SPEAKER: Ardath Albee of Marketing Interactions http://b2bmarketing.exchange

1. #B2BMX
How Buyer Personas Power
Sustainable Stories that
Turn Prospects into Customers
Ardath Albee
CEO & B2B Marketing Strategist
Marketing Interactions, Inc.
@ardath421

2. #B2BMX
Improving the customer experience
is seen as the top opportunity for
marketers to differentiate their
companies.
2017 Digital Intelligence Briefing | eConsultancy & Adobe

3. Problem? Perception is Skewed
@ardath421

4. Campaigns Halt Momentum
@ardath421

5. Campaign vs. Continuum
T1 T2 T3 T1 T2 T3
Theme 1: Productivity Theme 2: Efficiency
Dead Air
Why should
I care?
What
happens if
we do
nothing?
What are
our
competitors
doing?
What do I
need to
know?
What are
best
practices?
What are
my choices?
How do we
get
everyone to
agree?
What else
does it
impact?
@ardath421

6. A compelling persona-driven
story motivates your buyer to
take action. Again and again.
@ardath421

7. When a story speaks to buyer’s aspirations; it’s meaningful.
@ardath421

8. #B2BMX
“A story is the only way to activate parts in
the brain so that a listener turns the story
into their own idea and experience.”
Uri Hasson, Princeton neuroscientist
@ardath421

9. Buyer Personas
• Day in the Life
• Objectives / Problems
• Professional Attributes
• Questions
• Obstacles
• Content/Channel Preferences
• Relationships with Stakeholders @ardath421

10. • Context for the objective / problem
• Relationships with stakeholders
• What’s getting in the way
• What’s important to them professionally
A Day in the Life of Your Persona
@ardath421

11. Professional Attributes
• Time in career
• Personality Traits (mentor, detail oriented, creative)
• Background – where did they start? Did they change jobs a lot?
• Influencers – Boss, Peers, Ego
• Frustrations
• How their peers view them & How they view their peers
• Where do they want to go with their career? (climb the ladder, leave a legacy)
@ardath421

12. Questions & Obstacles
Why should
I care?
How will this
affect IT?
Best
Practices?
Security?
Will users
adopt it?
What’s
the TCO?
Value?
@ardath421

13. Build Your Buyer’s Story
Hero
Mentor
(Company)
Villain (Problem,
Naysayers)
Subplots (Buying
Committee)
@ardath421

14. Hero (Buyer)
Has Problem
(Aspiration)
Seeks Solution
(Decides to
Take Action)
Lacks Expertise
(Questions)
Encounters
Obstacles
(What if…?)
Learns from
Mentor (You)
Gains
Consensus
(Climax)
Achieves
Resolution
(Buys)
Develop a Sustainable Storyline
Villain Sub Plot
Sub Plot
Sub Plot
Villain
@ardath421

15. Building the Story
• What does the buyer
need to know to rattle his
security in the status
quo?
• Why should he care?
Trigger
• Given his status quo and
what rattled it, what else
does he need to know?
Seek
Knowledge • What can you help make
happen that will provide
value – from his
perspective?
• What evidence do you
have?
Lacks Expertise
• Who needs to get on
board?
• How will he overcome
obstacles?
Needs
Consensus
@ardath421

16. Orchestrating the Overlays
How can our product
design teams shorten
time to market?
Here’s how a global
collaboration platform
helps designers iterate
faster.
Okay, that’s got
possibilities, but my IT
guy is sticky about
security, given the growth
in data breaches.
Here’s what you need to
know about security for
global collaboration
solutions.
Got it, thanks. But I’m
going to get pushback on
how easy it is to drive
adoption from HR.
We’re hosting a webinar
about how to fast track
user adoption with our
gamification features…
@ardath421

17. @ardath421

18. Help Your
Buyers Binge
@ardath421

19. 2016 Content Preferences Survey | DGR@ardath421

20. Most Websites Impede Bingeing
Products
A
B
Solutions
X
Y
Resources
White
Papers
Videos
Infographics
Webinars
Blog About
History
Team
Customers
Case Studies
@ardath421

21. Content Hubs Invite Bingeing & Sharing
Products
A
B
Solutions
X
Y
Industries
Finance
Technology
Retail
Healthcare
Business
Value
Speed Time to
Market
Drive Growth
with
Collaboration
Increase User
Adoption
By Role
Product
Manager
Human
Resources
IT
Resources
White Papers
Videos
Infographics
Webinars
Blog About
History
Team
Customers
Case Studies
@ardath421

22. Content Hubs: Built for Bingeing
@ardath421 | #MuraCon
Problem-to-Solution Hub
Challenge
Status
Quo and
Validate
the
Problem
Set the
Vision for
Future
State
Educate the Buyer
Answer
Questions
Share Best
Practices
Consensus Content
For Persona B For Persona C
@ardath421

23. Think Evergreen, Not Reinvention
@ardath421
• Note patterns of engagement
• Fill any gaps
• Update any statistics or research
• Freshen calls to action – links to new / different content
• Embrace the continuum
“It is frequent repetition that produces a natural tendency”
Aristotle

24. You are AWESOME!
Ardath Albee, CEO
Marketing Interactions

25. #B2BMX