Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog, “Reviewing The Buyer’s Perspective”

Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Reviewing The Buyer's Perspective" examines the methodology, needs, and key indicators corporate buyer's seek from potential vendors. Most marketers and salespeople understand how to promote and sell their products and services. However, in the B2B corporate world, corporate buyers are under the gun to make insightful buying decisions which ensure that the organization's investments are sound and produce positive outcomes.

For the sake of reviewing a corporate buyer's requirements, this post will focus on the corporate print buyer. B2B print buyers consider a host of areas in the decision-making process. Purchasing from a vendor that fails to deliver on a print contract, reduces that buyer's integrity within the organization, not to mention places a stain on the print vendor. Therefore, print vendors should take a more omni-channel approach by ensuring that all of the pain points and deliverables are well within the scope of the print buyer's concerns, including making it convenient for the buyer to conduct business with the print organization.

Print Buyers Are People Too

To begin with, corporate print buyers have lives beyond the corporate world. Beyond the demanding job requirements, print buyers, like the rest of us, are in pursuit of personal interests, such as sports, social or financial goals, coupled with specifics the buyer's organization demands of that buyer. Given today's demanding lifestyles, especially when combined with family responsibilities, you can surmise that print buyers, like the rest of us, require convenience when making print buying decisions.

The art of closing a sale primarily focuses on a vendor being able to convince a prospective buyer that they have the right solution. However, due to the tight deadlines, buyers perform under, vendors that can offer a seamless, all-inclusive approach that solves challenges while simultaneously making a buyer's life more convenient will win and keep the business.

Recognizing the Buying Process Stages

Before we identify the persona of the buyer, let's recall the various stages in the buying process. A buyer typically recognizes that there is a problem (1), and then try to understand the problem (2) so that they can start the process. Once the first two are complete, the buyer moves on to product specification (3). Generally, product specification represents both the problem and a preliminary solution. Once the buyer understands what is needed, the buyer will then identify who among their preferred vendors can deliver the solution (4). If the current vendor list does not provide a qualified vendor, the buyer will conduct a vendor search.

A search for a qualified vendor usually begins with a proposal solicitation (5). This step involves the buyer sending out a request for a proposal (RFP) from qualified vendors to address the problem as identified by the buyer. The resulting responses from multiple vendors should result in the selection of a vendor (6). If a vendor meets the criteria, the buyer would notify the vendor and place an order with the required specifications (7). The buyer will evaluate the purchase and fulfillment during a performance review (8).

The purpose of the last step is to ensure that the order met all of the specifications, including completeness, timeliness, quality, and other criteria. Keep in mind that these are the eight stages of the buying process. However, all things being equal, some buyers may want to factor in other considerations that could tip the scale and add extra value before the vendor selection.

Identifying the Buyer's Persona

Let's take a look at a hypothetical corporate print buyer persona. The biography of say Martin contains these attributes; demanding and continuously in search of what may be in the transaction that has a direct benefit for the organization and Martin! Martin is under constant work pressure and looks for solutions that will simplify his life. Martin's lifestyle interests include sports, social, and financial. Lifestyle interests aside, Martin is on a mission. He needs vendors that are responsive, competitive, and known for producing high-quality results in a timely fashion.

While Martin seeks the best price and is cognizant of a budget, his primary concern is quality. Further, Martin is an extrovert, who uses his intuition more than his sensibility, tends to think through the process rather than going with his gut, will judge the vendors based on the criteria versus the relationship, and, ultimately demands loyalty, fair pricing, and adherence to deadlines. In other words, Martin, the person must also be taken into consideration if you are trying to sell your wares.

Other Buying Traits Often Overlooked

What are Martin's goals, frustrations, motivations, and current needs? While Martin represents an organization that rewards employee contributions according to a business model that achieves goals, he also hopes to move up in the organization. Moving up in the corporate world, frequently requires that an employee's contribution receive recognition from the higher brass.

In Martin's case, his goals are more deliberate and person. He wants to spend as little time as possible solidifying partners and vendors, albeit he wants to maximize his contribution to the organization, and most importantly, he wants recognition for selecting the right/best print, mail and marketing partner.

Buyer Motivations

Most print buyers share a standard set of traits in terms of what motivates them. In Martin's case, his motivations are speed (10), high quality (9), convenience (8), and price (7). In Martin's case, while he is attentive to price concerns, speed, high quality, and convenience are more important. Therefore, Martin is concerned about price, but the price is not his primary motivation. Speed, high quality, and convenience are more significant to Martin.

Print salespeople that take the extra step to understand a buyer's motivational buttons, like those exhibited by Martin, would do well to avoid leading with a pricing statement, and instead would fare much better by taking time to develop and nurture a value statement based on the buyer's driving motivational factors.

Pricing & Diversity

All buyers share a commonality in terms of identifying the best price model. However, when quality is the primary consideration, pricing can increase if it can be justified.

Often, buyers for government, nonprofits, and other socially conscious organizations will also factor in diversity as a selection metric. That may be diversity at the decision table, possibly from the vendor pool the buyer solicits, or it may be a law or best practice. Diversity has become a critical metric in some cases, as diverse workplaces generate 19% more revenue than non-diverse organizations. Further, diverse vendors tend to generate more revenue, as multicultural teams outperform competitors that lack diversity by a whopping 35 percent.

The Net-Net

It is essential for vendors and their salespeople to have a comprehensive overview of their prospective corporate buyers. When vendors understand the particular pain points and expectations of the buyer persona, positive sales outcomes tend to be more likely.

Lastly, when looking at reducing costs and increasing productivity, selecting qualified diverse vendors will significantly aid in the quest for a win-win between corporate buyers and the chosen vendors. Thanks for reading "Reviewing The Buyer's Perspective."

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