The Changing B2B Buyer Journey| 4 stages to know
The B2B buyer journey has changed, has your marketing strategy?
The B2B buyer journey has undergone significant changes over the years due to the emergence of digital technology. In the past, most transactions take place offline and rely on face-to-face interactions. The difference today is that the buyer journey turns in more self-driven as the buyers are doing more research online before they made a decision. This independence means businesses need to digitally transform and optimize each stage of the buyer journey.
Mapping an effective buyer’s journey map is important because it helps you to better understand your customers and deliver a better buyer experience, eventually maximizing the success of your business. Read on, let’s walk through the B2B buyer journey and have a deeper understanding of it.
What is B2B buyer journey?
The B2B Buyer Journey is a map that shows all touchpoints and interactions between your company and customer. There are different interpretations of the B2B buyer journey floating around the Internet, but in fact, they are generally the same, it all begins with the moment the prospects are aware they have a need, to the second they consider and end up with a decision. In this article, we’ll look at the four stages version of the buyer journey: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and Retention.
Stage 1: Awareness
This is the first stage of the B2B buyer journey map, your prospects begin to acknowledge their certain pain points and start to do research for a company that may solve their needs. They might encounter your company, products, or services through one of your digital channels, for instance, an advertisement or website. Your digital channel should demonstrate your understanding of the prospect’s pain points so they will know they need a solution like yours. Google Ads is one of the most effective ways to generate B2B leads but your ads performance may be influenced by some crucial factors, including landing page and keyword optimization, effective google ads management, etc.
Stage 2: Consideration
In the consideration stage, your prospects will do a comparison between your company and your competitors. Comparative content, effective in-person engagement, and expert guides can help your sales team in lead nurturing. Prospects will narrow down their scope by reaching out to your sales reps for further clarification. They will evaluate different solutions and see which of them addresses their pain points and give them the best results. At this stage, it is essential to know about your prospect's concerns to build their confidence in the solution you provided.
Stage 3: Decision
At this stage, your prospects will select a vendor and purchase after they have done their research. They have determined their choice in the consideration stage and will look for the vendor that may help them to relieve their pain point. This is also where implementation, onboarding, and kick-off meetings occur.
Stage 4: Retention
Even when your prospects made a purchase but that’s not the end. It’s essential to build a long-term relationship with the buyer and provide them with the best customer experience to gain an advocate for your brand. Referrals are absolute a good way to get more sales and shorten your sales cycle times.
Do you track your B2B Buyer Journey?
Understanding each buyer journey stage is crucial for you to build effective, targeted marketing campaigns that produce results. Now, you already know about the B2B buyer journey but wondering how to start if you would like to develop a digital marketing strategy to meet these changing needs? Partnering with digital marketing agencies may meet your needs. Talk to one of our B2B digital transformation experts now.
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