3 answers
daesean
Student
Batavia, Illinois
3
Questions
Asked
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What would I need to do to understand needs for buyers for being a marketing manager?
whats a easier way to try to understand the sales process in marketing
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3 answers
Anita Nejat
Director, Sales Development
4
Answers
Bethesda, Maryland
Updated
Anita’s Answer
Hi Daesean - to answer your question, there are two main points to think about: buyer personas & the buyer's journey.
Buyer personas = your target customers based on the product/solution/service you're offering.
Buyer's journey = the journey in which a potential buyer takes when evaluating your product/solution/service. These are segmented out by different stages: 1) awareness stage (at this stage, the potential buyer is doing educational research on a problem or need they have, or forsee having) 2) consideration stage (at this stage, the potential buyer has now clearly defined their problem or an opportunity that they are looking to take advantage) of 3) decision stage (at this stage, the potential buyer has clearly defined their problem, decided on a plan to solve it, and has compiled a list of potential vendors/products to implement that solution).
These two points are important to define because they influence how marketing managers develop and serve up content to their audience. In other words, the content should cater to your buyer personas and the different stages of the buyer's journey they might be on.
With timely and relevant content, the goal is to get more potential buyers (called leads) to engage with the content (these can vary anywhere from content downloads, form fills, website inquiries, etc.). In the B2B Technology space, these leads are typically then passed over to the sales team for follow-up. At this point, the sales team further qualifies the lead and tries to engage the lead in a full sales cycle. Furthermore, the sales team is responsible for further engaging the lead by understanding their problems/needs and proposing an appropriate product/solution/service to help solve them.
Here's an article for more information: https://www.wigwam.digital/post/buyer-personas-and-the-buyers-journey
Hope this helps.
Buyer personas = your target customers based on the product/solution/service you're offering.
Buyer's journey = the journey in which a potential buyer takes when evaluating your product/solution/service. These are segmented out by different stages: 1) awareness stage (at this stage, the potential buyer is doing educational research on a problem or need they have, or forsee having) 2) consideration stage (at this stage, the potential buyer has now clearly defined their problem or an opportunity that they are looking to take advantage) of 3) decision stage (at this stage, the potential buyer has clearly defined their problem, decided on a plan to solve it, and has compiled a list of potential vendors/products to implement that solution).
These two points are important to define because they influence how marketing managers develop and serve up content to their audience. In other words, the content should cater to your buyer personas and the different stages of the buyer's journey they might be on.
With timely and relevant content, the goal is to get more potential buyers (called leads) to engage with the content (these can vary anywhere from content downloads, form fills, website inquiries, etc.). In the B2B Technology space, these leads are typically then passed over to the sales team for follow-up. At this point, the sales team further qualifies the lead and tries to engage the lead in a full sales cycle. Furthermore, the sales team is responsible for further engaging the lead by understanding their problems/needs and proposing an appropriate product/solution/service to help solve them.
Here's an article for more information: https://www.wigwam.digital/post/buyer-personas-and-the-buyers-journey
Hope this helps.
Ryan Whitfield
Content Marketing Manager
19
Answers
Milford, Massachusetts
Updated
Ryan’s Answer
Hi Daesean,
A lot of the answers here cover this already but I'll throw in my two cents. When it comes to sales and marketing, you have to understand the customer. Understand what their problem is, what matters to them, and how you can add genuine value to them. Too often sales people and marketers get caught up thinking about what they love about their product or service, not what the customer cares about. Each buyer is a unique person. For marketers, understanding the different personas will help you get on their level and solve their problems.
Hope this helps!
RW
A lot of the answers here cover this already but I'll throw in my two cents. When it comes to sales and marketing, you have to understand the customer. Understand what their problem is, what matters to them, and how you can add genuine value to them. Too often sales people and marketers get caught up thinking about what they love about their product or service, not what the customer cares about. Each buyer is a unique person. For marketers, understanding the different personas will help you get on their level and solve their problems.
Hope this helps!
RW
Jesse Idun
Sales
7
Answers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Updated
Jesse’s Answer
Hi Daesean,
In addition to the advice shared previously, one thing I focus on is what core problem or issue we are helping a buyer solve. For example, let's say that your end users are customers that are purchasing a product like kitchen utensils/tools. You'll want to think through who are your buyers or customers as well as who you want to target. For example, let's say market research shows most of your buyers are either in the 21-30 and 41-50 age groups and they are mostly recent graduates or couples. With that information, you and the marketing team can work on curating content that matches with where your buyers are in their overall journey. You may decide to build awareness, provide content for those ready to buy and stages in between. But ultimately, the main problem or issue that you're solving is how to enable people to cook, make food, etc. So a majority of your efforts will be geared around how to solve this core issue.
Another resource that might help is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html. It breaks down various needs that people in general have. In the kitchen utensil example, you could make the argument for good kitchen tools solving any of these needs. For example:
1. Physiological Needs: people need to eat and having access to kitchen utensils enables people to cook more conveniently and faster
2. Safety needs: having proper utensils can make it less likely for someone to hurt themselves while cooking
3. Belongingness and love needs: people, either by themselves or in groups, may cook as a way to socialize and fulfill these needs
4. Esteem needs: having the right tools can help someone cook a truly wonderful dish that they are proud of
5. Self actualization: for professional chefs, certain tools not only help them with their jobs but also building their businesses and personal brand
With this information, you can now put together content that targets various needs and how your kitchen tools help solve them. Hope this is helpful!
In addition to the advice shared previously, one thing I focus on is what core problem or issue we are helping a buyer solve. For example, let's say that your end users are customers that are purchasing a product like kitchen utensils/tools. You'll want to think through who are your buyers or customers as well as who you want to target. For example, let's say market research shows most of your buyers are either in the 21-30 and 41-50 age groups and they are mostly recent graduates or couples. With that information, you and the marketing team can work on curating content that matches with where your buyers are in their overall journey. You may decide to build awareness, provide content for those ready to buy and stages in between. But ultimately, the main problem or issue that you're solving is how to enable people to cook, make food, etc. So a majority of your efforts will be geared around how to solve this core issue.
Another resource that might help is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html. It breaks down various needs that people in general have. In the kitchen utensil example, you could make the argument for good kitchen tools solving any of these needs. For example:
1. Physiological Needs: people need to eat and having access to kitchen utensils enables people to cook more conveniently and faster
2. Safety needs: having proper utensils can make it less likely for someone to hurt themselves while cooking
3. Belongingness and love needs: people, either by themselves or in groups, may cook as a way to socialize and fulfill these needs
4. Esteem needs: having the right tools can help someone cook a truly wonderful dish that they are proud of
5. Self actualization: for professional chefs, certain tools not only help them with their jobs but also building their businesses and personal brand
With this information, you can now put together content that targets various needs and how your kitchen tools help solve them. Hope this is helpful!