In this episode, Forefront SVP CJ Lengua sits down with VP and Head of Content Sam Belden to recap Sam’s recent Marketing Insights blog, “Fintech Marketing in Action: Supporting the B2B Fintech Buyer’s Journey”. A concept employed across various industries, the buyer’s journey is a view of the sales funnel from a prospect’s perspective, encompassing three key steps that figure into just about every purchasing decision.
Sam and CJ walk our audience through each phase of the buyer’s journey and highlight some key marketing strategies and tactics that can help you close more deals and prime your business for growth:
Fintech Buyer’s Journey Phase 1: Awareness
At this phase, prospects have recognized that they are facing a business challenge, but they may not have taken any steps toward solving it. It’s important to make these prospects feel seen; they’ll respond best to marketing that clearly articulates the problems they are facing and offers some considerations for identifying a workable solution. By sowing these seeds and increasing your visibility among your target audience, you’ll stand out from the crowd and position yourself to be a prospect’s first call when they do decide to take action. Key tactics: high-level educational content, SEO, paid social, PR and events.
Fintech Buyer’s Journey Phase 2: Consideration
At this phase, prospects have made a basic plan for how to solve their challenge, so your firm should shift its focus to differentiating itself from the competition and highlighting why your product is the best choice among seemingly (or legitimately) similar offerings. Here, product-level education is key – from a content perspective, you should increase your focus on specific features and functionality. Key tactics: detailed product blogs and case studies, professional-looking sales materials, targeted email marketing and organic social (for subtle reinforcement).
Fintech Buyer’s Journey Phase 3: Decision
By now, you’ve acknowledged the prospect’s challenges, answered product-level questions and consistently reinforced your brand and messaging along the way. Now it’s up to the prospect to determine whether your offering is the right choice – and the final decision is ultimately out of marketers’ hands. Once you’ve closed the deal, however, marketing can help maximize the value of these successful conversions by promoting the client relationship, both immediately and in the future. Furthermore, remaining highly engaged with the client in the post-decision period will fuel further confidence and enhance your reputation, helping to bring more prospects through the door in the future. Key tactics: press releases, case studies, testimonials, “client spotlight” social content.
Done correctly, these highly targeted marketing efforts can add incredible value at every step of the B2B fintech buyer’s journey – but it requires significant investment, extensive collaboration with the sales team and solid foundational elements like your brand and website. It’s all part of the value of an integrated approach to marketing and communications. To learn more about Forefront’s offerings, visit our Services page or drop us a line.
See below for a breakdown of what was discussed. Happy listening!
Timestamps:
0:57 – An overview of the buyer’s journey
2:47 – Awareness: how to build brand awareness among your prospects
6:50 – Consideration: how to differentiate your offerings from the competition
10:31 – Decision: how marketing can maximize the value of new client relationships
14:32 – The uniqueness of sales cycles and the importance of thinking outside the box
