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How should B2B tech marketers best manage influencers?
The growth of "the mobile, social cloud" means that just about everyone is or can be an influencer of technology purchase decisions. How should B2B marketers respond to this roiling evolution?
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3 Answers
Michael, I don't think we manage influencers we manage the communications around relationship building efforts with influencers. An influencer, by definition, will do what they want. The best we can do is understand that person, their audience and engage them, build a professional working relationship, and when the time comes, because we've got a track record, they just might take a minute to hear our (or our organization's point of view).
Michael,
Segmenting and targeting the influencers and understand where their communities reside/how they communicate is tough, but can be done using our more traditional market segmentation maps. You can then apply Chasm Crossing (Geoff Moore) strategies to address key beachheads and target audiences and communities. Some of the best current work being done in this area is the Technology Marketing Center which I imagine you might already be aware of - but if not, check them out - I have not used Chris Halliwell's services in a few years, but I still keep tabs on their thought leadership in this area. They have a list of case studies on their site that you can access. http://www.technologymarketingcenter.com/
Christine
The days when a salesperson talked to one individual and he/she then championed the idea throughout the organisation have long gone.
Now put an idea on a meeting agenda and by the time the meeting rolls round everyone can find vendors, reasons to do or not do the project, case studies and even pricing. That means that everything is now a group decision and the biggest problem for the vendor is often uneducating - fighting off mis-information found online.
A second part of this is that decision making is no longer part of a formal buying process. With ideas pushed at executives 24-7-365 a decision in principle is often made long before any formal process is considered. An email about the benefits of a particular solution leads to a short online exploration and a decision to look closer or sideline that idea.
This means that peer pressure and influencers are much more important. They not only steer a decision - they often put it into play. There are now hundreds of potential entry points into the decision process and your name must be on everyone's lips for you to succeed.
Forget marketing to the C suite - your compelling reasons should be easy to find for everyone affected by a course of action. The goal is for your information to be used as the core material for that decision.
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