

John Burson  edited Monday, May 8, 2017

Subscribe

For an integrated B2B marketing strategy to succeed, the B2B Marketers must work closely with the sales teams to understand the pertinent issues in the market like buying process, business problems, and so on. The best approach to this would be by documenting answers to fundamental questions that you have prepared beforehand. From this, you will be able to create and execute a marketing plan that is in line with the sales goals and business needs of the organization.

Here are the core questions that the B2B marketers must discuss with the sales team:

Market Segment in a B2B Marketing Campaign

• Can you define the existing market segment, and is there a new segment with high prospects of purchasing the offering?
• What are the opportunities, trends, issues, and threats facing the current market segment?
• What is the value of the market segment?
• Can you list the names of particular firms that compose that segment?
• Can you define the characteristics of a company that is considered a good fit?

Business Outcomes and Issues

• What are the measurable business outcomes organizations will achieve by implementing the offering?
• What are the business issues that need urgent attention?
• Can you highlight some of the unique selling propositions that will resonate with each persona?

The Buying Process

• What are the buying stages associated with a typical customer?
• Who will feel the impact of the business issue?
• Who approves, recommends, influence, and make decisions in the buying process?
• Which business functions carry out the buying process?
• Can you define the titles of the people involved in the buying process?

Content Description

• What are the motivations and needs of the people at every stage of the buying process?
• What type of information will be relevant, and in what format should it be presented to each persona?
• What source of information do the people in each stage rely on during the buying process?

Motivation for Taking Action

• Why must the organization act now?
• What are adverse impacts of not taking any action?
• What are the positive outcomes the organization looks for?
• Who are the major influencers, analysts, bloggers, groups, consortiums, etc.?
• What probing questions should be asked to ascertain the value of the proposed action?
• Are there primary objections to the proposal, and how could they be solved?

Business Environment

• What is the prevailing situation in these companies before the implementation of the proposed solutions?
• What is the desired condition for these firms after the implementation of the proposed solutions?
• What are the proof points which will resonate with the prospects?