B2b buyer experience

Winning with the Best Buyer Experience

To succeed in today's market, companies must prioritize the buyer experience. This involves aligning the sales process with how buyers prefer to purchase and centering on their needs. From analyzing the top 100 SaaS companies, here are three critical buyer-first criteria and insights:

1. Accessible: Quick and convenient access to sales teams is crucial. 61% of top B2B SaaS companies use a calendar scheduler or respond within 24 hours.
2. Usable: Offering hands-on product usage is key. 31% now provide interactive demos, up from 17% last year.
3. Visible: Transparent pricing and packaging matter. 68% now display pricing pages, an increase from 57% last year.

These trends highlight the importance of making it easy for buyers to engage with and understand your product.

B2B marketing and B2b buyer experience

In B2B marketing, there is often a tendency to build programs based on a linear progression model. This model suggests that potential leads become increasingly ready for sales as they engage more with marketing activities. According to this approach, the more touchpoints a lead has with marketing, the higher their score and perceived intent, ultimately leading them to fill out a demo request form or receive proactive outreach from sales teams.

This linear progression logic creates a perception that the most engaged leads are the best leads, and those with minimal engagement are less likely to convert. However, decades of consumer data challenge this assumption. Notably, in 1959, Andrew Ehrenberg discovered that buying behavior follows a Negative Binomial Distribution (NBD). This distribution shows that most buyers are infrequent purchasers, and focusing solely on heavy buyers is not a sustainable growth strategy.

Applying Ehrenberg's findings to B2B marketing, especially in the context of content consumption, reveals a crucial insight: strategies that concentrate on highly engaged audiences may neglect a broader pool of potential buyers who engage less frequently. This approach can lead to wasted marketing budgets and missed opportunities to reach those who truly need awareness.

Real-world observations support this perspective for b2b marketing success. Throughout my career, I've seen numerous instances where leads with minimal marketing engagement became valuable customers, while highly engaged leads did not convert. This discrepancy is often attributed to the concept of dark social, suggesting that some engagement occurs out of sight. However, relying on this explanation may introduce bias and overlook the reality that not every customer needs to interact extensively with marketing content to make a purchase decision.

The key takeaway is that b2b marketing should aim to reach as many people as possible, creating and maintaining broad awareness. Instead of focusing on converting every lead into a highly engaged prospect, marketers should prioritize extending their reach to a wide audience, ensuring that infrequent engagement still translates into awareness and potential sales. Infrequent engagement with a large audience is more effective than intense engagement with a narrow group, as it ensures that the brand remains top-of-mind for a broader segment of the market.

By adopting this approach, B2B marketers can align their strategies more closely with actual market consumption patterns, ultimately driving greater overall sales and growth.

In today's fast-paced, competitive business environment, branding is no longer just about delivering a message—it's about creating immersive, meaningful experiences. Every impression counts, especially at the very start of a project. That's why our refined Client Onboarding process is pivotal in setting the tone for successful collaboration and brand alignment.

Why is our Client Onboarding process so critical?

1. Setting Expectations: The onboarding phase is where we align on how both teams will work together, ensuring that expectations are clear and well-communicated. We define:
   • Workflows: How we’ll collaborate, including feedback loops and review processes.
   • Tools: The platforms and tools we use to streamline communication and keep the project on track.
   • Project Advocacy: Assigning a dedicated project advocate ensures that there’s always someone leading the charge on your behalf.
2. Tailored Client Journeys: We’ve crafted a highly personalized journey that respects the time and priorities of our clients. From the very first interaction, we provide structure without burden, making it easy for high-profile clients to engage with us at their convenience.
3. Attention to Detail: We understand that reputation is built on exceptional experiences. Whether it’s the clarity of our initial meetings or the ease of access to essential project details, we focus on every micro and macro touchpoint. The little things matter, like:
   • Ensuring smooth communication with minimal back-and-forth.
   • Providing detailed timelines and action plans from the outset.
   • Offering quick and effective problem-solving to avoid delays.

What are we doing differently to create a better experience?

1. Proactive Communication: We maintain a proactive approach to communication—keeping clients informed at every stage without them having to ask. This helps reduce their cognitive load and enhances their experience of working with us.

2. Simplified Processes with High Transparency: Our onboarding is designed to simplify the complex. Clients are presented with a clear roadmap and milestones, where they always know what to expect next, creating a smooth flow from project setup to completion.

3. Strategic Workshops: We hold strategic, client-focused workshops during onboarding to fully immerse ourselves in their business needs and objectives. This ensures we understand the full scope before the project even begins, allowing us to be more agile and deliver results that truly matter.

4. Experience-Driven Brand Touchpoints: Every aspect of our onboarding is infused with brand storytelling—creating not just functional experiences but ones that emotionally resonate. This is where branding transforms into an experience—through meaningful interactions, visually cohesive presentations, and thoughtful client care.

Why does brand experience matter?

In branding, experiences create lasting impressions, and we recognize that those impressions begin the moment a client reaches out. By offering an onboarding experience that is refined, efficient, and deeply personalized, we are building the foundation for not just a successful project, but a long-term partnership rooted in trust and mutual respect.

This client-centric onboarding process is our way of ensuring that our clients not only receive top-tier service but also experience the very essence of our brand values: excellence, attention to detail, and a relentless focus on making their journey as smooth as possible. Through every interaction, we aim to exceed expectations and create a brand experience that speaks louder than words.