If you are a signage company looking for developing new business relationship with brands and agencies, you have to adopt new ways in B2B buying cycle to reach out to your potential buyers. B2B buying cycle is where the relationship begins and it’s where the credibility starts! But what you need is a coherent brand voice and a simple, clear and differentiating message, because B2B selling is now content driven.

Your offering, which means the published content that can be appeared on different platforms like trade magazines, trade portals, trade shows, self-newsletters, website, blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and e-mail campaigns, will be evaluated to gauge you against your competitors. Here the advantage is that you can shape and finesse your message as you can tell the story you want to tell. Then you will be considered long before you even know who these potential buyers and decision makers are.

In the procedure, divide B2B buying cycle into three phases of total nine months period. The first two thirds of the cycle are extremely important, because this will feel like new territory for many organisations and many opportunities exist in this phase of the cycle. But the last third of the cycle is also equally important because it will seem like coming home again. To make it clear, let’s take a quick illustration of nine months of B2B buying cycle. The first two-thirds of this time frame of nine months before a new brand is launched, which means the six months period, is when potential buyers gather information about your company, products and services by reading about you online, print and visiting trade shows.

In the final third comes engagement. In this phase of the cycle, buyers will be ready to finally begin to connect with you directly, closer to the traditional sales model. Then you can come to the conclusion that your buyers have done research, read about your organisation somewhere and received your offering. Now the time will come for them for direct conversation with your organisation and with it comes the opportunity to link for new business deal.

For all this, it’s a good idea to develop an in-house content manager or contract an expert to drive B2B marketing communications with people who are expert in your trade. Here the main aim is to create relevant content and to put it in front of the potential buyers. Try to make everything simple. Most people prefer to think about things that are easy to think about. The fluency you use when you mention a product or a service, even the choice of fonts in your e-mail messages, advertorials and ads, the simplicity of your message, all can have a significant impact on persuasion, on your ability to influence buying decisions of your buyers.

Remember, B2B buying cycle is about education, information, building awareness and credibility. As you gain a greater understanding about your customers and prospects,

new discoveries emerge and possibilities are endless.

– Sonal Khurana
sonal@smediagroup.in