Remaining Relevant to the Connected Business Buyer for Adtech

Editor's Notes

• #2: Let me start with an opening thought in 2012 Cisco announced that its equipment was recording a zettabyte of data. The next metric for measuring data after a zettabyte is a yottabyte (10 to the power of 24) The IEC, the group that decides these things have not yet agreed the next standard measurement. They exist but they are not agreed. So that’s it. We have literally run out of words to describe how big, big data is We are living in the post Information age, the era of so-called Big Data. There is something tacit about Big Data, it is getting all the press, all the attention, the mindshare. It speaks to the sheer size and weight of information. It’s Big. But there has been another technology revolution taking place. A social one. In some ways an equally noisy one. The way in which we interact as friends, family, citizen and as customers and businesses is also changing. And to quote Shirky. We often overestimate the value of access to information but we underestimate the value of access to each other. In other words, we underestimate the importance of human interaction. Note: Giga, Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta, Yotta)
• #3: Let me start with an opening thought in 2012 Cisco announced that its equipment was recording a zettabyte of data. The next metric for measuring data after a zettabyte is a yottabyte (10 to the power of 24) The IEC, the group that decides these things have not yet agreed the next standard measurement. They exist but they are not agreed. So that’s it. We have literally run out of words to describe how big, big data is We are living in the post Information age, the era of so-called Big Data. There is something tacit about Big Data, it is getting all the press, all the attention, the mindshare. It speaks to the sheer size and weight of information. It’s Big. But there has been another technology revolution taking place. A social one. In some ways an equally noisy one. The way in which we interact as friends, family, citizen and as customers and businesses is also changing. And to quote Shirky. We often overestimate the value of access to information but we underestimate the value of access to each other. In other words, we underestimate the importance of human interaction. Note: Giga, Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta, Yotta)
• #4: So social technology is not just about scale and size. It opens up new possibilities for interacting and relating to our customers. Social presents opportunities to improve the quality of our interactions, the depth at which we relate not just the sheer volume of interactions. What does this mean to us as marketers First of all, lets consider types of customers We have transactional at one end. This end is best described by Jeff Bezos who suggests that ‘The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works’. High Touch at the other end, requires consultancy, advice, interaction, expertise and meetings. This is where B2B marketing typically sits. And we tend to think everything in the middle is distributed in in terms of a bell curve.
• #5: However, in the online, social and digital age this is becoming more black and white. If any part of the sales process can be automated and the choice put in front of the customer on-line then it will be. So transactional is becoming even more so. Digital is causing a hollowing out of the the middle. A bifurcation of revenue and customers. It’s bimodal according to Daniel Pink author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Neil Rackham, author and speaker on Sales and Marketing says the same thing. Transactional and consultative (aka complex, nuanced) Marketing at the transactional end is increasingly digital and the technology is chiefly about dealing with scale (branding, advertising, campaigns, digital) , But What about Marketing at the high touch/consultative end. This is where we see a need for innovation to help managed the quality of interaction. Here is where we are seeing a growth is what are termed systems of engagement. This is where Artesian lives. Helping businesses to scale meaningful engagement where they could only previously do so by scaling their sales team -- Of course we use content for transactional too as is evidenced by Coke and Content 2020
• #6: Anil Menon articulated this best. Marketing at the high touch, consultative end is a challenge. This was best put by Anil Menon, Global SVP of Marketing at IBM
• #7: So systems of engagement (and Artesian) live in that high touch, high engagement customers What are the characteristics of this kind of The customers problems are complex, nuanced or nascent The period in which need is recognised is long The customer may need educating Requires trust and often longer, deeper relationship Many potential solution (and I mean wildly different) A business that is causing local traffic congestion might need to make an investment in local infrastructure or invest in home working solutions Highly Competitive Driven by the Connected Business Buyer This area is primarily sales led. High touch, requires high levels of consultation so we invest in a sales team. We try and match one to one In other words it needs ENGAGEMENT And it is driven by the Connected Business Buyer
• #8: The Connected Business Buyer Whilst there is much talk of Generation Y or Millienials  those born somewhere between the early 80’s and early 2,000. (Digital Natives or so called Screenagers) there is a much more pressing change. Connected Buyers are not about to enter the workforce. They are already there. In fact the connected buyer is of no specific age. What they have in common is not about birthdays, instead it is about these three things; 1. Firstly, They are Better informed. A Connected Business Buyer will find three pieces of content for every one piece that marketing can publish or sales can  deliver (according to Forrester) 2. They are Digitally Connected Connected Buyers in every industry, B2B, B2C research an average of 10.4 sources before purchase, 5.8 for a burger, 14.7 to vote marginally below 14.8 for electronics (Brian Solis) 3. Socially Networked.  75%  of  B2B Buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions according to data from IDC that is bang up to date, it is a 2014 study. What’s more, the more senior the decision maker, the more likely they are to use social media It rises to 84%  of C Level/VP Executives  What this all adds up to is that B2B Buyers are 57% of the way through their decision making before they engage Sales (CEB) 67% according to Sirius Decisions Connectedl Business Buyers are increasingly influenced by each other and less and less by marketing and sales.
• #9: 2. They are Digitally Connected Connected Buyers in every industry, B2B, B2C research an average of 10.4 sources before purchase, 5.8 for a burger, 14.7 to vote marginally below 14.8 for electronics (Brian Solis)
• #10: 3. Socially Networked.  75%  of  B2B Buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions according to data from IDC that is bang up to date, it is a 2014 study. What’s more, the more senior the decision maker, the more likely they are to use social media It rises to 84%  of C Level/VP Executives  What this all adds up to is that B2B Buyers are 57% of the way through their decision making before they engage Sales (CEB) 67% according to Sirius Decisions Connectedl Business Buyers are increasingly influenced by each other and less and less by marketing and sales.
• #11: So what challenge do high touch customers and the connected business buyer present to us as marketers Small number of high value customers generating high value opportunities (Risk) Demands highly personalised marketing (such as they get from sales) Expectation of more value pre-sale Want a 1x1 relationship but this does not scale Want to be (and feel) listened to Requires careful collaboration between sales and marketing
• #12: Lets take a look at one response to High Touch Customers is Content Marketing which addresses many of the challenges; It educates the customer It helps customers find you Establishes your credentials as a thought leader (eminence and reputation) It Scales It Builds Relationships Is social, act of generosity, builds brand image
• #13: And If we think about what we learn from content marketing, it is a lot. From seemingly simple customer interactions such as download an ebook, view an infographic or watch a video we can, with carefully targeted content understand the buyer journey and persona. But it is only one dimension. It is an understanding built on how the customer is interacting with us and our content. Customers that are online, social and connected present us with an opportunity to understand them from a second dimension. From outward signals. i.e. What is happening with both the people and the company outside of it’s interactions with us. And this is the starting point for systems engagement. Listening. Listening is the starting point of engagement, answering specific questions, adding value. All through listening to outward signals
• #15: First of all these are just some of the places we need to listen and these are just the social platforms
• #16: And then, of course, it is happening in every minute of every day 100 New LinkedIn Accounts 320 New Twitter Accounts (and 100,000 new Tweets)
• #17: And this is where technology can help It can filter the signal from the noise
• #18: Here is an example of what I mean by that B2B Sales and Marketing teams are interested in what is happening to the business (not just the people in it) Less interested in incidental references, store locators etc What would Google alerts do? A google results alert
• #19: And when we do this is what we can hear signals Signals that give us insights into our buyers world. This is one type of signal; Intent Signals Take for example an Intent signal, from your customer, that a CFO has changed. What we know is that a new CFO’s will make a number of big decisions in the first 100 days These are (according to the McKinsey Report) above A new CFO is a signal, a trigger of intent that they will need a conversation about new solutions (products or services) for Planning Systems, Management Reporting, Audit, Tax and Risk How receptive do you think a new CFO will be to your audit offerings if you can catch them in the first 100 days
• #20: Some of these are social, some are editorial, some might be good old fashioned corporate data Senior Management Change * Business Growth * Product Launch * Verizon Example * Traffic congestion CEO Profits/Soft Pound Banking, Currency Exchange Product
• #21: So, lots of theory. Lets make this real This is a screenshot of Artesian Being used by 15,000 Sellers across many of the leading UK B2B Businesses Filtering the noise and not missing the signals by monitoring over 200 different types of signals to increase relevance You can see this score points to some recent gamification that effectively awards a higher score for those that most successfully adopt the marketing mindset
• #22: Customers increasingly bifurcating between transaction and high touch Transactional is technology rich to handle scale High Touch is ripe for innovation through Digital Systems of Engagement Up the Signal/Reduce the noise Extend existing B2B marketing such as content with a picture of the buyer outside of their interactions with us True 1 to 1 Marketing at Scale Engagement through listening High Touch is Redefining Relationship between Sales and Marketing The Only 2 functions charged with gen revenue Marketing evolving solutions for deeper engagement Sales evolving into 1 to 1 Human Marketing One final takeaway of profound wisdom