How Buyers Buy in 2015: Psychology, Technology, and B2B, Oh My!

Ka#e  Martell  Co-­‐Founder,  CMO,  Cintell  

@Ka%eMartell  

Hi, I’m Katie Martell •  Co-Founder, CMO at Cintell •  Career B2B marketer •  Not a psychologist

Kmartell@Cintell.net @KatieMartell linkedin.com/in/katiemartell

Understand your buyers. Be customer-centric. Now in private beta: www.cintell.net

3  

The next 45 minutes of your day: Agenda

What Makes Buyers Buy?

5 Psychological Shifts in Today’s Buyer

Marketing to Today’s B2B Buyer

4  

Today’s Buyer

Technological    Changes  

Social    Changes  

Emo%onal    Changes  

5  “People buy... to  elevate  their  emo#onal  state,  whether  by  removing  a  nega%ve,  sa%sfying  aspira%ons,  or  gaining  a  posi%ve.  They  are  solving  and  improving  both  prac%cal  and  emo%onal  problems  and  situa%ons.    And  even  purely  prac%cal  purchases  are  strongly  influenced  by  an  emo#onal  overlay  of  things  like  self-­‐iden%ty,  belonging,  obliga%on,  or  boredom.”  

6  

The pervasivenessof technology:

7  

The Average American household has internet connected devices. 6

8  

More thanof marriages between 2005-2012began online

13

Pew  Research  Center  

9  

videos are viewed every day.

4,000,000,000

YouTube  

In 2004, Youtube didn’t exist. Now

10  

of Americans own a smartphone

23

Pew  Research  Center  

11  

“The hunt for happiness has evolved.”

12  

Innovation optimismCompanies that win today excite consumers and satisfy their craving for new

Psychological Shift #1

13  

Brands that incorporate technology and innovation are viewed as smarter, cooler, and more consumer-centric.

14  

Heritage can be baggage“Tried and true” is simply tired and old to today’s consumers

15  

Psychological Shift #2

Consumer empowermentConsumers know the influence they have with brands, and it’s permanently affected their expectations with businesses.

16  

1,000,000,000,000conversations going on about brands in the US annually

-Keller Fay Group

17  

Consumer empowermentConsumers know the influence they have with brands, and it’s permanently affected their expectations with businesses.

18  

Psychological Shift #3

Faster Ways of Thinking“Our sense of time, ability to focus, and capacity for attention have shifted gears.”

19  

• SCAN rather than read • Bombarded by constant interruptions• Crave stimulation• Easily distracted•  Less tolerance for ambiguity

Our Malleable Minds

20  

We’re more anxious about keeping trackof all this information, and an expectation that we will be available around the clock, robbing us of focus.

Continuous Partial Attention

21  

More than 68% of adults who own multiple devices use 2+ screens to “graze” unrelated content.

It takes an average of 64 seconds to recover your train of thought after an email interruption.-PsyBlog

22  

Memorization and precision are less essential – it’s easy to check facts and spelling. We are trained to scan and process mountains of information quickly.

Mountains of information

23  

Psychological Shift #4

Symbol powerConsumers do not make decisions logically and consciously

24  

The power of symbolsToday, our interruption-driven, overstimulated, distracted consumers have less ability to focus and let conscious brain space make decisions.

25  

•  Red = excitement•  White + Pink = Sincerity•  Brown = competence and ruggedness•  Purple = sophistication

26  

Outperformed green by 21%

-Hubspot

27  

23% more $$$

“Organic”

28  

Our brains simplify numbersWe subconsciously latch on to the first number in a price tag.$299 = $200

29  

Fusiform face areaHow the brain processes images of faces, tied closely to emotion.

30  

Psychological Shift #5

New ways of connectingBuyers are more guarded, but seek connection.

31  

High-tech, low-touchConsumers seek a sense of connection and belonging – something they increasingly find online and through brands.

32  

Part  2:  Marke#ng  to  Today’s  B2B  Buyer  

33  

34  

The average B2B buyer has completed 57% of the purchase process before engaging a vendor’s sales team.

- CEB/Google

35  

“The nature of marketing has exploded from an ancillary communications function to the Grand Central Station of customer experience.”

36  

37  

By 2020 the B2B ecommerce market will be twice as large as the B2C market — $6.7 trillion vs. $3.2 trillion.

- Frost & Sullivan

38  

39  

•  Petroleum and petroleum products•  Pharmaceuticals and druggist

sundries•  Durable goods•  Motor vehicles, parts and supplies•  Electrical and electronic goods•  Machinery, equipment and supplies

40  

73% of B2B buyers prefer a website to a salesperson.

41  

Content marketing:Everybody’s doing it.

42  

Consumers are 5x more dependent on content than they were 5 years ago.

- Nielsen

43  

75% of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make B2B purchasing decisions than a year ago

- DemandGen Report

44  

Consumers engage with 11.4 pieces of content prior to making a B2B purchase.

- Forrester

45  

Brands that simplify consumer decision making and the purchase process have customers who are are 86% more likely to purchase and are 115% more likely to recommend them. -CEB

46  

Stop making buyers jump over hurdles.

47  

“No one will ever complain that you’ve made things too simple to understand.” -Ann Handley

48  The Full Buying Committee

Influencer   Decision-­‐maker   End-­‐user  

49  

SiriusDecisions

Buying Scenarios

50  

Today, consumers are more likely than ever to be swayed by emotion rather than logic.

51  

Selling to stressed out buyers:•  Prone to inertia•  Rely more heavily

on trusted experts•  Highly sensitive to

complexity

52  

Emotion influences the B2B buy even more than logic and reason.

- CEB

Part 3: What Makes Buyers Buy?

54  

PAIN FEAR GAIN

55  

Buyers are 3X more likely to move away from pain than move towards potential gain. - Tim Riesterer

56  

Gain is a leap of faith

57  

What’s In It For Me?

58  

125% Increase

59  

A B236% Increase

60  

Suspicion + Doubt

61  

“Thought leadership is all about having the answers to the biggest questions on the minds of your buyers, and providing your unique perspective on these hot topics.”

- Michael Brenner

62  

Basic Human Needs:

#1 To grow.#2 To contribute beyond ourselves.

63  

Reciprocal altruism

64  

Business = the antithesis of humanity?

Fewer than 3 in 10 Americans say that corporate America’s reputation is positive.

65  

Be Transparent

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

- Simon Sinek

66  

Deep down, buyers want to be able to relax their guard and buy and love products without vigilance.

Thank you! Kmartell@Cintell.net @KatieMartell linkedin.com/in/katiemartell

Get the guide >>> http://bit.ly/persona-guide