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Bob Sherlock
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Recent Posts
What CEOs Should Look for in a B2B Manufacturing CMO: Part 2
In my previous post, we discussed the importance of hiring a CMO who understands the buying process. Someone who can identify the customer’s pain points and what they need to move forward at each stage of the buying process. Now, let’s consider the role of emotion in influencing the buyers’ decision and how that applies.
Appealing to Emotions
Although it’s easy to think otherwise, emotions play a role in both B2B and B2C marketing. And, yes, that even applies to industrial buyers! When industrial buyers won’t take a risk, that can be an emotional decision.
They don’t want to risk the consequences that come with a bad decision—being viewed poorly in their job, adding even more tasks to an already full workload, or even losing their job by going with the lesser-known alternative. After all, haven’t we all heard that “nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM?”
Sold, not Bought: The Marketing of Unfamiliar Solutions
Mon, Nov 20, 2017 — Several years ago I met Davis, an executive in Ohio, who segmented his product lines into “Bought, not Sold” and “Sold, not Bought.” “Bought” products, he said, were familiar to prospective buyers. They had self-diagnosed what they needed and self-prescribed a product solution for that need. Often, they’d previously purchased a product in the category. By contrast, a “Sold” product presented an unfamiliar solution—so the prospect couldn’t self-prescribe, and may not have self-diagnosed. In fact, their need could be latent and wouldn’t be recognized without prompting.