I always knew it. But now there’s science to back it up. A recent study conducted by consulting company CEB proves that B2B buyers are twice as likely to buy based on their own personal values (such as daily frustrations, professional goals, important values/beliefs, desired self-image, attitude to others) versus business needs. Not only that but 68% of buyers who see a personal value being satisfied will actually pay more for the purchase. Why is this happening and how can we small businesses leverage it?

Companies are Made Up Of People

Well, this isn’t such a shocker really when you think about that fact that the B2B buyer is just as human as a teenager buying pop. They are both trying to find the purchase experience that most closely matches his or her personal values. Having known this intuitively, my own client work involves training them to ask market insights questions that reflect this. They ask prospective targets some very open ended questions such as “what is something you wish would be different in your business around (the expertise my client has)?” Or “what keeps you up at night?” or “what is the most frustrating thing for you around (the expertise my client has)?” And so on. When we can get to the root of the key stake holder’s key challenges, we can truly address them in our marketing and selling.

Buyers Are Buying You

If in fact, the most impact on a B2B buyer we can have as a vendor is an alignment with their personal values, how important is it that we  showcase our own personal values and that of our company? I constantly coach my clients on how to build their own values, both as a CEO and as a company into their LinkedIn profiles, their About page, their blogs and newsletters. This is the time to ditch the generic impersonal messaging and dig deep and expose your own true emotions and values. Clearly, buyers care more about their own values and if yours match up to their versus then you’re more like to close that sale.
Knowledge is power. So go ahead, use the power of knowing what buyers truly care about and stand out from all the other B2B companies who are still talking about their features and benefits.
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