B2B buyers are self-guiding their purchase journey, consuming more content along their purchase path and involving more stakeholders in the final decision. Therefore, it is necessary for B2B marketing teams to align to this purchase path and to the buying committees. This is not accomplished by creating more content or sending more communication, the key to success is establishing a conversation with your buyers that engages them in a meaningful dialogue and ultimately converts them to a customer.

1. Developing a Conversational
Approach to Generating Demand
Carlos Hidalgo Tom Pick
With: Moderated by:
TO USE YOUR COMPUTER'S AUDIO:
When the webinar begins, you will be connected to audio
using your computer's microphone and speakers (VoIP). A
headset is recommended.
Webinar will begin:
11:00 am, PST
TO USE YOUR TELEPHONE:
If you prefer to use your phone, you must select "Use Telephone"
after joining the webinar and call in using the numbers below.
United States: +1 (562) 247-8321
Access Code: 272-880-894
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the webinar
--OR--

2. 2
Click on the Questions panel to
interact with the presenters

3. About Carlos Hidalgo
CEO & Founder of VisumCx
Carlos Hidalgo is founder and CEO of VisumCx, a Customer Experience Strategy Firm. Carlos has over 20 years’
experience working with B2B organizations in delivering multi-channel customer experience strategies and programs.
Carlos is widely recognized for his expertise in B2B marketing, sales, content and demand generation and is an
international speaker on how organizations need to transform to meet the needs of their customers and buyers.
Carlos is the author of Driving Demand, has been named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead
Management for the last six years and is recognized by Onalytica as the “Most Influential Person in B2B North
America in 2015.”
About Tom Pick
Digital Marketing Consultant, co-founder B2B Marketing Zone
Tom Pick is a digital marketing consultant who's helped dozens of B2B clients improve their business results online. A co-
founder of the B2B Marketing Zone, Tom has been named a Top 50 B2B Marketing Influencer and blogs at
Webbiquity.com.

4. 4
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Demand Generation Defined
“A strategy developed by both marketing and sales to align to their
buyer(s) at every stage of their purchase path using content and
channels that are preferred by their buyer(s) for the purpose of
generation revenue.”
@cahidalgo

5. 5
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Poll Question
How many have demand generation as one of their top priorities in
2018?
@cahidalgo

6. 6
What’s Impacting B2B Demand Generation?
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
@cahidalgo

7. 7
CMOs Are Prioritizing It
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
@cahidalgo

8. 8
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Buyers Purchase In Packs
• 59% of buyers state they
have formal buying groups or
committees to review
purchases.
• 52% of B2B buyers say the
number of buying group
committee members has
increased significantly
6.8 is the average number of
stakeholders
involved in a purchase
Sources: DemandGen Report – CEB, now Gartner@cahidalgo

9. 9
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
How has the length of your B2B purchase cycle
changed, on average, compared with a year ago?
6% INCREASED SIGNFICANTLY
48% INCREASED SOMEWHAT
37% STAYED THE SAME
8% DECREASED SOMEWHAT
1% DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY
Buying Cycles Are Taking Longer
Source: DemandGen Report B2B Buyers Study - 2016@cahidalgo

10. 10
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Buyers Are Driving Their Own Process
Source: CEB, Now Gartner
Customer Purchase Decision Timeline
57%
COMPLETE
@cahidalgo

11. 11
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
The Response By B2B Marketers?
Source: DemandGen Report B2B Buyers Study - 2016

12. 12
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Create & Spend More On Content
@cahidalgo

13. 13
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Purchase More Technology
@cahidalgo

14. 14
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Attempt To Disrupt Our Buyers
@cahidalgo

15. 15
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Most B2B Organizations Are Struggling
Source: ANNUITAS, Inc., “2016 B2B Enterprise Demand Generation Survey.”@cahidalgo

16. 16
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Poll Question
How many would state they are successful with their demand
generation programs?
@cahidalgo

17. 17
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Prevailing Thought Is To Tell A Story

18. 18
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Yet Demand Generation Requires A Conversation
Definition of conversation
1. an informal talk involving two people or a
small group of people : the act of talking
in an informal way
2. something that is similar to a spoken
conversation
Conversation
noun con·ver·sa·tion ˌkän-vər-ˈsā-
shən
@cahidalgo

19. 19
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
The B2B Buying Process Is Not Linear
@cahidalgo

20. 20
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Creating A Conversation Requires Buyer Insight
• Speak directly to customers about their roles, content/channel preferences
and buying journey
• Speak to non-customers/prospects about their roles, content/channel
preferences and buying journey
• Conduct secondary research into your buyers industry/market to identify
trends and potential trigger events
• Speak to sales and customer support as to what they are hearing from
buyers/customers
• Use technology/machine learning to mine your data, gain better vision into
the buying journey and more rapidly identify new roles/personas in the buying
process
@cahidalgo

21. 21
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Questions To Ask To Gain Insight
• What event or challenge presented itself that initiated the
buying process?
• Who is/was involved in the buying process and what roles
did they play on the buying committee?
• What kind of content did you consume during the
process? What type of content do you prefer?
• What channels were used to gather information?
• What problems and challenges were you looking to
address with this purchase?
• What were you looking for in a vendor or solution?
@cahidalgo

22. 22
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Develop Personas of Those In The Buying Committee
@cahidalgo

23. 23
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
What Is Needed For A Persona?
• Description of Role: Not a title – define their day-to-day responsibilities
• Role in Buying Committee: Are they more strategic (part of the decision, budget
holder?) or More tactical (holding influence or gathering information)
• Pain Points and Challenges: What Are The Pain Points They Are Trying To
Address? What Are the Objective of the Purchase?
• Trigger Event: What triggered the purchase process? Think about both internal and
external factors?
• Content Preferences: What forms of content do they prefer?
• Channel Preferences: What channels do they use to gather information and
consume content
• Relationship to Other Personas on Committee: Who will/do they interact with in
regards to the purchase. What common objectives are shared by the buying
stakeholders?
@cahidalgo

24. 24
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Define Buying Milestones
Trigger
Event
Gather Info Biz Case
Defined
Short List Demo/Eval.Requirement
Defined
PurchaseApproval
@cahidalgo

25. 25
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Align the Milestones With Personas & Timeframes
Trigger
Event
Gather Info Biz Case
Defined
Requirement
Defined
• Internal Review of needs
• Interviews with users &
stakeholders
• Qualitative & Quantitative
Analysis
• Content Consumption
• Speaking to Analysts
• Attending live and web events
• Visiting vendor websites
• Documentation of needs &
solution
• Cost benefit analysis
• Internal presentation
1 – 2 Months 1 Month
Personas Involved:
- Finance
- IT
- Marketing
- Sales
Personas Involved:
- IT
- Marketing
Personas Involved:
- Marketing
Personas Involved:
- Marketing
@cahidalgo

26. 26
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Align Content To The Purchase Journey
Early Stage Content Mid Stage Content
Top 10
Things To Consider
Analyst
Study
Industry Trends You
Need to Know
Best Practices
Guide to Analytics
How To Gain Better
Insights Into Your
Buyers
A Guide to Better
Marketing ROI
Marketing
Reporting 101
Benchmark
Research
Study
Education Webinar
Top Marketing ROI
Challenges
Making Sense of
the MarTech Stack
A Guide to Writing
the Right Software
RFP
Guide to Marketing
Revenue KPIs
Guide to Marketing
Revenue KPIs
How Customer Proved
Marketing ROI
Customer
Testimonial
Video/CS
Webinar: How
Product Shows
Mktg. Contribution
Trigger Event Gather Info Biz Case
Defined
Short ListRequirement
Defined
Approval
@cahidalgo

27. 27
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Establish Your Lead Management Process
@cahidalgo
• Lead Qualification: Marketing and sales define and document
every lead stage across the buying process
• Lead Scoring: Marketing and sales define and document the
lead score necessary for every lead qualification stage
• Common Process/Service Level Agreements: Define a
common process between marketing and sales for lead routing
and measurement
• Marketing/Demand Generation Programs: Understanding the
buyer, scoring of content along the purchase journey
• Ongoing Review: Set a quarterly (minimum) cadence to review
measurements and achievement of goals

28. 28
Developing a Conversational Approach to
Generating Demand
Summary
@cahidalgo
• Demand Generation is about marketing AND sales
• Without insight into your buyers, you will struggle to succeed
with demand generation
• This is not an over night fix – it takes time, but the results will be
worth it
• Continually measure and optimize the performance of your
demand generation program

29. 29
Q&A
CEO & Founder of VisumCx
Linkedin page: linkedin.com/in/carlos-hidalgo-4a805a1/
Twitter ID: @cahidalgo
Email: carlos@visumcx.com
Website: https://www.visumcx.com/
Digital Marketing Consultant, Co-Founder
B2B Marketing Zone
Linkedin page: linkedin.com/in/tompick/
Twitter ID: @tompick
Website: https://webbiquity.com/
Carlos Hidalgo
With:
Tom Pick
Moderated by:
www.b2bmarketingzone.com/webinar-series/lead-generation