One of the most recurring questions in B2B sales and marketing is, “Who do you target when the end user isn’t paying for the product?”
For example, assuming you write children’s books. In this scenario, your end users (kids) aren’t paying for the books but their parents. While making the book colorful and attractive for children, it’s essential to take their preferences and needs into consideration. This means the book should be engaging and appealing not only to the kids but also to their parents, who will be the ones reading it daily.
Another example is kids’ cereal. While brands try to make the packaging and the product colorful and fun to attract the kids (end users) in store aisles, marketers understand the need for health and wellness messaging on the product to appeal to the parents who are paying for it.
The hack lies in balancing the needs of all your stakeholders at every level. In B2B marketing, you rarely have one person who calls all the shots, so you need to tailor your marketing efforts to different stakeholders.
This article will explain the dynamics of B2B sales, what strategy to employ when targeting multiple stakeholders, and how a hybrid strategy can yield more results.
Key Takeaways
- In B2B sales, the end user often isn’t the one paying for the product. A successful strategy addresses the needs of both decision-makers and end users and encourages them to purchase
- You should tailor your strategy by business size. Small businesses rely on CEOs who prioritize cost-saving and efficiency, while large organizations involve multiple departments with unique concerns like ROI, usability, and integration.
- Combine bottom-up and top-down strategies by crafting tailored messages that highlight relevant benefits for each group.
- Identify all stakeholders, customize messages for each group, and use internal advocates to champion your product and drive adoption across the organization.
Understanding the Dynamics of B2B Sales
There is no clear-cut way to market a product to a business because of the many factors involved.
Some of these factors are the size of the company, its growth stage, and what it wants to get out of a product.
Here are some of the things that companies at different levels may be looking towards:
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Small Businesses
CEOs make the decisions in small or medium-sized companies. They usually have their eyes on the high-level benefits of a product. So, when selling a product to such businesses, you should focus on crafting a marketing strategy that helps them save costs, boost productivity, and gain a competitive advantage.
However, while these sound like very reasonable goals for any company, none of these benefits do the end user any good. It doesn’t matter if the leaders are sold on the high-level benefits; if employees show resistance to the product, the leaders may back out of your offering.
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Large Organizations
Large organizations present a more complex buying process as they consist of multiple departments with unique concerns. The executives care about return on investments (ROI) and long-term strategies; IT teams care about integration, security, and scalability, and the end users care about usability and convenience.
A generic message won’t work in such a situation. Think of such an organization as a building with multiple doors. Each door represents an entry point; your job as a salesperson or marketer is to identify the right one and craft the message that unlocks it.
Targeting Decision Makers VS End Users
Back to the analogy we explored earlier, you know that to sell a children’s book, you must consider both sides. The same strategy can be employed when marketing to businesses.
Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Approach
Having understood the dynamics involved in selling to either decision makers or end users for different company sizes, what strategy would be the most adequate to employ?
Bottom-Up Approach
The bottom-up strategy means you target end users first. This approach works perfectly when the product addresses an immediate pain point or improves day-to-day processes. It also works because employees who love the products can become internal advocates, causing leadership to adopt them.
Top-Down Approach
A top-down approach targets decision-makers and executives first, and it is effective for products with clear benefits. This strategy works well because a product that captures the attention of executives can cause them to allocate bigger budgets and push adoption down the ladder. With a top-down approach, your contract is more secure because you sold it to the decision-makers. You don’t have to try to resell even if your contact leaves the company. You also have a greater advantage if another competitor tries to sell to a lower-level employee.
The Hybrid Model: Bridging the Gap
You will see some results as you employ the bottom-up or top-down strategy. However, combining both strategies can lead to even better results. A hybrid approach bridges the gap to ensure that your product appeals to both decision-makers and end users.
When applying the hybrid approach, highlight the benefits that appeal the most to each group. For example, when pitching a project management tool to executives, emphasize its advanced analytics and real-time monitoring features. Showcasing its user-friendly interface and collaboration perks would be the trick for employees.
Practical Steps for Marketers
Here are some practical ways you can navigate B2B sales to either executives or end users:
- Identify your key stakeholders
It’s important to consider every group of people who might be interested in your product. Comb through the industry and map out every pivotal personnel in your target company. This includes executives, end users, and even influencers.
- Craft tailored messages
It’s like writing a cover letter to different companies. You wouldn’t use the same cover letter to apply for different roles, would you? You should craft tailored messages to each stakeholder group and emphasize the feature that best resonates with them. Avoid sending generic pitches, as consumers are smart, and this will most likely fail.
- Use internal advocates
If employees like your product, make them influencers within the company. Let them be able to champion your product in such a way that influences leadership’s decision to adopt the product.
Wrapping Up
A successful B2B sale involves a marketing effort that reaches both end users and decision-makers. Such a strategy considers what both groups are looking for.
The right message to the right group is usually the entry point to closing the gap between who will pay for your product and who will use it. In this way, everyone eventually becomes a buyer.