As a marketer you have the ability to make a SIGNIFICANT impact to your company's performance. And right now that ability is greater than ever before.
How often does your company lose out on deals which seemed like a sure thing only to find out your competitor snapped them up?
It's frustrating and it's otherwise fair to assume that's just the way it is.
But what if there was something else at play which you never even considered.
Or more accurately... something you never realised just how significant a problem it was?
As you know there have been major changes in buyer behaviour over the past two years since the pandemic.
And certain changes in how they operate have advanced considerably.
One of these changes has been in the shift towards buyers preferring to self serve.
Looking further into this you'll find that a large portion of B2B buyers are avoiding contact with sales reps entirely.
This is a conscious choice, and The B2B Buying Disconnect Report put a definitive number on it:
49% of B2B buyers with influence in a purchase decision NEVER make contact with a vendor's sales team
It's truly an incredible figure!
Now, given that B2B purchasing is nearly always a group decision (only 6% of purchases made by a single person).
If 49% of people who you need to win over and have them vote in your favour are invisible to your company or organisation, it's no wonder that you are either:
A: Consistently losing on a relatively high number of bids
B: Unaware of how much more business your company could be closing if only you were able to successfully market to and win over that invisible 49%
If you asked me, I'd have to say that I'd consider myself a marketer above all else.
But I'm also fascinated by sales and I love what front line sales professionals do.
In this situation however, given that sales are essentially powerless - as a marketer you're the only one who can do anything about this.
Truth be told, your whole company is relying on you to deal with the prospect of successfully marketing to those invisible influencers.
But here's the good part...
If you secure a way to do that you'll establish the single greatest opportunity to increase your company's performance and profitability.
Oh, and here's the even better part...
Chances are that your competitors are completely unaware of this principle which is why the opportunity is both great and exciting.
The Solution
Whilst neither yourself or your sales team will know who the entire Decision Making Unit is, your primary client contact will.
So the solution lies in giving your client something which they'll be able to readily share with everyone involved and be pivotal in helping win their support and get their buy-in.
Out of all the marketing assets that you're able to produce and deploy there's one which most B2B marketers are completely overlooking.
The asset most suited to being shared and be pivotal to instigate buy-in from the entire group is a case study.
Now, given current buyer preferences this would have to be a video case study.
After all, would you prefer to read a 1,500 case study or watch a 3'00 video?
Case studies are currently terribly underused, yet they are perfect for...
- Hooking initial interest
- Helping secure your place on shortlist of serious considerations
- Communicating all of your features, benefits and sales talking points in a much more effective way than any other asset can
Case studies are also currently the least used type of B2B marketing asset which further compounds their potential impact.
There is one problem though...
Most case studies are not true case studies, and they're actually little more than an advert disguised as one.
It's really important that if you're going to capitalise on the opportunity to leverage case studies in the current market that you produce case studies which tell the full story.
How to do that is another topic.
But for now, recognising the opportunity and having case studies firmly on your radar is very much the right way to go.
If you'd like to know more about how case studies could help you successfully market to all people with influence in a B2B purchase decision then please do book a no-obligation consultation call.
You can have all your questions answered and have strategy laid out for you to share.
To book the call click HERE.
James specialises in producing video case studies. He is a three-time published author in video production and marketing. As presenter of the Win Clients With Case Studies podcast he has a unique understanding of the latest best practices and techniques.