There is a lot of psychology out there about why buyers buy. The Eisenbergs do a great job of illuminating personas and Persuasion Architecture in their book, Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?, and there's much said by many others about the emotional quotient in a consumer purchase.
Bob Bly asked these questions on his blog:
"Isn’t the purchase of, say, valves for a chemical plant an intellectual rather than an emotional decision?
Or are B2B buyers just as emotion-driven as consumers?"
The answers posted are interesting, but I think "tonyd" summed it up nicely:
"Good question, and the comments are spot on. B2B buyers are just as
emotionally driven as any buyers, but the things they are emotionally
attached to require logical analysis."
So, I think it's harder for B2B sellers. First off, it's usually not a one-person decision. Selling on consensus means you need to meet all the emotional and logistical needs of a variety of buyers. Not just one. You may have your sales process set up to focus on getting emotional buy-in first and then following up with all the knowledge transfer necessary to meet their logistical needs.
What do you do if one of the constituents wants the reverse order in the process?
Many companies do lead generation campaigns promoting white paper downloads to begin the informational exposure to generate a lead. My question would then be, what emotional components can be effective in a white paper that would satisfy the need for emotional connection to help drive the conversion from lead to prospect?
On the other hand, case studies, if written with this view in mind, might have more of a chance to get a lock on the emotional buy-in because the reader can put themselves in the position of the customer and get the flavor of the success that customer had. Try it on to imagine how it might fit their needs, if you will.
To make white papers more effective, do you think a "scenario" component would achieve the same type of emotional attachment? And, if you market with white papers, do you follow up with a related case study to come at this emotional vs. logical equation from both sides?
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