The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we market technology in the B2B space. A report published by Salesforce covering marketing trends in 2021 shows that 44% of B2B marketers have ‘completely changed’ their marketing methods since the pandemic began tackling new challenges and a shift in customer behaviour.
Marketing technology is no longer about pitching the hard sell and showing off product specs. You need to know who your audience is, what are they struggling with, and what is keeping them up at night. You must lead with empathy and create a customer-centric marketing plan that helps you build and nurture relationships with your target audience.
A customer-centric approach to marketing is the recipe for success in the technology industry. So, what can you do to get to know your customers, who they are, and their pain points?
Also, once you’ve gathered this information, how can you create campaigns that turn your customers into high-quality leads?
In this TechTalks, we welcomed expert panellists to discuss the evolution of customer-centric marketing and the methods they recommend that will guarantee results for your technology brand.
Joining our host Kinga Kusak are:
You can watch the TechTalks event on-demand or check out the highlights below.
Customer-centric marketing is a marketing approach designed around customer needs and interests. You and your team must have customers at the forefront of your mind when making all marketing decisions.
“A customer-centric marketing approach requires a company to deliver value for their customers in everything they do. At its core, it's about understanding your customers and who they are.
You must ask yourself what situation are they in? What are their perceptions? What are their expectations? What do they value? Why do they value it?
You must then deliver accordingly and add value to your customers in everything you present.”
- Carsten Schwerm, Vice President, Global Marketing and Customer Success, Emozo Labs.
To understand your customers and personalise your marketing strategy toward them, you must create a buyer persona unique to your target audience.
A buyer persona is a fictitious profile of your business’s ideal customer. Whilst researching your customer, you can identify their habits, pinpoint their worries and come up with ways to tackle any obstacles they are facing.
Interestingly, 82% of companies that create a buyer persona have improved their value proposition, and 71% of companies have exceeded their lead generation and revenue goals due to creating a buyer persona.
So, when creating a customer-centric marketing strategy, you must always start with the foundations.
“Customer-centric marketing is about putting your customer centre stage. Not your company, your product, your service — but your customer.
This is particularly important when marketing technology because of how competitive and quickly evolving tech is. For many technology companies, products are developed and marketed in a vacuum. Although this works for some brands, it will not work for all.
So, you must look into your customer, identify their needs and be proactive.”
- Lenox Powell, Content Director at Semrush.
Social selling is a vital marketing strategy used by B2B and B2C brands. In fact, 75% of B2B buyers use social media to research their options before purchasing.
Regarding social selling, B2B marketers have stated that 80% of their social media leads stem from LinkedIn. This popular platform is a great way to network with others and start conversations.
Personal branding through social media is also a phenomenal way to build relationships with your target audience and generate strong leads.
Did you know that 82% of people are more likely to trust a company when its senior executives are active on social media, and 77% are more likely to buy from such a company?
Why? Because people trust people.
When it comes to creating a customer-centric approach, you must be able to connect with your audience on a deeper level and become more approachable.
“You want to build deep relationships with your audience and potential customers. Personal branding lets you do that because you can discuss your values and what you care about. Your posts can resonate with your audience and start meaningful conversations.
Ideally, your values should align with your customers, building brand loyalty and following.
When I started CopyHouse, a lot of my networking was done on LinkedIn, and my personal brand brought in a high number of leads. This is still the case today.”
- Kathryn Strachan, Managing Director of CopyHouse.
“Similarly to how everyone in the business should adopt a customer-centric mindset, whether you’re a marketer or salesperson, personal branding should also be taught and adapted.
It’s a crucial part of social selling, and we greatly see it. Your team must be trained on how personal branding works, its impact, and so on. With the correct training, they can develop these meaningful relationships and help generate leads or find new recruits.”
- Alex Owen-Hill, Professional Speaker, Communications Coach, and Voice-Focused Content Strategist.
To successfully implement a customer-centric marketing approach, you must think about the customer throughout their journey — from the brand awareness stage to after they’ve purchased your product or service.
Even after they’ve been transformed from lead to buyer, you must still continue looking at ways to add customer value and create a loyal customer base.
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