A Change in Behavior
I should not have been surprised, but I was. Minding my own business, surfing through the virtual store isles of eBay, I stumbled across CRM software for sale. First it was Microsoft CRM, then ACT appeared, and then Goldmine. Back in the days when the “killer apps” first came along, CRM software was sold to the early adopters by an elite crew of smartly dressed sales professionals. My how times have changed. (Yes, I know there are still a few sales reps out there donning Brooks Brothers).
The web has changed everything. And, if you have not adopted the changes to business development brought about by the ever new and changing internet buying behavior, then your competitors are winning.
I’m not talking about eBay (although some of you do have competitors who are selling their products there). Most of my clients are in the B2B space and their customers are shopping on the web, just like the average consumer.
For example, prospective customers interested in buying services to improve their partner channel effectiveness are performing Google searches to find who the vendors are. Some may look directly at which vendor has what for sale. More advanced shoppers search for what company has produced what intelligence. They look for evidence that a vendor has expertise, not just the ability to put marketing hype onto a web site. White papers can serve as evidence. Speaking at industry events is another example. Once the prospective buyer has determined who has the capability, they zero in on the short list and surf the vendor sites for more evidence of capability.
By now you have the capability to track who has visited your site. However, do you know all the content that they perused? Can you compare that to previous visits or interactions? If you combine this set of buying behavior data points into a composite picture, you will have a better understanding of what they are looking for. This will position you to make them an offer – targeted to the interest that they have displayed to you. They have been spending time looking at your security software offerings, especially retinal scan. Offer them a white paper. Offer them to see a pod cast on the topic. If they bite, they are a hot lead, and you need to treat them as such. If they don’t bite, they are still a lead, but perhaps a bit cooler and need a different approach.
This is the new world of demand generation and the rules of changed. Sending 1000 contacts a direct mail offer to attend a retinal scan seminar may hit 999 who have no interest. Sending an e-mail with an offer to view a pod cast to the 50 who have visited that portion of your product description content on the website may lead to 35 who will take the next step with you - better targeting trough more intelligence and stronger lead generation as a result.
Stay tuned.