113k Buyer-Level Intent Insights Link ______ to Purchases

“The more B2B content your audience consumes, the more likely they are to make a purchase decision.” – Forbes

This article answers the important questions of how B2B content influences purchasing decisions, when does content have its greatest impact, and what type of content is the most important to focus on more than any other?

All-new report links content directly to purchase decisions

“B2B content consumption is tightly linked to purchase decisions. A lot of B2B content is weak. It’s written to please executives rather than to connect with buyers. Content goes stale. Things change faster and faster, so new content has to be developed to stay fresh.” – Forbes, commenting on the recent 2023 State of B2B Content Consumption & Demand Report

Read on to learn from Gartner, Forrester, Forbes, and a host of B2B CMOs, CEOs, and marketing leaders on their secrets for getting greater ROI through content.

Why is B2B content such an important factor in influencing purchase decisions?

The startlingly brief tenure of B2B CMOs, which is less than half that of their CEO counterparts, is largely due to a fundamental challenge with pipeline generation…a process most often fueled by the creation of valuable content. Despite this, the majority of B2B companies fall short in this area, receiving a mere C+ content grade.

In fact, 71% of B2B decision-makers say that half or less than half of the thought-leadership content they read or watch gives them any sort of valuable insights. For sellers, 57% say they don’t pay much attention to content produced by their own marketing teams, feeling it is generic and unresponsive.

Thought leadership content represents a formidable challenge to marketers. When deployed correctly, it is proven to stimulate purchases at every stage of the buyer’s journey. While content marketing solves problems, Forbes affirms that it is thought leadership that ignites conversations. This high-level content is the holy grail of B2B marketing, capable of drawing in buyers by fueling demand generation campaigns, inspiring follow-up sales conversations, and achieving greater conversions. This under-utilized strategy offers an all-new competitive advantage, hinging on the efficient creation of premium thought leadership content on an ongoing basis.

Content solves a major sales problem

Gartner states that “Sellers have little opportunity to influence customer decisions. Gartner research finds that when B2B buyers are considering a purchase‚ they spend only 17% of that time meeting with potential suppliers. When buyers are comparing multiple suppliers‚ the amount of time spent with anyone sales rep may be only 5% or 6%.”

Forrester, “Nearly 90% of B2B decision-makers want vendors to understand their business, prove the value of their solutions, and act as a trusted source of industry knowledge.”

This context means that more and more of the sales process is being determined by the content that is being consumed.

89% of B2B buyers stated that winning vendors “provided content that made it easier to show ROI and build a business case for the purchase”
62% of B2B buyers said they engage with three to seven pieces of content before connecting with a salesperson
B2B buyers are 57% – 70% through their buying research before contacting sales

B2B content consumption is tightly linked to purchase decisions. Content consumption is directly correlated with future investment.

Above all, leading with value is essential

According to the results of a survey with 113,000 buyer-level intent insights from the 2023 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers, “We’ve learned content consumption is directly correlated with future investment, and above all, that leading with value is essential.”

Why?

We’ve interviewed numerous CMOs, RevOps, and revenue marketing leaders in the B2B world to help answer this question, and here is a sampling of what they’ve said:

“B2B content is a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10 in the importance to the success of the company.” – Darryl Praill, 4x B2B CMO & 2x CRO now at Agorapulse
“There is no demand generation without content. Some organizations say that they need to build their demand generation function and that engine—and want to bring content in later. Absolutely not! You either need to have that content machine going, or you bring them both together at the same time. That is absolutely vital.” – Mariana Just, VP of Global Revenue Marketing
“I put content at a 10 out of 10, and the reason is I have a clear pulse on what kind of revenue we’re helping our clients close and generate. This comes from a true assessment of 200+ clients of ours. When we have content to support the sales team, it is a fact that we convert at a higher rate, the sales process is more streamlined, and the customers are converting at a healthier pace. The content creating the engagement is never product/feature focused. Once you stop talking about yourself, what you’ll learn is wild.” – Amy Kohl, CEO & Founder of an award-winning GTM and RevOps company serving the B2B industry.
“Content is the conversation that we have with our prospects and customers in the market. Content is the conversation vehicle, and it is so important that we have a point of view or something to say about the things that are on the minds of our customers.” – Dawn Crew, 3x B2B CMO

Conclusion

“B2B marketing leaders have to invest in the full cycle of content that attracts, converts, and retains customers. If the content in the ‘attract’ categories dries up, eventually, so will the number of prospects in the ‘convert’ phase.” – 2023 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers

In a recent Entrepreneur article, written by my friend and CMO Chip House, he recommended three strategies for doing more with less in marketing during these tough economic times. The second strategy is to create great, compelling content that is generated on a consistent basis.

This second recommendation is directly related to what Mariana Just mentioned in her quote from above, “There is no demand generation without content.” And how Amy Kohl talks about how she has proven across 200+ clients that the better the quality of the content, the greater the ROI for creating sales and revenue.

If you are attempting to do more with less in your marketing budget these days, a focus on creating high-quality content to spark all-new conversations with B2B decision-makers will create greater ROI from all resources already being allocated across employee salaries, business development efforts, and sales enablement.

Don’t fall into the trap that Forbes discusses, where you must “let the traditional approach to content fail to create a learning opportunity.”

Remember that 113k B2B buyer-level intent insights link CONTENT directly to more purchases.

Next Steps

To learn more about efficiently creating the type of content that opens doors and creates greater ROI from all angles, CLICK HERE to schedule a 20-minute strategy session. High-quality, thought-leadership content can be created efficiently, on an ongoing basis, at scale

ELEVATING CONTENT MARKETING STANDARDS RAISES A CRUCIAL QUESTION:
Why shouldn’t the very act of creating thought leadership content also spark new conversations with in-pipeline deals, top prospects, and high-priority customers for revenue expansion? Or serve as the cornerstone for learning and applying voice-of-customer strategies? That’s the power of ABM Podcasting—engaging B2B buyers and customers in meaningful conversations that uncover essential go-to-market insights, support long sales cycles, reinforce your market perspective, build peer-level trust, and dismantle objections that kill deals.

Steven MacDonald

Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.

Follow Steve on LinkedIn.

Steven MacDonald

Follow Steve on LinkedIn.