Demand Generation Best Practices for B2B Software Companies

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eDynamic, Monday, May 5, 2014
0
DigitalMarketing
forB2BSoftware
Companies
NumberTwoinaSeries

1
1
1
2
3
4
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
PRESALES ENGAGEMENT
SALES FACILITATION
PARTNER CHANNEL

2
19%
TECHNOLOGY VENDORS ARE
SPENDING, ON AVERAGE, 19% OF
THEIR SELLING, GENERAL, AND
ADMINISTRATIVE (SG&A) COSTS OR
$135,262 PER QUOTA-CARRYING
SALESPERSON IN SUPPORT-RELATED
ACTIVITIES
Forrester, 2009

3
TheCustomerLifeCycle
Thecustomerlifecycleletsusthinkaboutaperson’srelationshipwitha
companythroughtheireyes,astheypursuetheirvariousjourneys
1 2 3 4 6
Awareness Search Evaluate Commit Value
5
Advocate
Thecustomer
recognizesa
needand
looksfora
solution
 Hasaproblem
tosolve
 Goestoa
tradeshow
 Readsanarticle
Thecustomer
looksfora
solutionto
satisfytheir
needs
 Searches
Googlefor
solutions
 Visitsastore
 Accumulates
knowledgeof
options
Thecustomer
weighsthe
alternative
solutions
available
 Researches
vendors
 Talkstopeers
 Engagesa
discussion
forum
Thecustomer
commercially
commitsto
thesolution
andvendor
 Compares
pricing
 Talksto
references
 Commitstothe
vendor
Thecustomer
realizesthe
valuethe
vendor
provides
 Valueisrealized
 Differentiation
isappreciated
Thecustomer
communicates
thevalueto
theirindustry
peers
 Talkstopeers
 Engagesina
discussion
forum
 Further
commitstothe
brand
RetentionAcquisition

4
1 2 3 4 6
5
Advocate
Thecustomer
recognizesa
needand
looksfora
solution
 Hasaproblem
tosolve
 Goestoa
tradeshow
 Readsanarticle
Thecustomer
looksfora
solutionto
satisfytheir
needs
 Searches
Googlefor
solutions
 Visitsastore
 Accumulates
knowledgeof
options
Thecustomer
weighsthe
alternative
solutions
available
 Researches
vendors
 Talkstopeers
 Engagesa
discussion
forum
Thecustomer
commercially
commitsto
thesolution
andvendor
 Compares
pricing
 Talksto
references
 Commitstothe
vendor
Thecustomer
realizesthe
valuethe
vendor
provides
 Valueisrealized
 Differentiation
isappreciated
Thecustomer
communicates
thevalueto
theirindustry
peers
 Talkstopeers
 Engagesina
discussion
forum
 Further
commitstothe
brand
NewCustomerAcquisitionJourney

5
1 2 3 4 6
5
Advocate
Thecustomer
recognizesa
needand
looksfora
solution
 Hasaproblem
tosolve
 Goestoa
tradeshow
 Readsanarticle
Thecustomer
looksfora
solutionto
satisfytheir
needs
 Searches
Googlefor
solutions
 Visitsastore
 Accumulates
knowledgeof
options
Thecustomer
weighsthe
alternative
solutions
available
 Researches
vendors
 Talkstopeers
 Engagesa
discussion
forum
Thecustomer
commercially
commitsto
thesolution
andvendor
 Compares
pricing
 Talksto
references
 Commitstothe
vendor
Thecustomer
realizesthe
valuethe
vendor
provides
 Valueisrealized
 Differentiation
isappreciated
Thecustomer
communicates
thevalueto
theirindustry
peers
 Talkstopeers
 Engagesina
discussion
forum
 Further
commitstothe
brand
NewCustomerAcquisitionJourney
Demand Generation
Pre-sales
Engagement
Sales
Facilitation

6
6
1
2
3
4
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
PRESALES ENGAGEMENT
SALES FACILITATION
PARTNER CHANNEL

7
69%
MARKETERS LAY CLAIM TO 69
PERCENT OF SALES ENABLEMENT,
ACCORDING TO IDC, WHILE SALES
PROS ESTIMATE THEY CONTROL
60 PERCENT.
IDC, 2010

8
Product Comparison
They have
recognized a
problem
They have
searched for a
solution
They have
identified
solution options
They are
investigating
the options
They are
deciding on an
option
They have made
a buying
decision
PresalesEngagement: WhenDoesItStart?
Product Comparison

9
Goals: Helpprospectsmake
aneducatedbuying decision,
developtheirconfidencein
yourorganization
Traditionalactivities:
1. Solutionpreparation
2. RFI/RFPresponse
3. Productdemonstrations
4. POCs(Proofofconcepts)
5. Productcollateral
Oursalesengineer
PresalesEngagement: TraditionalApproach
PartSalesPerson PartEngineer

10
PresalesEngagement: Howimportantisit?

11
PresalesEngagement: HowIsItChanging?
Traditional Enterprise Sales
Emerging Subscription Sales
Product ConfirmationProduct Comparison
Product ConfirmationProduct Comparison
In-person
Meeting
Product
Bake-off
CustomRFP
Response
Solution
Definition
OnsiteDemo
Proof-of-
concept
Customer
References
Technical
Review
Download
WhitePaper
Product
Videos
DetailedFAQs
Solution
Definition
OnlineDemo TrialSoftware
Video
Testimonials
WhitePapers
andVideos

12
PresalesEngagement: ResourceCenter
Easytouse
faceted
search
Sign-upfor
ongoing
engagement
Extend
engagementto
socialchannels
CTAstomove
themthroughthe
journey
Morethana‘wall
oftext’—makeit
visuallyengaging
 One-stop shopping to
get answers
 Self-service interaction,
no need to call or wait
 Opportunity to
personalize the
experience
WhatitDoes
 Search can make or
break the experience
 Present content with
images—make it
appealing for people
 Surround the page with
CTAs that leads the
person to the next steps
of the journey
 Have them follow you on
their social networks to
get new updates
ThingstoRemember

13
PresalesEngagement: CustomerCommunities
Startwith
search
Thecommunity
willconfirmyour
products
Registrationhas
itsprivileges
Providea
gatewaytoother
resources
 Enables your customers
to ‘sell’ for you
 Builds confidence in
your products
 Follow the discussions—
understand what is
important to prospects
WhatitDoes
 If you have customers,
you have a community
 Communities need a
strategy and leadership
 A community can drive
registration and deeper
engagement with your
brand
 Incent and cultivate
champions—it is a lower
cost of sale for you
ThingstoRemember
Showrealpeople
aspartofyour
community

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PresalesEngagement: CustomerCommunities
Forrester Research, 2012

15
PresalesEngagement: SupportCenter
Startwith
search
Arealperson
isaclickaway
Showoffyour
support
capabilities Showyourofferings,
letthemseewhat
customersget
Makeitobvious
forpeopletofind
whattheyneed
 This provides insight
into the after sales
experience
 Self-service interaction,
no need to call or wait
 Opportunity to
personalize the
experience
WhatitDoes
 Search can make or
break the experience
 Most people will be
searching for support
around a product
 Make it easy for them
reach out to a person
ThingstoRemember

16
PresalesEngagement: SupportCenter

17
PresalesEngagement: SelfServiceDemos
Demoyour
softwarewith
theirdata
Sign-upfor
ongoing
engagement
Makeiteasyto
getstarted—no
creditcard
Ademothat
movesinto
production
 Let them demo the
actual software—let
them experience your
support and community
 It is an easy step for
them to take it into
production once started
WhatitDoes
 Make this a key sales
tool—no credit card, no
commitment is EASY
 Show them the options
from moving up—where
this initial demo can go
 Again, get them to sign-
up if they have not yet
ThingstoRemember

18
PresalesEngagement: Videos
Usevideosonyour
homepagetoquickly
engagepeople
Targeted3-5minute
videosaddressspecific
questionsquickly
Customer
testimonials
buildconfidence
 Builds confidence in
your product and brand
 Communicates product
capabilities quickly
 Validate the customer
experience with your
company
WhatitDoes
 Keep videos ‘bite size’—
3-5 minutes at the most
 Enable viewing across
devices—adaptive
streaming
 Provide a high-
performance
experience—consider
using a content delivery
network (CDN)
 Look at Brightcove,
Ooyala for delivery
ThingstoRemember

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1. Youcannotavoid
presaleseffortsfor
complexB2Bsales
2. Presaleseffortsaffect
the‘60%’priorto
engagingsalesdirectly
3. Digitalpresales
engagementshortens
thebuyinglifecycleand
reducescosts
3. Digitalpresales
engagementarecross-
channelactivities
4. Contentmarketingand
segmentationanalysis
arefoundationalfor
successfulpresales
engagement
PresalesEngagement: KeyTakeaways

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20
1
2
3
4
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
PRESALES ENGAGEMENT
SALES FACILITATION
PARTNER CHANNEL

21
35%
McKinsey & Company, 2009
35% OF CUSTOMERS FIND ‘TOO
MUCH CONTACT’ A SELLING ACTIVITY
THAT IS DESTRUCTIVE TO THE SALES
EXPERIENCE

22
Product Sale
They have
recognized a
problem
They have
searched for a
solution
They have
identified
solution options
They are
investigating
the options
They are
deciding on an
option
They have made
a buying
decision
Finalize Pricing Sign Contracts
SalesFacilitation: WhenDoesItStart?
Product ComparisonProduct Comparison

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Goal: Closingthebusiness
withthecustomer
Traditionalactivities:
1. Contractnegotiations
2. Contractsigning
3. Invoicing
OurSalesPerson
SalesFacilitation: TraditionalApproach

24
SalesFacilitation: CustomerPerception
McKinsey & Company, 2009

25
SalesFacilitation: DealRooms
 Removes the paper-
based management of
documents
 Eliminates the ‘email
chase’ of tracking down
the latest document
versions
WhatitDoes
 Complete security for
all parties
 Can be integrated
within your website to
provide deal room
portal functionality
ThingstoRemember

26
SalesFacilitation: ElectronicSignatures
 Streamlines the
document signing
process
 Eliminates the need for
physical signatures,
while still insuring
authenticity
WhatitDoes
 Look for electronic
signature services that
work with deal room
vendors—not all do
ThingstoRemember

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SalesFacilitation: SubscriptionServices
 Handles all the details
of subscription based
models—without you
doing the heavy lifting
 Provides complete
reporting capabilities
WhatitDoes
 There are several
vendors that provide
these services
 All have APIs that make
it possible to fully
integrate the
experience with your
website
ThingstoRemember

28
1. Creatingasimple,
convenient‘closing’
processimprovesthe
overallcustomer
experience
2. Manyoff-the-shelf
servicesexistthatcanbe
integratedwithyour
websitetocreate
seamlessexperiences
3. Whenchoosingvendors,
confirmwhichservices
are‘pre-integrated’and
workwitheachother
4. Theseonlinecapabilities
shortentheclosingtime,
whilereducingtheoverall
costofsales
SalesFacilitation: KeyTakeaways

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29
1
2
3
4
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
PRESALES ENGAGEMENT
SALES FACILITATION
PARTNER CHANNEL

30
50%
“THAT MIDDLE GROUP OF 40-50% OF
PARTNERS GENERALLY WANT TO
SUCCEED BUT DON’T KNOW HOW, AND
MANY VENDORS DO A POOR JOB OF
ENABLING THEM.”
Philip Moon, Channel Enablers, 2012

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PartnerChannel: IntegratedPortals
 Can provide a single
location for partners to
access your services
and information
 Incorporates the same
presales engagement
functionality
WhatitDoes
 Maintain a single sign-
on environment—no one
wants to remember
multiple passwords
 Make sure that partners
also have mobile
enabled experience—
many are on the road
ThingstoRemember
One-stop
shoppingfor
partners
Singlesign-on
acrossallweb
properties

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1. Partnerportalsshouldbe
anextensionofyour
existingcorporate
website—onebrand
experienceforallvisitors
2. Allofthefunctionality
supportingthecustomer
lifecyclealsoapplyto
partneracquisition
3. Communitiesand
supportcentersspecific
topartnersaresameas
forcustomers,with
contentandcapabilities
exposedthrough
permissions
SalesFacilitation: KeyTakeaways

33
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