EBlog

Selling to the masses inside a company.

April 17, 2008 | Posted by: Lee

According to MarketingSherpa's Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide for 07-08, the number one challenge for technology marketers was dealing with the growing number of people involved in the buying process. 

Here's what they found:

• companies with 100 - 500 employees typically had 6 participants involved
  
• 501 - 1000 employees had 13 people providing opinions, and
  
• over 1000 employees there were around 21 people involved.

And these numbers aren't associated with 6 and 7 figure sales.  They found that this was the case with typical 5 figure purchases (over $25,000). Yikes! 

So how can you make sure you get the right information in front of the people who need it?

Start with your web site and ensure that you have information both for the decision makers and influencers:

• Don't assume visitors are coming through your home page.  Ensure each page has information (or links to info) for multiple audiences.
• Segment content into what it does for me (high level benefits, ROI, and case studies) and how it works (more detailed specs, requirements, and demos).
  
• Include content in formats that are easy to pass on.  For example, downloadable product info, case studies, and whitepapers (technical buyers love whitepapers and they tend to pass them on).
  
• Buyers want details so provide information on timelines, processes, and pricing for purchasing and implementation.  Note, one of the top complaints from tech purchasers was the lack of pricing information available on vendor sites.  

When developing direct mail campaigns, don't just target the c-level folks.  Reach out to the influencers and recommenders too. 

• Include an online component where individuals can get more info.  Offer up a whitepaper, free evaluation, or incentive for a meeting.
• Avoid the tendency to dump all your content on to the landing page.  Keep it focused and highlight a specific benefit.
  
• Consider developing a 30-45 second video focusing on product benefits or a customer testimonial.
  

Just a few thoughts.  What have others found effective in dealing with the growing number of people involved in the sales process?