I was reading the AMA's Journal of Marketing and came across an article, Testing the Value of Customization [Sep '09]. Several insights presented through the research had me thinking about how marketing custom and unique solutions plays out in the B2B marketplace.
Although the research was based on two consumer studies, several insights can help B2B marketers improve the way customization is marketed:
- "...the magnitude of [customization] benefits increases in line with the person's insight into his or her own preferences and ability to express them."
- "...product involvement affects the benefits obtained from customization..."
- "...true customer preferences may differ from expressed preferences..."
- "...preferences are often constructed on the basis of how the options are framed when the consumer needs to make a decision."
With the high level of commoditization across B2B products and solutions, often what differentiates a company is how they help their customers use them to gain the best business outcomes. In other words, B2B marketers of a considered purchase nearly all offer a flavor of customization based on their company's methodologies and expertise.
What marketers and companies fail to realize is that buyers—who are solving a specific problem for the first time—may not actually know their preferences. But even if they do, they often won't understand the ramifications of those preferences once they're put into action.
Marketers tend to focus on engaging decision makers, but this research may be a true indication that end users and influencers should become more of a focus for content marketing efforts. It's also another reason that marketers and salespeople need to create the ability for prospects to have internal conversations about preferences in order to make the best decisions.
From thought leadership content about the pros and cons of preferences to customer stories that expose the reality of those preferences in action, content can help frame and initiate the conversations among stakeholders to help buyers make better decisions. By striving to provide clarity around underlying issues that create confusion, content can be designed to add more value to the decision process.
Let's take a look at how each of the insights above can be addressed by content marketing.
Insight into preferences: Although personal preferences will also sway decisions, assess what you know about how your customer's organizational culture influences the decisions they make. Are they innovative or conservative? Fast movers or slow and steady? Growing or contracting? Global or regional? If your content doesn't take these factors into account, your content may not be resonating as it should.
Ability to express preferences: When presented with information about something new, we can often visualize the meaning, but have difficulty verbalizing our thoughts and reactions. The increasing use of audio, video (even webinars) can help prospects learn to articulate and discuss preferences with more confidence.
Product involvement as benefit driver: This is one of the insights that indicates inclusion of end users has value. People who have used similar systems in the past or will see their work styles affected by a new solution will have definite ideas about what they prefer and what will have limited benefit. Showcasing the changes and outcomes can provide a foundation for preferences that's helpful to removing obstacles to the sale.
True vs. expressed preferences: In a B2B sale, the buying committee has a number of members that must come to consensus before a purchase decision is made. When stakeholders are unsure of the importance of certain preferences, they tend to move toward uniformity with the majority.
Often all companies care about is getting that consensus to go their way. However, customer loyalty and retention is a key value. Therefore we'd be better served to help our prospects dig deeper to reveal their true preferences. Depending on the gap between what's true vs. expressed, your customer's willingness to switch to get to "true" can be costly.
Framing preferences: Essentially, all marketing content and sales collateral is a frame for creating preferences. The company who does this the best from the prospects' perspective is likely the one they'll buy from.
When the difference between a decision in your company's favor or losing the deal swings in the balance, your content marketing and sales enablement strategies can provide the competitive differentiation that sets your company above all other choices.
How you market customization is worth considering, don't you think?
