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The Power Of Search Within A Complex Sales Cycle

March 19th, 2010 |

Author: admin

The Power Of Search Within A Complex Sales Cycle

So now that we know that 85 of BtoB customers use the Internet at some point during the buying process why is it that so many business executives still contend that online marketing doesnt work for businesses with enterprise solutions or complex sales cycles?

Are Businesses Too Slow to Adapt?

When the Internet first started taking hold in the late 90s the sites that were best known were retail sites. Could it be thats still influencing our perception of who should advertise online? Or is it simply that its easier to continue down a path thats wellknown and comfortable traditional advertising and marketing versus taking a chance on something thats less familiar but may ultimately be yield better results?
Whatever the reason we now know that online marketing and specifically search engine marketing is highly effective in driving sales for businesses with complex sales cycles.

The Facts about BtoB Search Engine Marketing

According to a 2004 StatMarket report 63.9 of BtoB users make search their first stop when researching a new product or service for their company. Thats more than manufacturer sites industry portals consumer review sites or even ecommerce sites directly selling the product.

Only search engine marketing has the remarkable ability to put your product services and offerings in front of people at that crucial time when they are interested in what you offer and are open to listening to what you have to say.

Taking Advantage at Every Stage

Every sales cycle whether its days weeks or months goes through a variety of stages from inception to close. Understanding how to market your business online positions you to take advantage of these stages and create leads every step of the way.

1. Stage 1 Create Awareness

Lets assume your sales rep has made contact with a potential customer. Ask yourself is he/she educating this potential customer about your specific brand or the value of your industry as a whole? Either way if the information is new to them the rep is creating an awareness that didnt exist prior to the sales call.

This is your reps first opportunity to place your business squarely in front of the potential customer since theyll likely search for both your company as well as your industry online.

2. Stage 2 Internal Discussions and Due Diligence

At this point the potential customer is going to take the following steps:

Determine if your product or service is something that they may actually need. In order to answer that question theyll likely need to do a cursory amount of research which will take place online.

So your sales rep has either initiated a sales cycle that you may ultimately close or lose. If your competitors are marketing online and you arent or arent doing it effectively you may have just driven business to their site as your potential client researches your industry.

That was your first opportunity to either:

Impress a potential client by appearing online during their search;

Lose a potential client to a competitor even though YOUR sales rep created the awareness of your product or service;

Be the company that markets effectively online and position yourself to take potential business from your competitors.

3. Stage 3 Serious Interest is Generated and Research and Information Gathering Begins

Once a company has determined that services or products like yours may be suitable for them its during this stage of the sales cycle that you have the greatest opportunity to positively impact the decision making process.

Online marketing positions you to attract qualified leads to your site from:

Those researching your competition

Those researching your offerings

Those ready to buy

This also has the added benefit of shortening your sales cycle since in many cases your sales reps will be speaking with knowledgeable qualified leads who are closer to making a purchase.

4. Stage 4 Short List is Created and Decision is Made

When potential customers are creating a short list online marketing greatly increases your odds of being included on that list. If you dont appear during their search it makes it very difficult for them to know youre out there. And thats your last chance to make an impression before they decide on a supplier.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Roxanne Lott has successfully brought her deep understanding of media and marketing to her clients at Imerex http://www.imerex.com. With over a decade of experience in New York City at the prestigious J. Walter Thompson Advertising a division of WPP and ABC Television Network a division of the Disney Corporation Roxanne has been involved in the online world on behalf of her clients since the late 1990′s. She helps her clients understand the critical concepts of website usablity and that their websites can and should be a tool to increase sales.

Imerex is an Internet marketing firm specializing in digital media and search engine marketing. We have over a decade of experience in online marketing pay per click management and search engine optimization SEO. We capitalize on our expert marketing knowledge to deliver effective and profitable solutions that exceed our clients expectations.