Boost conversions by 50% with a subtle change in messaging

“Nothing personal — just business.”

Well, the data would suggest otherwise. The idea that B2B buying decisions are all intellectual, objective, and detached has long been disproven, and now research has undermined another assumption — that B2B buyers are basing their decisions on the value to the business.

Now, of course, people do buy because they believe the purchase will positively impact the business, and that is what they will focus on when they are talking to a CFO or asking for budget. However, from a sales and marketing point of view, you need to understand that ‘official’ reason is not the real reason.

Many times, people buy not because it will transform the business, but because the purchase will have positive implications for them personally.

Seeing personal value in buying makes a B2B buyer 50% more likely to convert. Not only that, but they are also eight times more likely to pay a premium when they anticipate personal benefit.

If communicating that benefit will encourage people to pay, and to pay more, how should you go about it?

Buyer motivations, seller messaging, and the impact on conversion

The good news is business and personal benefitaren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, the second depends on the first. However, it would be easy for that understanding to result in clumsy and ineffective marketing.

Let’s start by looking at buyers and what some of their personal motivations might be.

• A department head wants bonuses, promotions, professional satisfaction, and the respect of colleagues and reports, and to avoid the shame of having made poor decisions or having missed targets.
• A fractional leader or an interim executive is under pressure to have an impact. They have been brought in on a temporary basis to instigate and oversee an initiative or a transformation, and their track record, reputation, and future work depend on their success in those engagements.
• A founder whose impatient investors are impatient for returns and intolerant of wasted budget —they want to avoid uncomfortable meetings and embarrassment. Add to that, they have a deep emotional investment in the business they set up, and the success of their business is tied to their sense of success as a person.

Obviously, you won’t create messaging that is too ‘on the nose’,i.e. ‘XYZ helps department heads get bonuses’. So how should you use it?

Well, on the surface, understanding your audience doesn’t seem to change the messaging all that much. The focus should remain on the results and the outcomes — savings in time or budget, better margins, peace of mind etc. However, what does change, subtly but impactfully, is the subtext.

Empathy-loaded, purpose-driven, and audience-focused content says far more than what is on the page or screen.

Knowing your audience lets you far more strategically choose the emphasis of your marketing. When you know what your audience is being judged on, what they are accountable for, and who they are accountable to, you can have a strong idea of the frustrations they encounter as they try to meet those expectations, and how they express them.

Translate those into your marketing, and make sure your message speaks to those specific frustrations then you can say (for example) that your product helps department heads get bonuses, without saying your product helps department heads get bonuses.

Speak to the personal motivations of buyers, and you could see your leads convert at an unprecedented rate.

How to understand your audience to refine your messaging

This approach relies on a data-backed understanding not just of the motivations of your audience, but also of how and where they look for solutions.

In today’s market, it is not enough to be eye-catching. Attention-grabbing content is everywhere, and without a strategic and integrated approach behind it, it is easy to dismiss or forget. 

Nutcracker makes brands unforgettable and undeniable.

To learn how our approach attracts prospects, starts conversations, and ushers leads them down a seamless path to conversion, and to see how we have transformed businesses’ growth and market share, read how we guide your audience from ‘first impression’ to ‘loyal customer’.