Your B2B Software Marketing Playbook for the COVID-19 Crisis

In only a matter of weeks, COVID-19 has advanced into one of many century’s most disruptive occasions. It’s a singular kind of occasion; one which impacts the economic system, healthcare, employment, and provide chains, all whereas concurrently stifling human motion in a method we’ve by no means seen earlier than. It’s additionally resulting in some totally insane visitors lifts on G2 throughout quite a lot of merchandise and classes.

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Entrepreneurs and sellers are scrambling to maintain up

COVID-19 comes at an already-pivotal time for B2B SaaS entrepreneurs and sellers – one the place it feels tougher than ever to face out amongst 50+ publicly traded high SaaS corporations, 100+ non-public $1B unicorns, and 10,000+ privately-held SaaS corporations – all of whom are competing, buying, partnering, and innovating to win prospects and gasoline development.

This has led to an surroundings in B2B software program the place:

  • Competitors is at an all-time excessive: In 2012, the common SaaS firm had ~2 opponents. Immediately, they’ve ~9.
  • Purchaser belief is at an all-time low: Solely 8% of B2B consumers belief the gross sales rep they’re working with at this very second.

This has resulted in a number of main shifts in B2B purchaser habits, together with 50% of consumers making up their minds earlier than ever contacting gross sales, and being much less keen than ever to pay for “differentiated” options.

And that was all earlier than COVID-19 took a number of key channels off the desk.

Now, we as sellers and entrepreneurs ought to count on consumers to do 3-5x extra analysis and validation earlier than shopping for. And we’ll need to maintain our demand and pipeline era engines working with out confirmed channels like occasions, subject, and experiential advertising.

Entrepreneurs should pivot all methods to digital – rapidly

These subsequent few weeks will likely be important to B2B entrepreneurs. Anxiousness’s excessive, purchaser consideration is already low, and lots of organizations and groups are nonetheless adjusting to distant work and collaboration.

That stated, enterprise nonetheless must be performed. Packages nonetheless must run. Patrons nonetheless want to find sellers. And sellers nonetheless want to have the ability to promote. Those that alter their methods and use this time properly will mitigate disruption and emerge as winners within the long-term – each of their industries and with consumers.

Right here’s your new playbook for B2B SaaS advertising

Think about that 100% of your consumers’ analysis and engagement will likely be now performed on-line. In all probability within the consolation of their very own residing rooms. This implies on-line marketplaces like G2 will likely be visited (and revisited) way more by consumers.

The large visitors surges of fifty%-500% we have seen throughout G2 point out precisely that — that on-line marketplaces like G2 are extra essential than ever for software program consumers proper now.

Make no mistake – consumers are going to be in search of software program within the coming weeks. Your software program. Use the tactical playbook beneath to make sure your advertising technique is primed and able to:

  1. Assist consumers self-discover and consider you
  2. Win purchaser belief with genuine (and present) opinions of your software program
  3. Seize surging on-line demand to gasoline advertising
  4. Use content material out of your opinions to scale digital advertising and gross sales enablement

1. Assist consumers self-discover and consider you

How? Guarantee your market profiles are 100% purchaser prepared. Conduct a top-down audit of your profile’s contact information, messaging, hyperlinks, assets – all the things. Ask yourselves: is your best-of content material up there? This consists of new movies, downloadable belongings, and platform imagery.

2. Win purchaser belief with genuine (and present) opinions of your software program

How? Guarantee your market profile’s opinions are recent, present, and contextual. If you happen to’re not auto-collecting new opinions, now’s the time to set it as much as maintain opinions up-to-date and assortment prices low.

Why? Critiques are the primary data supply for B2B consumers, and don’t overlook that 85% of consumers ignore opinions greater than three months outdated. Which means conserving your opinions recent and present – particularly in software program – would be the distinction between consumers trusting or disregarding yours.

3. Seize surging on-line demand to gasoline advertising

How? Guarantee your campaigns and ABM efforts are able to capitalize on the report product-and category-level visitors coming to G2, by funneling that intent information into your important system ops, gross sales engagement, deal affect, and retention instruments.

Why? As a result of when used appropriately, intent information from surging marketplaces like G2 can develop into your #1 channel for pipeline era.

However don’t take my phrase for it. Hearken to our masterclass webinar throughout operationalizing purchaser intent the place Cloud Cherry’s Head of World Advertising, James Gilbert, shared how they used purchaser intent to 3X their pipeline in 12 months, and switch G2 into their #1 most influential channel out of the 44 of their advertising combine.

4. Use content material out of your opinions to scale digital advertising packages and gross sales enablement

How? Minimize by the elevated noise and competitors by incorporating evaluate content material into your digital advertising and gross sales pitches.

Why? Third-party content material removes your consumers’ #1 impediment to purchasing, which is the shortcoming to get credible content material. And there’s about to be lots of it. You gained’t be the one marketer doubling down on digital advertising.

The one technique to stand out throughout cluttered, noisy channels is to make use of your individual evaluate content material as a trusted various to the advertising content material everybody’s already producing.