Your Buyers Are in Charge Now.
The Reality is Your Buyers are Finding, Researching, and Considering products on their own, often in places that software can’t track.
These places are known as the *Dark Funnel* and include:
- Word-of-Mouth (Influencers and Trusted Peers)
- Organic Social Media
- Communities (Ex. Slack and Mighty Networks)
- Text and Messenger apps
- Podcast Content
- Video Content
- Group Zoom meetups
- Private Groups
- Industry Events
Before Covid, B2B buyers got most of their information by attending industry conferences, analysts and search.
That’s where they learned about new tools, technology and strategy.
Now things are different.
Buyers get information through influencers (industry experts, consultants, and indie analysts), communities, social media, peers, and private groups.
Because of this, you have a big opportunity because most other companies are not paying attention or executing well there.
Enlist Subject Matter Experts to Help Your Buyers.
Many B2B companies are product and sales-led.
They try to reach their buyer audiences by offering gated content, targeted ads and events yet pay little attention to whether those make a lasting impact.
Instead, they obsess over collecting leads and email addresses.
The flipside of this is how many B2C companies operate.
Many are marketing-led and work to service their customers by trying to make their lives better – through their content, products, and services.
Why Don’t B2B Companies Do the Same?
Because they’ve bought into attribution software and its capabilities.
However, attribution software can’t track most of the dark funnel – where B2B buyers are congregating.
Influencers Are Present in the Dark Funnel.
They already have your buyers’ attention and trust, so enlist them to create content that makes your buyers’ lives easier and better.
By improving your buyers’ situation, you build relationships that yield compounding gains over time.
Results get better with consistent effort and investment.
B2B marketers have become so overly focused on tech and outdated tactics that they have missed a dramatic shift in how buyers are behaving now.
They have lost sight of what’s important: Business results.
Why influencers over other marketing strategies?
- Your buyers behave differently now. They are hyper-connected with networks of trusted peers, influencers and communities. Gone are the days of seeing them twice a year at industry events. They interact constantly on LinkedIn, text, messenger apps, and inside private communities.
- B2B buyers want to do their own research and evaluation. They often ask influencers for their opinions, help and advice. Only when buyers are ready to have a conversation with your sales team do they contact your company.
- B2B buyers want access to valuable information with no strings attached. They are tired of being solicited when they are not yet ready to buy. Help your buyers choose you by building relationships with influencers they know and trust.
