obama’s DNC speech — Sarah Hurwitz
When Sarah Hurwitz sits down at her laptop, she puts on her noise-blocking headphones and imagines Michelle Obama’s exacting voice in her head.
How Oprah gets stuff done and how my mind thinks about your new solution | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 32
154881
ISSUE #32Dana's Weekly RoundupHi everyone!Fact: Most women earn less than men in the same job. This needs to change. Salesforce is a great example of that initiative. Transparency is the first step. Negotiating and supporting each other is what we as professional women can do. We will not underestimate and undervalue ourselves any more.Enjoy!Dana
Wookiees at Comicon.TAKE ACTION
The Key To Oprah Winfrey's Success: Radical Focus
"I’m here," I tell her, "to learn how Oprah gets stuff done.""Okay, great!" she replies. "I can help you with that."MKTG
This is How My Mind Thinks About Your New Solution (…and how you can change it)
You and your marketing machine are pitching me benefits (e.g. gains). It only makes me think you are hiding something that will make my life worse. All new things have some downside. My first thought is not gains….please deal with it.IRL
Earning Less Money Isn’t A Choice That Women Just Make
It’s true that many women do not pursue higher-paying jobs in engineering or science ― fields that are dominated by men. But that’s not the main reason the pay gap exists. In fact, 68 percent of the gap can be explained by the fact that women make less than men within the same occupations.
Not enough 'if' or not enough 'then'? | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 29
154881
ISSUE #29 Dana's Weekly Roundup
Hi everyone! Great story from the CEO of Breather on how they got started and grew. This week's MKTG article is by Seth Godin - who has the extraordinary power to change your thinking with a few lines.
Enjoy!
Dana
A bear gets a slap on the face from a wet fish as it attempts to catch fish in Alaska, USA.
This is the “growth hack” that got my whole company started
MKTG
Not enough 'if' or not enough 'then'?
IRL
Why Trying to Become a Jack of All Trades Hurts Your Business
What Productivity Systems Won’t Solve and Three Things Recruiters No Longer Look For | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 28
154881
ISSUE #28Dana's Weekly RoundupHi everyone! I'm trying out this shorter format. Do you prefer it over a short summary of each article?Enjoy!Dana
Tattoo Artist Who Lost His Arm Gets World’s First Tattoo Machine Prosthesis. Now that's commitment.TAKE ACTION
Three Things Recruiters No Longer Look For (And Three They Still Do)
MKTG
IRL
25 Facebook Marketing Tips and this experiment suggests intuition is a real thing | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 27
154881
ISSUE #27Hi everyone! I'm trying out this shorter format. Do you prefer it over a short summary of each article?Enjoy!Dana
TAKE ACTION
MKTG
IRL
Why you shouldn't stop working when you hit flow and how to create an explainer video | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 25
154881
ISSUE #25Dana's Weekly RoundupHi everyone! A great article on creating explainer videos. I've created one using iphones as cameras and microphones but we discovered that the hard part was getting the lighting right - for that we had to call in someone with experience. I also have "busy" days consumed with unprductive meetings and admin work without getting big things done. The trick is to get the hard stuff going first thing in the morning, before getting sucked in to other things.Enjoy!Dana
Aurora over camp on Bannerdale CragsTAKE ACTION
Why You Should Never Stop Working In the Moment you Hit Flow
There’s nothing that will transform the quantity of your output and the quality of your work like hitting flow on a regular basis. And we know that hitting flow is usually the result of eliminating distractions, discipline, and deep work. The rush produced by hitting flow makes us feel fulfilled and successful.MKTG
How to Create a Killer Explainer Video [Infographic]
Explaining to web users what your business does, what you stand for, and why customers need you. This is called "the explainer video," and it's a quick, memorable way to make an impact on people who might buy your product but need to know more information.IRL
5 Reasons You're "So Busy" Every Day, Yet Not Really Getting Anything Done
Then, one day it hit me: There's a big difference between being busy and being productive. Yes, yes, we’ve all heard this before. But have you really thought it through and contemplated those times you’re sitting at your computer all day, but don’t end up with a lot to show for it?
11 little known Facebook marketing features to try and how New Yorker Cartoonists generate 500 ideas a week | Dana's Weekly Roundup Issue 24
154881
ISSUE #24Dana's Weekly RoundupHi everyone! Great article on how cartoonists from the New Yorker generate ideas. Buffer always shares detailed how to articles, and this one about Facebook marketing is very helpful, especially if your new to Facebook Marketing.Enjoy!Dana
Ratu, a 14-year-old Sumatran rhinoceros, sits next to its newborn calf at Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, Indonesia.TAKE ACTION
How To Know Which Skills To Develop At Each Stage Of Your Career
At the start of your career, chances are good that you'll be hired primarily for your "hard skills"—the stuff you know that's relevant for the job.But what no one quite tells you is that while you might've been initially hired for those hard skills, they gradually matter less.MKTG
11 little known Facebook marketing features you can try today
In the spirit sharing, here are 11 hidden Facebook marketing features for social media managers and marketers to try today!IRL
Idea Sex: How New Yorker Cartoonists Generate 500 Ideas a Week
How to Come up with a Good IdeaBob Mankoff describes the cartoon idea generation process as “idea sex.”