Positioning, Messaging, and Branding for B2B tech companies. Keep it simple. Keep it real.
Buyer personas that focus solely on demographics miss the mark when connecting with B2B procurement teams. Personas focused on the “buying audience” provide added insight into understanding their motivations, pain points, and how and when they buy B2B tech. This article outlines how you can create “audience personas” that give your sales team a better chance at connecting with the procurement team.
Procurement decisions are complex and lengthy, involving a team with diverse and sometimes conflicting priorities.
In my experience, the traditional B2B sales approach is flawed because it focuses on a single person who isn’t always the decision-maker. Complex B2B purchases involve a series of decisions made by various team members. To win, companies must understand the “buying committee” and adapt their approach. Many procurement teams also have a champion who connects them with the vendor.
While individual buyer personas can be useful for certain marketing programs, they often miss the mark when it comes to understanding the dynamics of the procurement team as a whole.
Buyer personas that clarify how the audience (the buying team) makes purchase decisions provide a holistic view of the team’s psychology and can help you tailor your approach for maximum impact. Don’t rely solely on demographics—that’s a mistake.
Unfortunately, most buyer personas are bullshit. They focus too heavily on demographics like age, title, income, gender, etc. They’re almost always aspirational and rarely tested.
And because they are focused on one person, they don’t capture the complexities of B2B procurement teams or help them navigate internal hurdles like budget approvals and risk management. Too often they are focused on the buyer, not the buying decision.
According to Adele Revella, likely THE authority on buyer personas, most B2B companies merely have snippets of buying intent information. Rarely do they truly know who will listen, what they want, and why they prefer the competition.
If we forget to pay attention to how our customer’s make their buying decision, we’re missing a huge piece of the puzzle.
Jeff Goldenberg, Abacus
Here’s why relying on demographics alone is a losing strategy:
That said, when you couple demographics with the qualitative and quantitative insights of psychographics (including firmographics), you have a deeper understanding of a procurement team’s inner workings. You can tailor your message and content for each member, leading to better sales conversations.
Sales and marketing teams have to substantially improve their skills in guiding buying teams. The days of sophomoric ROI justifications are over. Purchases are not made based on a salesperson’s glib assertion of a rapid payback, and most salespeople today simply receive some orders. Precious few actually navigate these complexities to win them.
Ed Marsh, IntentData
B2B marketing campaigns often fail to generate high-quality leads because they rely on assumptions instead of real-world customer insight. Sales and marketing end up missing the mark on the specific needs of B2B procurement teams.
Without deep and insightful conversations with your best-fit customers, you can't paint a full picture of how procurement teams find and purchase your solution.
Yes, demographics are helpful and I’m not suggesting to discount them. But you also need the qualitative and quantitative insight that psychographics provide (I’m including firmographics here).
Audience personas can help:
Audience personas can help bridge the gap between your B2B tech solution and the complexities of procurement decisions. Understanding the motivations, challenges, and decision-making process, goes beyond demographic data and helps clarify your sales strategy. Instead of assuming your buyer is only interested in a feature list or product demo, your audience persona spells out what they want to see, who they will listen to, and whether or not they will shortlist you.
TIP: Don’t Boil the Ocean
Build your buyer persona with the buying audience in mind first. This way, you can see if the champion’s characteristics are already covered by the broader audience. Depending on the size of your business and product portfolio, you may only need one persona. As you grow your products and reach, you can scale the number of personas accordingly.
Maximizer CRM, a well-established SaaS and OnPrem CRM player in the SMB space, faced a decline in market share due to a lack of differentiation in an ever-increasing crowded market.
Regain market prominence and reclaim its value proposition for SMBs, particularly Financial Advisors and Wealth Managers.
Maximizer implemented a strategic repositioning campaign called “Grow With Confidence.” This campaign focused on:
The “Grow With Confidence” brand campaign not only revitalized Maximizer internally but also resonated deeply with customers, particularly in the Financial Services sector. This resulted in:
Maximizer continues to benefit from Achim’s contributions, market research, strategy, positioning, and messaging for our financial services product. It’s still going strong.
Vivek Thomas, President
Learn more about Maximizer’s success story.
1. Gather Data
2. Pinpoint Shared Goals & Challenges
3. Map the Decision-Making Hierarchy
Key elements to consider when building your audience persona:
Tips for Building Effective Audience Personas
Your audience personas hold the key to crafting content marketing that resonates with each member of the procurement team. Don’t just use them for sales—leverage them to build targeted content that solves their problems. Below are 4 ways audience personas can help guide your content marketing.
1. Create Targeted Content
2. Address Specific Pain Points
3. Build Credibility and Trust
4. Personalize Where Possible
Guide each team member through informative and relevant content that addresses their specific needs and concerns. By doing this, you position your B2B tech solution as the answer they’ve been looking for.
Building buyer personas that are focused on decision criteria is the key to connecting with B2B procurement teams. Audience personas can give you a deeper understanding of the motivations, decision-making processes, and preferred communication styles.
Your sales and marketing teams can also facilitate better sales conversations with targeted messaging and useful content that addresses the needs of each team member.
Remember that demographics alone won’t cut it. You need the qualitative and quantitative insights that psychographics provide.
If you like this content, here are some more ways I can help:
This article is also published on LinkedIn. Please chime in with any feedback. I would love to hear from you.
Cheers!
Are you lost in the sea of B2B tech companies? This article will help you focus on who you truly serve (your best-fit customers) and craft unique messages that speak directly to their needs. You can make your solution special with a clear value proposition that’s different from everyone else, create relevant content that positions your solution as the ideal choice in your niche market, and use strategic design to visually communicate your brand’s value. By taking these steps, you’ll be well on your way to building a B2B tech brand that cuts through the noise and gets noticed.
You’ve built a groundbreaking B2B tech solution. It’s innovative, solves a critical problem, and has the potential to disrupt the industry. But with new products launching daily, grabbing attention is brutal. Even worse, 95% of B2B buyers aren’t ready to buy yet.
After 20+ years in the B2B tech marketing business, I’ve learned a thing or two about what to do and what not to do. I’ve helped countless B2B tech companies like yours stand out and achieve amazing growth. Some tripled their growth within 2-4 years, while others reached a staggering 10x increase.
A few were also acquired for impressive valuations, thanks in part to clear and differentiated value. Now, I’m not suggesting that marketing alone was the sole saviour. These companies also had amazing products and engaged leaders who championed change and balanced marketing and innovation. In short, they got out of their own way.
You can learn about three of them here: B2B Tech Success Stories.
In this article, I’ll lean on my experience to show you what it takes to create a differentiation strategy and grow your B2B tech brand. We’ll explore why you should only focus on your best-fit customers, how to craft a compelling unique value proposition (UVP), and why developing relevant messaging and content captures attention and drives results. By the end, you’ll walk away with a clear roadmap to build a B2B tech brand that cuts through the noise and propels your company forward.
Understanding your ideal customer is the bedrock of every unique B2B tech brand. It’s the base on which you’ll construct your entire brand strategy. When you pinpoint who you serve, their pressing needs, and their deepest anxieties, you can craft messages that strike a chord and position you as the obvious solution.
Unlike buyer personas, audience personas focus on audience psychographics rather than individual demographics. If you only focus on demographics, you can end up with similar results as illustrated below.
B2B tech is bursting with innovation. It’s exciting for creators, but how do you stand out? ChiefMarTec’s Martech Map showcased just 150 marketing tech solutions when it launched in 2011. Today, there are over 13,000. And if you consider all B2B software, there are over 103,000 solutions on the market today.
B2B buyers are savvier than ever. Armed with data and Google, they research thoroughly and prefer a “rep-free experience” (Gartner). A good product isn’t enough and casting a wide net with copycat tactics doesn’t help either.
Avoid these two traps at all costs:
When you fail to differentiate, you end up losing:
Focus on the benefits of standing out:
Differentiation is the lifeblood of B2B tech success. It’s the key to unlocking sustainable growth, market leadership, and a loyal customer base.
Your UVP is a short statement that captures your company’s difference and the specific value you deliver to your ideal customer. A compelling UVP attracts your best-fit customers and sets you apart from the competitive alternatives.
What is a UVP? Think of it as your brand’s elevator pitch. A clear and concise statement that communicates:
Use the following framework to guide you in uncovering your UVP:
A UVP goes beyond simply listing features. It focuses on the tangible benefits your best-fit customer will experience by choosing your solution. Frame your UVP around solving their problems, achieving their goals, and ultimately, improving their bottom line.
Here are some strong UVP examples from successful B2B tech companies:
Your UVP should imbue the one thing your business does better than anyone else. Put it into action by weaving it into your marketing materials, website copy, and sales conversations. A clear and consistent UVP ensures your message resonates with your target audience and positions you as the go-to solution for their specific needs.
Relevant messaging and engaging content are the foundation of effective B2B tech marketing. They help you connect with your audience, educate them about your solution, and ultimately convert them.
Remember, your best-fit customers? The insight you glean from their interviews will shape your UVP and guide your messaging strategy. They will literally tell you what to say and to whom. Make your best-fit customer the hero of every message you create.
Content marketing is a powerful tool for building brand awareness, establishing thought leadership, and generating leads and sales. According to Content Marketing Institute, B2B content marketing generates 3x more leads compared to traditional advertising methods.
When your messaging and content are aligned and working together, you create a powerhouse of marketing potential unique to your solution. Your messaging delivers the core message, while your content amplifies it and delivers it to your target audience. This cohesion fosters trust, generates demand, drives leads, and positions you as an expert in your industry.
Don’t jump straight to “the fun part”. Rushing into design before understanding your customers and market (insight) and building a clear plan (strategy) wastes effort and sparks pointless taste debates. It’s putting the cart before the horse.
Creative execution (design, copy, content, etc.) only thrives with a strong strategy. And your strategy can only be as good as your insights. The deeper you dig into your customer and market (research!), the stronger your strategy and execution become (and more fun).
That said, don’t underestimate the power of clear visuals. Great design amplifies your brand message and sets you apart, but only if it communicates value. Designing purely for aesthetics (like personal preference) confuses potential customers.
Think of your brand’s visual identity as a language that supports your messaging. A well-crafted logo, website design, and marketing materials should all work together to emphasize your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and brand personality.
Here’s how great design achieves this:
Maintaining design consistency across all your brand touchpoints is what makes your solution stand out. Imagine a website with a modern, clean design, but marketing materials are scattered and sales pitches are traditional product demos. This inconsistency confuses people and weakens your brand. By unifying all the elements of your brand, you create a professional and unified experience.
In short, design isn’t just about aesthetics; it's a strategic balancing act between solving problems and offering your unique solution. Its sole purpose is to deliver your brand’s UVP effectively and leave a lasting impression on your target audience.
B2B tech is dynamic and ever-evolving but differentiation remains constant. It’s a crowded market with many similar products. A well-defined and uniquely-differentiated solution cuts through the noise, grabs attention, and stays top-of-mind.
Design rules to live by:
If you like this content, here are some more ways I can help:
This article is also published on LinkedIn. Please chime in with any feedback. I would love to hear from you.
Cheers!
