In B2B, purchasing decisions are often made by committees made up of controlling, technology and management. Each decision-maker pursues different goals and therefore requires different information. Sanjay Sauldie shows how a company website can serve each of these three types of decision-makers.
The B2B purchasing cycle is very different to the B2C sector. This is why B2B internet marketing is still lagging behind in many companies. It is much more important to pay attention to the influencing factors that buyers are exposed to today. In B2B, purchasing decisions are often made in a committee made up of different people - people with different requirements and objectives. If a company recognises these influencing factors and can integrate them into the marketing mix, the chances of success are very high.
The first step is to categorise the decision-makers into different types. These three main types are characteristic:
- The economist (controls the budget and wants the most favourable offer).
- The technician (looks from the technical point of view and searches for the right technical solution to his problem).
- The manager (looks at how he can serve his customers even better and is on the lookout for suitable partners).
There are certainly more types, but that doesn't matter - there could be many more. The important question is: Are all these types being served correctly on your website? If you only focus on one type with your information (and unfortunately this is often the technician), then you are simply leaving out potential left and right.
The Internet is being used by more and more of these decision-makers (see tip 27), you are very welcome to request the study on this topic directly from me - b2b@iroi.de
Provide each type of decision-maker with the information they need
How about catering to the needs of these people on your website? You clearly present the price advantages to the economist. If you are the most expensive supplier, make it very clear why this is the case and what long-term benefits the buyer will have if they don't save money now, but have a longer-term benefit. Ideally, this should be clearly expressed on your website.
For technicians, offer white papers (see tip 20) or technical details that will inspire them. Ideally, not on the page made for the economist, but on a separate page.
For the manager, you demonstrate your expertise through examples with customers, perhaps even with customer references, which show that you are exactly the right partner who is reliable and competent.
And if one buyer is on the committee and is still unsure, then help the one who is already on your side with arguments that you provide on the website so that you get the contract.
Make sure you always have your own optimised page
As you can see, an individual approach can be realised very well via the website! Make sure that there is a separate page for each type of decision-maker on your website, as each of these pages is then individually optimised for the key terms that each type enters.
If you are travelling to trade fairs, for example, then it is ideal to collect questions from buyers and answer them on the website. However, not in the form of an FAQ (frequently asked questions), but in the text itself. This is very persuasive! Only by differentiating between decision-maker types in this way can you use your website very strategically. Start studying your buyer types and then create a separate page for each type - ideally optimised for the key terms (see tip 4) of each type!
Many web agencies sell their clients, especially in B2B, expensive Adwords campaigns to bring even more visitors to the website. According to the iROI strategy (iROI strategy), this is a rather weak solution for B2B companies, because you don't need more visitors (as with many B2C projects), but more buyers who are enthusiastic about your website and then about you.
Think about it: Who are you really building your website for?
DE 
EN 
EL 
ES 
ZH 
IT 
FR 
PT 
PL 
SK 
TR 
JA 
SV 
DA 
ET 
FI 
KO