2. AGENDA
• Digital Changed Everything
• B2C Buying Journey
• B2B Buying Journey
• Digital Advertising Influences the Journey
3. How much time do YOU
spend online a day?
Daily Media Consumption
Online
7.6 Hours
Offline
7.0 Hours
23%
28%
@ 6%
24%
1%
Search
Email / IM
Surf Content
Surf Social Media
Online Shopping
19%
Surf Video
@
49% of digital media consumption is through mobile devices
4. Consider the last time you needed a new car, braces for your kids, or even something as simple as a
restaurant for date night. What did you do?
How do YOU buy something today?
Search on Google or Bing to see which businesses showed up for a service you need?
Ask for a recommendation from friends on Facebook?
Check reviews on Yelp, Google, or another directory site?
Compare the websites of a few different businesses to help make your choice?
See a display ad that jogged your memory about a brand you were already considering?
Use your mobile phone to search for a product’s price while in the store?
See a display ads that made you aware of a product or brand you weren’t familiar with?
5. If businesses are not visible online when
people are doing their homework, believe
me, they’ll find others who are.
-- Jim Lecinski, Managing Director, Google
Why does it matter?
6. Google’s Zero Moment of Truth by Jim Lecinski
Click to Get Full Google ZMOT Ebook
8. The Customer is in Control!
Before ever contacting a business they…
Search
Use mobile phones to instantly
research products and services
anytime, anywhere.
Surf
See ads on every site and form
impressions of businesses and
products.
Socialize
Share buying experiences with
hundreds, even thousands, of
others in an instant.
9. Have a need or want and research
the potential solutions online
Identify some brands for consideration
and contact a few of them
Research reputation and price
online then buy the best option
Share their experience on social
and review sites
No need, unaware of most brands
Do you ROBO?
Research Online Buy Offline
Simple Version of the Consumer Buying Process
10. Every tactic cuts down the entire funnel –
for example consumers see ads at the beginning,
middle and end of their buying journey
What Influences Buying Decisions?
11. Customers start and stop the process
over time and are influenced by
many different types of advertising &
content at every stage.
The Journey is Not a Straight Path
12. Low Cost Need
Water Heater Repair
Cindy’s hot water heater is broken so she
has to find a good plumber fast. She does
a quick search on Google and clicks on the
search ads for brands that she knows after
years of hearing their radio and TV ads.
After that she checks their websites and
reviews and then calls a few to check
availability and price.
DISCOVER CONSIDER BUY REVIEW / REPEAT
13. High Cost Want
Kitchen Remodel
Mary has dreamed of remodeling her
kitchen for nearly a year while waiting for
her bonus. During that time she has seen
many ads for local remodelers while
casually surfing home improvement sites
and magazines. Now she is ready to find
a remodeler to do the job but wants to
make sure she gets a high-quality builder
who will do the job right.
DISCOVER CONSIDER BUY REVIEW / REPEAT
16. • Business professionals plan ahead
– buying is planned and budgeted as part of their
job, emotion plays less of a role
• Longer, more complex process
– high cost products require more time to research
solutions and evaluate multiple vendors
– wrong decisions are very costly to the business
and the buyer’s career
• Additional information available
– associations, buyers guides, industry news
briefs, blogs, research reports, user reviews, etc.
The B2B Buying Journey
17.
18. Who is involved in the decision for a major purchase?
Decision
Makers
Influencers
Users
Users of the Solution
• Often identify the need for a new solution
• Can torpedo a decision if not involved
Influencers
• Colleagues in other departments
• Industry analysts outside the co.
Decision Makers
• The buyer
• The buyer’s boss
• The buyer’s CFO
19. How far along the journey before talking with a Sales person?
20. The Buyer is Now in Control of the Journey
*Source: Sales & Marketing Management, March 2015
Unaware
Aware
Explore
Consider
Evaluate
Purchase
Renew
Advocate
Time
Buyers complete 70% of the journey prior to making contact*
21. How can a business influence their customers buying journey?
Unaware
Aware
Research
Consider
Evaluate
Purchase
Renew
Advocate
Time
Before they are looking?
During their research?
Through the RFP process?
After they become a customer?
22. BRAND
Search Tradeshow Website Email Association Display
Search Demo Reputation Email Re-Targeting Display
Account Service Training Content Loyalty Program Display
PRODUCT
@
@
Unaware
Aware
Research
Consider
Evaluate
Purchase
Renew
Advocate
Time
B2B Marketers Use Many Tactics Across The Journey
Blog/Social Tradeshow Print Direct Mail Association Display
23. BRAND
Search Tradeshow Website Email Association Display
Search Demo Reputation Email Re-Targeting Display
Account Service Training Content Loyalty Program Display
PRODUCT
@
@
Unaware
Aware
Research
Consider
Evaluate
Purchase
Renew
Advocate
Time
Blog/Social Tradeshow Print Direct Mail Association Display
But they need Display Advertising because it…
• Is the fastest and most cost-effective tactic for awareness
• Captures more mind share than organic search or social
• Influences buyers across every step of the journey
• Powers brand lift for all marketing tactics
B2B Marketers Use Many Tactics Across The Journey
25. OWNED
MEDIA
Website
Blog
Social Pages
Email
Three Pillars of Digital Marketing Work Together to Influence Decisions
EARNED
MEDIA
PR Mentions
Social Shares
Reviews
• It’s the most cost-effective tactic for increasing your
awareness and preference with prospects
• It captures more mind share and site traffic than
organic search results or social posts which are seen
a fraction of the time
• It powers brand lift across all your marketing tactics,
e.g. higher CTR on search results, increased email
open rates, higher social media likes/shares, etc.
Digital advertising is critical to your strategyPAID
MEDIA
Display
Retargeting
Search
Social
26. Display Influences Buyers Across the Entire Journey
Unaware
Aware
Research
Consider
Evaluate
Purchase
Renew
Advocate
Time
Persona TargetingAssociation Website
Association News Brief
A
Behavioral TargetingAssociation Buyers Guide
Site RetargetingAssociation RetargetingA
CRM Data Targeting
27. The Right Creative for Each Stage of the Buyer Journey
Unaware
Aware
Research
Consider
Evaluate
Purchase
Renew
Advocate
Time Keep your brand top-of-
mind with website visitors
who don’t convert and
remind them to come back
Drive awareness and
engagement with
prospects researching
your products and
services
Create brand awareness
with a highly defined
audience of decision-
makers and influencers
Brief / Web / Persona HD
Buyers Guide / Behavioral
Assoc. HD / Retargeting
28. What’s YOUR buying journey story?
Write out the journey for a customer you work with.
Ask your prospects about the buying journey their customers
take and how to reach them at each step.
Buying today is a complex series of steps and information inputs, both ones the consumer seeks out and others that they happen upon. Instead of a simple straight path, it’s more like a spiral where they are influenced by over 10 different sources* as they start and stop the process repeatedly until making a final decision.
Think about something you’ve bought recently and consider all the information sources you used in making the decision.
For me, a good example is trying to find a landscaper for a project at my house. I remembered the name of one company whose truck I had seen in the neighborhood. But I also asked my friends on Facebook who they would recommend. And I did a Google search to identify a couple more potential vendors. That same week I got a postcard from a local landscaper and saw a few ads in our local city guide magazine.
Once I had gathered a few names (from Facebook friends, truck signage, organic search results, paid search listings and post cards) I checked them all out online. I reviewed each of their websites, Google Places pages and Facebook pages.
Which one had I heard of before (radio, magazine, friends, etc.) and had a positive impression?
Which one had pictures and videos showing their work so I could evaluate the quality?
Which one had more good reviews and fewer bad reviews?
Which one provided some helpful tips and offers on Facebook?
The ones with poor websites and no/poor reviews didn’t even make the first cut. And after a good bit of online research I narrowed it down to two landscapers that presented themselves the best across the all the places I checked and then called them to get bids. This whole process took roughly 3 weeks since I got busy at work and started/stopped the research a few times.
I think I’m representative of a the typical consumer today. It’s clear that my buying journey was not simple -- it involved a blend of advertising (online and offline), website content, local directories/reviews, and my friends suggestions on Facebook. All of which influenced my decisions as I moved closer to purchase.
This is just one example, and of course the consumer buying journey for your product/service will be influenced by the consumer mindset (need or want) and the consumer investment required (low cost or high cost).
Bring to life with example of new CRM system
The buying process has changed dramatically in the digital age – it’s no longer a quick path down a sales funnel but rather a longer journey of exploration, research and evaluation. The buyer is now in total control as they easily self-educate online instead of engaging with a sales person. They can get nearly all the information they need in seconds right from their tablet or laptop — including product details, technical specs, analyst ratings, user reviews and even prices others have paid.
Recent studies by research firms Forrester and McKinsey show that 60% to 70% of the buying journey is completed prior to the customer going to the store [B2C] or contacting the company [B2B].
Think about what you buy personally as a consumer and professionally in your role and you’ll agree that this statistic is true. Example of something I bought recently where I did most of the work myself online – new car. What about you?
YOU NEED TO INFLUENCE THEIR JOURNEY BECAUSE SOME OTHER COMPETITOR IS ALREADY DOING THAT…..IT SHOULD BE YOU ..
So given this new reality, let’s look at the buying journey for your company [next slide]
ARTICLE
Some respondents reported being as much as 70 percent complete with the decision-making process before reaching out to a vendor. “That doesn’t leave much time for changing customers’ opinions,” says Peter Pickus, Executive Adviser at CEB. Stated another way, as much as two-thirds of the process that B2B sales teams traditionally used to close deals may be obsolete. “The fundamental implications are clear: marketers must figure out how to influence potential customers where and when they are conducting pre-purchase research.”
MUCH LONGER JOURNEY – DISPLAY IS ESSENTIAL TO INFLUENCE BUYERS THE WHOLE WAY!!!!
, e.g. higher CTR on search results, increased email open rates, higher social media likes/shares, etc.
Creating awareness and leads today requires an integrated marketing plan consisting of tactics in three main areas described below. When put together they drive incrementally better results than when you use just one.
Owned Media includes properties like your website, blog and social media profiles that you own and build with your content. These are the hubs where people learn about your products and form an opinion about your business so they need to be designed to engage prospects visually and create a great first impression [research says you have 8 seconds to get them hooked] or they will bounce away. Moreover, the site must to be kept up-to-date with fresh content that is optimized for the keywords and phrases people use to research those products online [search engines love fresh relevant content] and it must have strong calls-to-action [CTA] so that the visitor calls or fills out a form thereby becoming leads that can be nurtured until they are ready to buy.
Earned Media is when you create great content [blog posts, ebooks, infographics, webinars, etc.] that employees and customers share with their colleagues and across their social networks [LinkedIn, Twitter, etc]. The goal is to get your content distributed by enough people in the extended network that over time it creates awareness of your brand and builds your image as through leaders. Basically you are trying to become a trusted publisher that people see as providing value and therefore want to share your content. To augment this approach you hire a PR firm to pitch your content to key industry publications who are always looking for good relevant for their audiences. Our CMO has been writing articles for a long time and works with our PR firm to pitch them out to key marketing publications and quite often they pick up and run the stories [sites like CMO.com, ClickZ, iMediaConnection and MarketingLand have liked the content enough to publish it]. At Multiview we will continue to write great content and get more and more articles published, but while it’s a wonderful marketing tactic and highly trusted by the person reading the content, creating valuable content takes a lot of hard work and time to get results.
Paid Media includes display ads, google pay-per-click search ads, Facebook ads and site retargeting ads. Paid media is the fastest way to build your brand and show up at the top of the search results page since Owned and Earned Media take a long time and lots of work to get to show up in search results [SEO is used to do this and is expensive] or publications that people read [PR is used to do this and is expensive]. Site retargeting is an absolute must since 97% of your site visitors leave without taking action so you need to put your brand back in front of them as they surf the web to stay top-of-mind until they are ready to buy. Site retargeting lifts the results of every tactic that drives people to your site. Additionally, display advertising and search advertising are proven to work better together. Doubleclick [the display unit of Google] did a large study that showed Display advertising drove a significant lift in click-through rate for key search terms. I’ll look for the research study and try to send it later. Here’s a personal example that brings this to life. As a consumer I have seen display ads for the Boothe Laser Eye Center for over a year on the sites I surf daily including Facebook. Then I finally decide it’s time to stop wearing glasses and hop on Google to research "Lasik surgery” and I am presented with a ton of organic links and paid search ads for local eye surgeons including Dr. Boothe. Since I’ve seen his ads on sites I browsed for the past year I clicked his search ad and visited his website to learn more while I didn’t click on some of the other doctors ads whom I didn’t recognize. This leads us into the complex topic of attribution where Dr. Boothe attributes the visit and lead to his paid search campaign when in reality it was the display ads over the year that drove me to click on his search ad. Thankfully now we have the technology to be able to show the assist that display provided and certainly Dr. Boothe and other local businesses have known this all along that they need to build brand awareness ahead of the need so that they are the one chosen when the consumer searches [another example of this is plumbers and air conditioning repair firms that do a ton of display and radio ads].
In summary all three pillars [owned, earned, paid] have an important role in building awareness with prospects and driving engagement and leads. Doing “owned" and “earned" will get you a presence on the web but not broad enough to drive the kind of awareness and traffic you want to grow your business. It’s like the old saying “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it”. Paid media [advertising] is the key to getting in front of the right prospects at the right time at scale and is quite economical relative to the dollar and time investment required for SEO, Content Marketing and PR. When done properly together the trio drives the best results and ROI from your marketing strategy.