Mastering the Art of Buying Group Engagement Part 2

This is part 2 of a two-part article on how to be more effective in marketing to buying groups in complex healthcare sales.  In this second part, we will provide more strategies to engage buying groups.

Summary Of Part 1 on Mastering the Art Of Buying Group Engagement

In part 1, we discussed how B2B marketing is evolving and the growing importance of engaging buying groups rather than focusing on individual leads. This included Kerry Cunningham, their research leader, reviewing research findings from 6Sense.

We covered this topic in depth in the most recent episode of our podcast.

Listen to the Episode

Highlights included that B2B buying cycles average 11 months, involve about ten stakeholders, and buyers typically contact sellers when they’re 70% through their journey.

Notably, 84% of buyers select the first firm they contact.

Marketing’s job is a company as the top choice for in-market buyers. This requires a shift from generating leads to engaging active buying groups, measuring quality over quantity, and identifying in-market prospects. Strategies include mapping buying group structures, tailoring content for different stakeholders, and leveraging anonymous traffic and third-party intent data.

Content strategy recommendations include making content easily accessible, aligning it with different stages of the buyer journey, and monitoring consumption patterns for insights.

Now, let’s dig into some additional ways to master buying group engagement.

Overcoming ABM Measurement Challenges

One of the must-do’s if you are shifting to a buying group engagement model is to develop a more account-based marketing (ABM)-like approach to measurement.

Why traditional metrics fall short in ABM

Traditional B2B marketing metrics are too focused on individual leads within an account. By doing this, you are missing the big picture within an account: Is the buying group interested in what you can help them with?  An individual lead from an account tells you very little. It may be a random person gathering info for personal reasons.

Getting multiple leads from titles representing the buying group signals that the account is likely to be in-market and evaluating you.

Developing new KPIs for account-based strategies

We recommend that you focus on account-level engagement metrics, such as the number of engaged stakeholders, depth of engagement, and progression through the buying stages. These give you a more accurate picture of which accounts are in-market and engaging that an high volume of individual leads from hundreds of acounts.

Balancing lead-based and account-based metrics

While transitioning to an account-based approach, you may need to maintain some lead-based metrics alongside new account-based KPIs. You can’t rip the band-aid off. We suggest that you gradually shift emphasis to account-based metrics as your ABM strategy matures. If you make the transition in a year, you are doing well.

Rethinking Lead Conversion Metrics

The limitations of lead conversion rates in modern B2B marketing

Traditional lead conversion rates may not effectively capture the complexity of B2B buying processes or account-based strategies. For example, just because an individual lead may show signals that they are qualified, they can be misleading.

Why falling lead conversion rates might be a positive sign

One of the hardest things to get used to is that when you move to an ABM-like model, you will likely see significantly fewer but higher-quality leads from target accounts. Why? You are raising the bar on what qualifies as an opportunity worth pursuing by requiring that multiple stakeholders are identified as engaged before the account is considered qualified.

You can expect to report lower lead conversion rates. The good news is that you will see higher opportunity creation and win rates as you shift your focus from quantity to quality.

Focusing on opportunity creation and revenue impact

Over time, you will want to shift focus to metrics directly tied to business outcomes, such as opportunity creation rate, deal velocity, and marketing-influenced revenue. These provide a more accurate picture of marketing’s impact on the bottom line.

This will take time, but by setting revenue metrics as a long-term goal, marketing can take the lead in fundamentally shifting how demand is measured and forecast.

Implementing the Demand Unit Waterfall

Understanding the key stages of the Demand Unit Waterfall

The Demand Unit Waterfall is a very important concept.  This model was developed by SiriusDecisions (now part of Forrester) to help B2B organizations better understand and manage their demand generation process. It’s an evolution of the traditional marketing and sales funnel that considers the complexity of B2B buying groups.

Key features of the Demand Unit Waterfall typically include:

1. Focus on buying groups: It recognizes that a group usually makes B2B purchases of people rather than individuals.
2. Demand units are groups of individuals within an account who have a specific need and are involved in the buying decision.
3. Stages: The model outlines various stages that demand units progress through, from initial awareness to closed deals.
4. Emphasis on account-based marketing: It aligns well with ABM strategies by focusing on accounts rather than individual leads.
5. Improved alignment between marketing and sales: It provides a shared framework for both teams to understand and measure the progression of potential buyers.

The Demand Unit Waterfall aims to provide a more accurate representation of how B2B buyers actually make decisions. It allows marketers and salespeople to better target their efforts and measure their success.

So, by adopting the Demand Unit Waterfall, you will focus on tracking potential opportunities from initial awareness through to closed deals. As a team, sales and marketing should familiarize themselves with its stages to align marketing and sales processes.

You can also track how effectively marketing is engaging in-market accounts. You want to focus on improving the ratio of engaged accounts to total in-market accounts.

This provides a shared framework for marketing and sales to track and discuss pipeline progress. It’s a foundation for better collaboration and handoff processes between sales and marketing.

Aligning Sales and Marketing for Success

Developing a shared ideal customer profile

The Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is one of the most important concepts in B2B marketing. We feel it is one of the areas that sales and marketing should invest a great deal of time to perfect.

Marketers should collaborate with sales to create a detailed, agreed-upon ideal customer profile. This ensures both teams are targeting the right accounts and using consistent qualification criteria.

Then, work with sales to develop and regularly update target account lists. Together, establish clear criteria for account prioritization to ensure efficient resource allocation.

Collaborating on engagement strategies and handoff processes

One of the areas that will require a great deal of thinking and discussion is the hand-off process. As you move to this ABM model, you will need to reevaluate it.

We recommend that you develop joint strategies for engaging target accounts and clear processes for transitioning accounts from marketing to sales. Regular communication and feedback loops are crucial for success.

The Evolving Role of Gated Content in B2B Marketing

Pros and cons of gating content in the modern buyer journey

One of the most hotly debated topics in B2B marketing is gated content, i.e. if and when to use it.

While gating content can capture lead information, it can also deter potential buyers from engaging with you. Just because someone downloads a white paper does not mean they are ready to speak with you. As we covered in part 1, they will speak with you when they are ready.

You should carefully consider the trade-offs for each piece of content. Is it so valuable that a buyer will fill out a form, knowing that they will be contacted. Does gating it provide you with MUST HAVE information? Is it in the buyer’s interest to fill out the form?

Consider a mixed approach, gating high-value, late-stage content while leaving early-stage, awareness-building content ungated. Test different approaches to find the right balance for your audience.

Using ungated content to build trust and engagement early in the buying process

Provide valuable, ungated content to establish your brand as a trusted resource early in the buyer’s journey. This can lead to increased engagement and a willingness to provide information later in the process.

What’s Next?

Mastering buying group engagement is a priority for more and more B2B marketers. By shifting focus from individual leads to account-based strategies, rethinking metrics, implementing the Demand Unit Waterfall, aligning sales and marketing, and strategically approaching content gating, companies will be more effective in engaging complex buying groups.

To get started, consider mapping out your typical buying group structure for your top accounts. Identify the key stakeholders involved in purchase decisions and create persona-based content that addresses their specific concerns. This foundational step will help you tailor your marketing efforts to engage entire buying groups rather than individual leads.

If you liked this post and want to learn more…

1. Check out more posts like this in the Healthtech MarketingLearning Center. It is chock-full of articles, use cases, how-to’s, and ideas. Check out our resource center dedicated to the Buyer Journey.
2. Follow me or connect with me on LinkedIn. I publish videos and articles on ABM and healthtech marketing.
3. See what other healthcare technology marketers are doing. Check out the State of ABM in Healthcare Technology.
4. Buy Total Customer Growth: Our book on how to win and grow customers for life with ABM and ABX.
5. Work with me directly. Let’s book a growth session and we can explore ways you can improve your marketing using the latest techniques in account-based marketing.