In B2B settings, purchasing decisions are often made by a buying committee—a group of stakeholders who each bring different goals, concerns, and levels of influence to the table. This dynamic makes it difficult for marketers to understand and create buyer personas.
This blog addresses the complexities and explores strategies to create personas that help align your 360 marketing efforts with the multifaceted nature of the purchasing decisions.
The Buying Committee in B2B
This buying committee consists of the core decision makers, with each member having different roles and responsibilities. They usually are:
Decision-Makers
These are the C-suite executives such as CFO, CTO, and CEO. They hold the final authority on any purchase decision.
Influencers
Having a sound understanding of the subject, these are experts and consultants who can influence the decision based on reasoning and insights.
End-Users
These consist of employees who will directly interact with the product in question and who can have valid concerns regarding usability, functionality, and sustainability.
Gatekeepers
These involve the procurement officers and IT managers who have and can control access to information. They ensure beforehand that the purchase aligns with internal policies.
Financial Approvers
Members of the finance teams analyze the company’s finances and assess if the purchase fits within the budget constraints.
Challenges Associated with Traditional Persona Approaches
While buyer personas typically are based on general characteristics such as job title, industry, and company size, this information remains insufficient where a broader committee is concerned and often overlooks on other important factors as:
Simplified Roles
When a role is reduced to a single persona, it affects the complexities associated with it. For instance, if the decision maker is only considered as a budget-conscious figure, then the other concerns such as brand reputation and long-term sustainability are neglected.
Internal Influence
Traditional personas overlook the internal dynamics within organizations. For instance, some consultants may convince others against the decision or gatekeepers can also impact whether the end decision goes to the right people in the first place.
Misalignment with Decision-Making
The general personas can fail to address B2B buyer personas, which involves more than one individual in the decision-making process. Without the adequate consideration of internal factors and priorities, marketers may not be able to create messages that resonate with the decision makers.
To effectively target B2B companies, creating buyer personas that address all the relevant concerns and influences is essential.
Strategic Approaches for Multi-Layered B2B Personas
Following is how you can create effective personas for targeted outreach.
Understanding the Ecosystem
The first step is to identify the primary and secondary stakeholders within the client organization. The primary members are C-suite executives and financial advisors, whereas the secondary are influencers and end-users. By mapping out their roles and concerns, you can create personas that reflect the unique needs of every member involved.
Motivation Analysis
Each role within the committee differs based on specific motivation and role. For instance, decision makers are mostly concerned with ROI, long-term stability, and benefits. Similarly, end-users consider the functionalities and workflows. By analyzing all these factors and thought processes, you can tailor your message to address these concerns and priorities.
Dynamic Personas
You can continuously update your personas based on new information regarding stakeholder’s preferences and concerns. Keeping dynamic models enables adaptability and ensures that message remains aligned with the current decision-making landscape.
Interaction Analysis
Marketers need to understand the stakeholder’s role within the organization. For instance, an influencer may influence a decision maker’s decision, and a gatekeeper might block a potential solution based on internal policies. By analyzing and visualizing these factors, marketers can better propose solutions.
Measuring Success
After the creation of multi-layered personas, you need to analyze their effectiveness by tracking engagement metrics across the various roles within organizations.
- Analyze if your content resonates with decision makers, influencers, and end-users.
- See if the leads generated through these multi-layered personas are more qualified.
- Assess if the sale conversions are improving based on personalized messages.
Why Outsource
Creating these types of buyer personas requires research, industry insights, data analysis, and prior experience. Outsourcing this role to a performance marketing agency can benefit organizations in multiple ways.
- They can save time spent on understanding the various roles within organizations.
- Organizations can save costs and extra resources associated with the process.
- Marketing agencies are equipped with frameworks and tools to ensure accuracy.
- Agencies can help drive better ROI through data-informed, and precision-targeted marketing efforts.
Building multi-layered B2B buyer personas is essential for addressing the complexity of modern purchasing decisions. Rather than relying on outdated, one-dimensional personas, marketers must embrace a nuanced, strategic approach that incorporates the diversity of stakeholders and their individual priorities.