C-suite executives know that they need to invest in marketing technology to stay competitive. Last year, business leaders allocated 26% of their marketing budgets to marketing technology. Despite this, a lack of understanding of available marketing technology can hinder investment by executives. We’ll take a look at some of the challenges associated with explaining new marketing technology to C-suite executives and how you can get them to choose your notice solution.
Your Audience is Non-Technical
When introducing new marketing technology to retailers or other enterprises, there’s a good chance you’ll be speaking to C-suite executives without an extensive technical background. General management has 56% involvement in technology purchases. To help your less-technical audience understand your solution, gauge their level of knowledge before your presentation and find out what they already know about your solution.
When delivering your pitch, don’t overload listeners with too many details. Focus on your core message and what you want your audience to understand. Stay away from jargon and buzzwords, use visual aids to illustrate your points, and include stories and analogies to create an emotional connection.
Be prepared for standard questions such as those concerning your implementation process and benefits realized by companies already using your solution. Since 70% of technology buyers are likely to discuss solutions or vendors with their professional peers when researching marketing technology, don’t overhype your solution or give half-truths. Stick to your area of expertise, and be a helpful and patient listener.
C-Suite Executives Want Benefits—Not Tech Specs
When evaluating marketing technology, C-suite executives are usually more concerned with how the tool impacts their bottom line than the ins and outs of how it works. 62% of retail businesses cite return on investment as the ultimate metric when buying technology. Consequently, you must be clear on how your technology brings value to marketing efforts.
While you can focus on increased revenue, cost savings, and expected gains, your pitch should be guided by your prospect’s business needs and goals. To understand the business needs of business executives, spend some time with them and learn about their operation, products, customers, and sales channels.
89% of retailers consider between two and five different service providers when evaluating a technology purchase. Make your sales pitch stand out by highlighting what separates your tool from others under consideration. For instance, describe how your technology can be integrated into existing tech stacks, or emphasize scalability and improvements in key metrics such as customer retention and productivity.
CMOs Are Under Pressure
While 16% of CMOs are responsible for leading the execution of their firm’s digital transformation, they tend to have the shortest tenure in the C-suite and are under enormous pressure to show business value. To get noticed in a market of over 7,000 marketing technology solutions, show that you understand what matters to CMOs. Highlight your industry expertise by demonstrating a strong knowledge of the CMO’s business landscape, company needs, and long-term goals to show that you understand their pain points.
Another way to get on a CMO’s radar is by catching their attention with content. 67% of retailers learn about new technology through research. Invest in creating strong educational content that empowers pre-purchase evaluation such as independent research and reviews. We’ll talk more about how to use content to influence purchases in the next section.
Another thing to keep in mind is that CMOs often consult with other stakeholders before making a technology purchase. General management/C-suite (57%) and IT professionals (54%) are the primary decision makers within retail organizations for technology buying. To target the right influencers, find out how your target company is structured and which teams and individuals are involved in the buying process. Also, think about key economic drivers that other stakeholders involved in the purchase process care about and adapt your pitch to get their attention and buy-in. Remember to highlight how your solution fits into the broader technology environment and how utilizing your solution will be a win for everyone.
You May Not Get the Chance to Explain
The pre-buying process tends to be self-driven, and technology buyers may not come to you for information before making a purchase decision. This means you’ll need content to help you present the value of your technology and influence decision makers to choose your solution. 41% of B2B buyers will engage with three or more pieces of content before they ever speak to a salesperson.
When creating content, prioritize your audience’s information needs and craft content based on specific stages of the buyer’s journey. However, keep in mind that agencies and direct to brands have
separate sales journeys. Also, make sure you build an audience persona to deliver content that is relevant and speaks directly to prospects.
Your content should include case studies of how you’ve solved similar challenges, webinars about a specific topic of expertise, and white papers. Deliver content in short formats, use visual and audio content, and organize your content by paint point, industry, and business role. To improve the quality of your content, curb the sales message, create independent content backed by data, and add insights from industry influencers. Consider creating content exclusively for mobile devices.
Content is worthless if prospects don’t get to see it. Leverage paid distribution methods such as sponsored social media content and search engine marketing to get the right content in front of the right decision makers and influencers.
The road to deciphering your Martech solution to C-suite executives doesn’t have to be a difficult one. Use these tips to attract technology purchasers to your product, and don’t disappear once you’ve closed a deal. Provide service and assistance to help them fully utilize your technology and stay ahead of their competitors. Finally, consider upping your product value by educating customers on how they can improve their business long term through the use of your platform and tools.