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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK - Your nonmarketing leadership is also a target audience!
Good B2B marketers know their buyers!
You understand them, the problems they face, and the missed opportunities they lament, and conclude how your solutions can help them. You develop personas for all 8-12 people on the typical B2B buying team: the champion, the skeptic, the quiet influencer, the blocker, and the key decision maker. And then you craft engaging content about things that matter to them.
Have you applied the same analysis to our own organization? Who are the people that collectively define the value that the marketing team brings to your organization?
Do you understand them, the problems they face, and the missed opportunities they lament?
How often is the latest social media graphic and tagline shared with company stakeholders? This content is intended for prospects and customers, not internal leadership. And then we expect our key leaders to understand the role of marketing and believe we are a vital part of the organization when it comes to resource allocation.
A company’s key leaders and influencers are a critical target audience, and we should apply the same analysis to them as we do our external target audiences. And then communicate in ways intended to help them with their biggest issues and achieve their most important goals. Meet them where they are with a helping intent. Here are some starter questions.
Does the head of sales know how content marketing works to engage prospects throughout the buyer’s journey and that you have been influencing them for 80% of that journey when you turn them over to sales?
Does your CFO measure the entire cost of sale in a way that parallels the complete buyer’s journey, not just when a prospect contacts the sales team?
How does the executive team measure ROI and do they view marketing as an investment or a cost?
Consider developing a plan to communicate with your executive leaders in the same intentional way you communicate to your external target audiences.
I hope you have a great week!
--Perry
And please visit us at follow your buyer for more.
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Perry Rearick
Chief Editor | Follow Your Buyer
prearick@followyourbuyer.com
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