The Buying Cycle and Buyer Personas in B2B Marketing
In developing B2B buyer personas you have to remember their connection to the buying cycle, as different stages in the buying cycle lead to different content. Demographic information is helpful in better tailoring your message (e.g. a millennial will want information delivered to him/her differently than a baby boomer), but a buyer persona doesn’t do its job if it isn’t related to buying.
If you have someone early on in the buying cycle, their issues are going to be much more top level than someone who is a little more knowledgeable. So you have to develop content that can educate them on the topic and of course have it conspicuous on your website in multiple areas so they can find it. A chief factor in conversion optimization is not making your prospect look for information, it has to be obvious.
If you have someone later on in the buying cycle, they will need all the information that used to come from an initial sales meeting. How does your business work? What is your process? What data (e.g. testimonials, case studies, award recognition, etc.) do you have that speaks to your capabilities? What is your pricing? All of these things are important things that we all want to know, and the informed consumer can now learn it without ever having to talk to anyone. And if you don’t have this information they will move along to someone else who does.
So when you building out your b2b buyer personas, be sure and remember the point of them: to understand your buyers needs/issues/concerns/etc. in relation to their buying cycle, so you can deliver relevant content that speaks to that.
