INTERVIEW WITH
Prash Shenoy
Vice President - Growth Marketing
B2B Customer Acquisition: The role of human engagement in a world of digital-first enterprise marketing
B2B businesses can learn a lot from B2C businesses when it comes to successfully engaging with millennial decision makers.
Are B2B businesses ready for the rise of millennial decision makers?
Millennials are already maturing into middle management positions, and many have taken on decision making responsibilities as a result. Although their priorities when making a purchase, such as cost and effectiveness, are largely similar to decision makers of the baby boomer generation, there are differences in how they want to conduct purchases. Millennial decision makers want more engagement in their buying journey when compared to their predecessors. But it has to be on their terms - they do not want to be told they can only buy in a certain way and expect to be able to make up their own minds.
B2B businesses can learn a lot from B2C businesses when it comes to successfully engaging with millennial decision makers. Although they are buying on behalf of their company, the decision maker is still a human being and expects to be treated as such. They want their personal values to be reflected in their own work as well as the companies that they interact with professionally. This is where B2B sales can bring emotional factors into the sales process, in the same way that B2C sales have successfully done for a while now. If your messaging at every stage of the funnel shows millennial decision makers that not only do you have a great solution for them, but you're also in tune with and supportive of their values, they become far more likely to engage with you.
The very best sales and marketing teams are those that blend digital technologies with human experience.
How has the role of marketing changed in recent years?
Marketing and sales departments are becoming increasingly integrated with one another, which is a good thing because they share a common goal - winning new customers. With the rise of Account Based Marketing, it feels like everybody is a sales person now. Although the marketing team may not be closing the deals, they are warming prospects up and getting them ready to purchase. Although the rise of new technologies and automations may allow marketers to perform much of the traditional sales person’s role, it is still crucial to remember the value that human engagement brings to the sales cycle. The very best sales and marketing teams are those that blend digital technologies with human experience. A great example of this is chat bots - they allow your buyers to find information at their own convenience, but can be escalated to human involvement when required. This could be to experience a product demonstration or to ask more in-depth questions that the chat bot is unable to answer.
A successful community is one that connects prospective customers with your existing ones, as well as connecting them with your sales and customer success colleagues.
Prash Shenoy
Vice President - Growth Marketing MARRINA DECISIONS
What should businesses focus their marketing efforts on this year?
Creating community should be a key focus for businesses in 2023 who haven’t already done so. A successful community is one that connects prospective customers with your existing ones, as well as connecting them with your sales and customer success colleagues. Instead of a linear process that sees prospects moved between departments based on which stage of the buying journey they are at, a community acts as an holistic ecosystem and a safe space for prospects and customers alike. This will mean that some negative feedback is likely to appear, but because the feedback is unfiltered it will ultimately help you to improve your offering. It’s certainly more effective than spending a lot of money on surveys that nobody responds to!
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