Whiteboard Video: The B2B Marketing Challenge

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  jp.elliott@...04/24/07 Report as spam
  1

  Very basic & conceptual overview

  This only defines what a sales funnel is and how people might move through the process...wish it had more details on actions to take at each step of the process

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  tooshyniceguy@...04/24/07 Report as spam
  2

  Helpful and insightful look at B2B marketing

  I think it would've been more helpful to highlight the two most important challenges in the perspective that sales people can understand, namely:
  
  1) Length of Sales Cycle - The video refers this as TIME. In some industries, particularly contracting, government and municipalities and military, there is a bidding process, bid review process, trials and test period and so forth before the contract is awarded. This can take months, possibly even years.
  
  2) Decision-Makers - These are the key individuals in the company that have budget responsibility and ultimate authority to make the buying decision. These indivuals include the owners, CEO's or VP's or department heads of the company. In depends on the size of the firm, but ultimately there are 1 or 2 key people who have buying authority.
  
  3) Influencers - These are the users of the products or services being offered. They provide the valuable input into the buying process. They can make or break the sale. It is very important to be able to convince these individuals of the merits of the product or service. Decision-makers rely on the opinions and advice of influencers before making the buying decision.
  
  4) Qualification - It is very important to qualify each prospect. You will have HOT prospects, or those that have made their research, are committed to buying the product or service, and are now ready to talk to product and service providers. CONTEMPLATORS are prospects that are in the investigative and information gathering stage. They have identified a need for the particular product or service. They are trying to determine if buying the product or service is feasible and provides benefits to the organization. The third level are WINDOW SHOPPERS, or prospects that are not in any hurry to buy. They do not have a critical need, but interested in learning more. They can make do with what they have, but maybe many months or even years, before the need becomes critical.

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  ChrisSchermer04/24/07 Report as spam
  3

  Basic, but the start of good strategy

  One thing to add to this is the addition of the audience framework for communicating within this funnel.
  
  At our agency, Schermer Kuehl, we organize by a process we've named Streamlined Messaging. By Streamlining, you can organize the first part of the funnel to communicate Upstream messages, geared mostly towards branding-building corporate conversations targeting C-level / owner / VP audiences.
  
  In the second stage of the funnel, Interest, we Streamline messages for the Midstream audience, typically directors and managers charged with an initiative or project by the Upstream. It's their responsibility to survey the market for solutions.
  
  Finally, in the Consideration phase of the funnel, we target towards both the Midstream and Downstream audiences. Downstream audiences are typically the users / specifiers or SMEs (Subject-Matter Experts). The people called upon to do the actual comparisons, demos, or hard-core evaluations. These people can make or break a sale at the final stage, so it's critical that they understand the Upstream and Midstream requirements and get a healthy dose of those messages as well as the facts/data/detail they are mostly concerned with.
  
  We've seen that with our methodology, the B2B buying process is sped up considerably because the entire BuyingStream is working together more cohesively and effectively, armed and equipped with the information they need to go from prospect to lead to sale faster. For more on Streamlined Marketing, visit www.skmarketing.com

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  Sekinat04/30/07 Report as spam
  4

  B2B Marketing

  Good way of explaining marketing to an entrepreneur. As they often wonder why their adverts are getting any response or positive sale.