Information is abundant, insight is not!
As a person working in B2B space for a few years now, I cannot agree more on the value that one piece of insight can add. And, at times be a game-changer when chasing must-win deals. Most commonly sales teams pull insight from two broader sources: internal and external, both of which can be found through leveraging simple desk-based research.
B2B Sales and Marketing teams cannot succeed without a key element in the form of ‘insight’ distilled from all the information available at their fingertips. And, to your surprise, simple desk research can unlock huge value for your B2B selling and marketing efforts.
Understanding two sources of insight: Internal and External
Internal sources are those that you and your team already have, and continue to build. Like, the information that you have on your CRM which you’ve continued to add, with every interaction with your prospect. Then there are dashboards, and many of the sales software that runs their algorithm in the background, to help the sales teams.
External sources could also be an interview that the key decision-maker gave a few months back. Or, it could be a sum of what you can figure out after going through all the press releases published by your target account in the last two years. There could be some value if you scan through the LinkedIn profiles of all the decision-makers and decision influencers at the target account.
With almost all the teams that have adopted ABM as a model, they seem to be adept at identifying the tools, software, and dashboards to help them decide. It is the skill of how they distil insight from information available across the World Wide Web (WWW) that can be crucial while winning that must-win deal for sales teams.
Marketers leverage research for building personalized content
B2B marketers are always on the lookout to build high-quality content. And research cannot be more crucial to build more personalized content. A higher level of personalization can be achieved when powered with proper research. Industry-specific content like videos, white papers, blogs, webinars can give an edge to B2B marketers trying to sell into large accounts. B2B marketers see value in research since research comes in handy to build tons of personalized content that will help to drive traffic and engagement.
Before you launch your ABM or other targeted campaigns, there is a prerequisite to the right data and insight. Data and Insight form the foundation for your entire campaign, aids in the development of industry-specific content, and help you shift your focus on the right areas to craft your messaging and content around.
These are some of the findings from the 12th annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Insights for 2022 report. The three most-cited content marketing goals achieved in the last 12 months were:
- Creating brand awareness (80%)
- Building credibility/trust (75%)
- Educating audience(s) (70%)
Sales leverage research to find the right data to close deals
Research helps to find all the little nuggets of information that might mean the difference between success and failure of any targeted marketing campaign. Marketers can engage with their target accounts better only if they have the right data available with them. In addition to achieving refined, up-to-date, and precise data helps B2B marketers by being more buyer-centric. Buyer-centric in the sense that deep research uncovers requirements of their ideal customer profile companies.
Research is seen as a vital tool by B2B sales teams as it helps in gaining the trust of their target accounts. Gaining trust becomes easy when you have a better understanding of your target accounts that you’re selling into. Research makes it easier to then offer solutions that match their prospects priorities or challenges. Without research, salespeople are left only to guess what their prospects are interested in, and fall into a trap of not being able to establish a relationship.
Final thoughts
B2B sales and marketers opt for research to have an in-depth understanding of their high-value accounts. Our clients use insights to launch hyper-personalized marketing campaigns to speak to their prospects. Many have been using our insight services for building e-papers, webinars, podcasts, and infographics.
To conclude, I’d recommend not to just rely on dashboards, software and ABM tools that crunch data that you already have, but also look out for insights that can be gathered that’s available for free. Both combined should put your sales team at a much stronger position, and surely help you win more business. The convoluted nature of B2B landscape demands research; otherwise, it leaves the sales reps to fall into a trap of not being able to establish a meaningful relationship. Finally, research enables marketing teams to reach high levels of personalization with their target accounts through their content marketing initiatives.