In the world of B2B, the landscape has dramatically shifted—thank you, pandemic. According to a McKinsey & Company study, a staggering 99% of B2B buyers are now comfortable making purchases online, with most willing to spend $50,000 or more via digital self-service. The importance of online presence has skyrocketed, and it’s clear that this trend isn’t going to fade anytime soon.

Where Should You Showcase Your Brand?

Social media platforms

If you’re in B2B, LinkedIn should be your go-to platform—period. With over 90% of B2B marketers leveraging LinkedIn for lead generation, it reigns supreme in the social media space for B2B businesses (Content Marketing Institute). Now, I’ve seen B2B suppliers pour their hearts and souls into Instagram and Facebook, but let’s be real—no one’s scrolling those platforms for purely commercial content. Trust me, nothing makes people swipe faster than a dull, salesy post.

The Power of Video Content

Did you know that 84% of consumers are driven to make a purchase after watching a video? (Yans Media). Videos can showcase your industry advantages like nothing else. But, where and how you present your videos matters—big time. Show your video on LinkedIn, and you might be looking at a PPC of $10 or more. Show it on Instagram, and that PPC drops to $0.05, but with a flood of clicks that don’t convert. The trick? Find the right audience, the right platform, and the right strategy. But that’s a whole other blog.

Why Your Website is Critical

Almost 70% of B2B consumers say vendor websites are their primary source of content (Thrive My Way). In other words, your website is THE place to show off your brand, your products, your team—your everything. Just consider Apple: they rake in over 200 million visitors each month—more than all their other platforms combined. If that doesn’t highlight the power of a solid website, I don’t know what does.

Key Takeaways

There are multiple channels where you can present your brand, but your website should be your cornerstone for conversions. If you’re stretched thin on resources, focus your efforts on LinkedIn and your website. Tailor your content to the platform—don’t just copy-paste. And whatever you do, please don’t bore your audience with jargon-heavy content that only industry insiders understand.

What Content Do Your Clients Want?

Creating a B2B customer journey map is essential to understanding the customer experience (CX) you provide. Here’s a quick checklist to make sure you capture everything:

– Visuals: Diagrams, infographics, or flowcharts that illustrate the customer journey.

– Touchpoints: Identify all the interactions between the customer and your brand, both online and offline.

– Pain Points: Note the obstacles and frustrations that might turn off your customers.

– Moments of Truth: Highlight key moments that can make or break the relationship.

– Ownership: Who in your company is responsible for the CX at each touchpoint?

– Emotions: Determine what emotional response you want to evoke at each touchpoint.

– Risk: Assess the risks associated with failing at each touchpoint.

– Performance: Evaluate how well your company handles each touchpoint.

Remember, the content should be what your clients want to see, not just what you want to say. I’ve seen too many businesses miss the mark by focusing on their perspective rather than their customers’.

How to Create a B2B Customer Journey Map

Now, let’s zero in on the B2B customer journey map—because B2C is a whole different beast. The goal here is to identify the most comfortable way for your clients to purchase your product or service. Skip the research, and you might as well start planning for that shutdown sale.

Step 1: Create Client Profiles

Your ideal client profile should include key details like company size, industry, number of employees, budget, and buying process. It’s crucial to understand who you want to sell to, and even more crucial to recognize if you’re targeting the wrong audience.

Step 2: Develop Data-Driven Personas

With your ideal customer in mind, it’s time to map out the real players and decision-makers in the company. B2B customers are tricky—they include buyers who might never use the product and users who don’t have the authority to make a purchase. For each persona, identify their job title, department, motivations, frustrations, and goals.

Step 3: Define the Stages in the Process

– Awareness: This is where marketing takes the reins—think social media, website, commercials.

– Consideration: When prospects check out your content, they’re in this stage. Hook them here, and you’re halfway to a sale.

– Decision: By this point, your sales team should be ready to close the deal.

– Purchase & Product Delivery: Smooth operations here ensure customer satisfaction.

– Use & After-Sale Relationship: A solid follow-up process keeps customers coming back for more.

Remember, this entire process should be driven by data—no gut feelings here. Optimizing your journey map with data is key to boosting your profit margins.

In Conclusion

Closing deals in the B2B world isn’t a walk in the park, and the journey is definitely longer. But the payoff? Absolutely worth it. Thinking from your customer’s perspective and creating a well-researched journey map is crucial to your success. And if you need help with that, well, that’s what we’re here for.