The B2B buying process is messier than ever. Buying teams mean more people are involved, and it’s easy to lose track or be left out of important side discussions.
“It’s amazing how many variables there are today than just a few months ago. There will be more tomorrow,” Ardath Albee, CEO and B2B marketing strategist for Marketing Interactions (MarketingInteractions.com), states in a post on SocialMediaToday.com.
“Most marketers don’t think about the interplay or ping-ponginess (yes, this is a new word) of the B2B buying process. We still have campaign mentalities. We still care mostly about what we want buyers to do, whether we’re accommodating what they want, or not,” she says.
Albee says there’s a rhythm to Ping Pong that is similar to today’s sales conversations. Marketing content should be designed to match that rhythm. Albee argues that most marketing messages are a snippet of the conversation that will need to be held during a complex B2B buying process.
“It’s like having a great conversation and suddenly, in mid-sentence, the other person gets a text, glances at his smartphone and steps away to deal with it, never returning and leaving you to wonder if you’re really that boring. That’s exactly how a campaign treats our prospective buyers.
“The problem with a ‘campaign mindset’ is that you’re missing the Ping to go with your Pong. And your buyers are very aware of the lapse.”
Ignore the issue and they will move on to someone else who is more helpful and concerned about what they want and need over the longer term — someone who is dedicated to playing the game all the way through.
What new considerations are you adding to your content strategy to account for the back and forth of extended conversation that won’t abruptly leave your buyers hanging?
