Following the successful webinar about the complete Buyers’ Journey, Erez Barak of Optify and Christine Crandell of New Business Strategies, partnered again to explore one of the most important stages in the Journey, the Solution Search. The Buyers Journey is a set of organizing principles for aligning company functions and roles to enable, engage and establish enduring relationships with buyers. The Solution Search stage, a sub-stage of the Buyer Enablement stage, is where prospects are starting to research solutions, offering you the opportunity to be first in their mind. Companies that want to be included in the short list of alternative solutions must know how to market during this stage and what marketing tactics to use. Watch this webinar to learn: - An overview of the Buyers’ Journey - The importance of the Solution Search stage of the Buyers’ Journey - How to balance your marketing through the Solution search stage - How to choose the right marketing tactics to be on the top of the list Read more at: http://www.optify.net/webinars/align-marketing-mix-buyers-journey-solution-search-stage/

1. Align
your
marke/ng
mix
to
your
Buyers
Journey:
Solu/on
Search
Stage
January
17,
2012-­‐
1
PM
EST
Speakers:
Chris/ne
Crandell,
New
Business
Strategies
Erez
Barak,
Op/fy
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

2. New Rules
There are no
“Customers”,
only “Buyers”
Buyers are in
control
Buying is social, self-directed, trust-based & transparent
‘Lifetime
Harder and harder to ‘reach’ buying teams
Experience’ is
a key decider Experience disruptions result in disengagement
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

3. What is the Buyers’ Journey?
The Buyers’ Journey™ is a
methodology that companies use
to enable, engage and establish
enduring, profitable relationships
with buyers.
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

4. Buyers‘
Journey
1. Buyer
Enablement
• Self-­‐directed
pre-­‐
purchase
2
inves<ga<on
2. Purchase
Buyer
• Valida<on
of
selec<on
decision
Influence
3.
Buyer
Engagement
Circle
1 3 • Adop<on,
experience,
and
value
realiza<on
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

5. Buyer
Enablement:
Valida/on
•
Problem
Defini/on
Commitment
to
solving
the
problem
Evalua/on
•
Solu/on
Search
Understand
how
Peers
Buyers’
solved
the
problem
Solu/on
Journey
•
Evalua/on
Search
Select
approach,
evaluate
alterna<ves
and
short-­‐list
Problem
•
Valida/on
Defini/on
CONTACT
vendors
and
validate
selec<on
decision
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

6. Valida/on
Evalua/on
Buyers’
Solu/on
Journey
Search
Problem
Defini/on
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

7. It’s All About the Homework
Objec<ves:
• Understand
root
cause
• Learn
what
peers
did
Key
Ac<vi<es:
• Gather
best
prac<ces
• Collaborate
with
industry
peers
• Understand
possible
outcomes
• Discover
solu<on
alterna<ves
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

8. Discover Their ‘Process’
Iden/fy
Des/na/on
Conversa/on
Learned
Ac/on
Taken
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

9. Where Do They Go?
Places
People
• Blogs
• Industry
peers
• Webinars
• Industry
analysts
• Social
communi<es
• Friends
and
colleagues
• White
paper
websites
• Networking
via
LinkedIn,
etc.
• Conferences
&
Tradeshows
• Consultant
websites
for
Decisions:
best
prac<ces
• Desired
approach
• Private
&
public
industry
• Target
outcome
communi<es
• Solu<on
Parameters
• Success
metrics
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

10. Where Do They Go?
Industry
Association LinkedIn Social Industry
Community
Analyst
Webinar Somebody’s
Uncle
White Paper
Media Site
Blogs
Online
Demo
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

11. Why Adopt the Buyers’ Journey?
• Accelerate sales by 3 to
5 times
• Reduce cost of sales by
30+%
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

12. Solu/on
Search
in
Your
Words
Opportunities
Sales
Purchase
Value
Validation Delivery
Customer Experience
Customers and Advocates
Marketing
Contacts/Leads
Nurture
Evaluation &
Retain
Buyers’
Solution Journey
Solution Search
Value
Streams
Search
Problem Expanded
Definition Adop/on
Evangelism
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

13. Solu/on
Search
Key
Characteris/cs
Stage:
Solu<on
Search
Understand
how
peers
solved
the
problem
Where:
Trade
publica;ons,
search
engines,
blogs,
referrals,
social
media,
relevant
market
places
What:
Create
awareness
and
posi;on
your
Contacts/Leads
company/product
as
a
possible
solu;on
Marketing
Marketing
Buyers’
How:
SEO,
case
studies,
referral
program,
videos,
Journey
webinars,
press
releases,
display
Solu/on
Search
Call
to
ac/on:
Read
the
case
study,
watch
the
video,
learn
more,
register
for
the
webinar
What
to
measure:
Views,
visits
to
case
study
pages,
referring
keywords,
impressions,
referring
sites,
conversion
pages
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

14. Problem Definition:
How to Tie a Tie
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

15. Solution Search Objectives
Buyer
Marketer
Understand
root
cause
Convert
to
leads
Learn
what
peers
did
Iden<fy
the
stage
Collect
data
Segment
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

16. Buyer Activity #1:
Gather
best
prac<ces
`
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

17. Marketing Activity #1:
Offer
best
prac<ces
`
How
Where
• Write,
produce
and
offer
free
content
• Your
site
and
blog
• Op<mize
content
for
search
• Search
Engines
• Syndicate
content
• Social
Networks
• Op<mize
content
landing
pages
for
conversion
• Syndica<on
networks
• Tradeshows,
conferences
• Trade
publica<ons
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

18. Buyer Activity #2:
Collaborate
with
industry
peers
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

19. Marketing Activity #2:
Evangelize
peers
How
Where
• Stay
connected
to
your
customer/user
base
• Private
&
public
industry
communi<es
• Encourage
shares,
likes,
tweets
and
retweets
• Consultant
websites
for
best
prac<ces
• Develop
an
evangelists
program
• Review
sites
• Encourage
word
of
mouth
in
your
organiza<on
• Facebook,
LinkedIn,
Twi]er
• Offer
case
studies
• Par<cipate
in
industry
discussions
on
the
topic
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

20. Buyer Activity #3:
Understand
possible
outcomes
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

21. Marketing Activity #3:
Educate
on
possible
outcomes
How
Where
• Provide
Q&A
and
FAQ’s
on
the
topic
• Your
site,
blog
and
user
community
• Cover
and
write
about
solu<ons
you
don’t
support
• Webinars
• Allow
access
to
free
assessment
tools,
like
ROI
• Social
communi<es
calculators,
simula<ons,
etc.
• Q&A
sites
• Encourage
discussions
about
issues
• Conferences
&
Tradeshows
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

22. Buyer Activity #4:
Discover
solu<on
alterna<ves
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

23. Marketing Activity #4:
Be
a
solu<on
alterna<ve
How
Where
• Clearly
posi<on
yourself
as
an
alterna<ve
• Review
sites
• Include
your
solu<on
when
comparing
alterna<ves
• Wikipedia
• Offer
the
different
alterna<ves
• Search
engines
• Make
sure
you’re
listed
on
the
major
directories
• Trade
publica<ons
and
expert
blogs
and
review
sites
• Choose
your
SEO
terms
carefully
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

24. Solution Search Stage Summary
Buyer
Marketer
Objec<ves
Understand
root
cause
Convert
to
leads
Learn
what
peers
did
Iden<fy
the
stage
Collect
data
Segment
Ac<vity
#1
Gather
best
prac<ces
Offer
best
prac<ces
Ac<vity
#2
Collaborate
with
industry
peers
Evangelize
peers
Ac<vity
#3
Understand
possible
outcomes
Educate
on
possible
outcomes
Ac<vity
#4
Discover
solu<on
alterna<ves
Be
a
solu<on
alterna<ve
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

25. Nurturing the Solution Search Stage
• Iden/fy
main
interests
• Segment
using
profile
and
interest
• Score
based
on
behavior
and
profile
• Personalize
communica<on
to
align
with
segment
• Know
when
leads
mature
• Encourage
moving
to
the
next
stage
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

26. Key Takeaways
• Buying is social, trust-based, self-directed and transparent
• Understanding the self-directed journey and their expectations
of Buyers’ is key driving demand
• Directly align roles and marketing activities to where your buyers
go and whom they talk to
• Design your marketing programs to be role specific to leverage
their unique steps
• Enable your buyers; give value information freely; and build
credibility and trust
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

27. Optify – Marketing in Real Time
» Founded in 2008 and publicly released in March 2010,
now has over 3,000 accounts
» Enables marketers to drive more traffic and leads with
SEO and social media, convert visitors to customers,
and measure and share results
» Optify customers see over 100% increase in organic
traffic and over 300% increase in leads in less than 4
months
» Resources:
» Featured customers and testimonials are available at
www.optify.net/customer-testimonials/ ,or read our case
studies at
www.optify.net/category/case-studies/
» We offer 4 Editions www.optify.net/editions-pricing/ and a
14-day free trial www.optify.net/sign-up/
» Learn more at www.optify.net
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

28. Christine Crandell,
President,
New Business
Strategies
Christine Crandell is a B2B marketing and
strategy expert with more than 20 years’
success in driving demand and strategy for
leading technology organizations around
the world.
Her approach to marketing and strategy
has led to recognition as one of Silicon
Valley’s Most Influential Women for 2010
by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business
Journal.
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

29. Erez Barak,
VP of Products, and
Co-Founder Optify
Erez Barak is Vice President of
Products and Co-Founder at Optify.
Frequent speaker at industry events.
Prior to Optify, Erez was a director of
product marketing in HP’s Software
business unit.
He was recently named among the Top
25 Innovators by Seattle Business
Magazine.
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.

30. hZp://www.op/fy.net/
erez@op/fy.net
Follow
us
on
twiZer:
@op/fy
hZp://www.facebook.com/NewBusinessStrategies
Chris/ne.crandell@newbizs.com
Follow
us
on
twiZer:
@chriscrandell
hZp://searchmarke/ngnow.com
webcasts@searchmarke/ngnow.com
hZp://twiZer.com/SMNWebcasts
©2012 Third Door Media, Inc.