Great highly relevant article just now in ANA Magazine on the “consumption gap,” which I first thought was reference to an economic concept about people being less materialistic and buying less crap than they need. Like Millennials and Gen Z’ers who are all about experiences vs “stuff.”
But actually, this piece is about how we as B2B marketers need to do a better job of getting the right things to the right people at the right time (that being, quickly). Who could argue with that?
The article is based on a NetLine study on B2B content consumption and demand, which found that the consumption gap, the time between when a piece of content is requested and the moment it is actually opened by a prospect, is getting longer.
Paradoxically, this is happening at a time when it should be getting SHORTER.
Here is the key stat from NetLine: the consumption gap went from 28.7 hours in 2022 to 31.2 hours in 2023, increasing by 8.8%, or 2.5 hours.
So if you’re a B2B marketer who is discouraged by this trend, what are your options?
Make Your Best Content Available On-Demand
Rather than gating valuable content – e-books, checklists, guides, videos…you name it – feature it prominently front and center on your website, social media feed, YouTube, sales collateral or email outreach program. This is a best practice out of Marcus Sheridan’s They Ask, You Answer book and content strategy.
No doubt about it, this takes a leap of faith. Particularly in our world as a B2B Marketing agency where our clients are hesitant to give away anything, most commonly citing the fear of competitors discovering too much about their secret sauce.
But by flipping the entire content paradigm on its head, you actually put yourself at a competitive advantage. Your prospects and people who have digested your content and then visit your site because they are hungry for more, are now better equipped to understand your value proposition, the competitive landscape in which you operate and are much further along to a buying decision than they were before.
Making them wait a day or two until you email them a whitepaper (whether for fear of giving too much away or due to a poorly built process) doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, given that alternative. By then, they've already signed up for a demo with a competitor. Consider asking yourself: if our competitors really wanted to get this information about us, how difficult would that be?
Make it About Them, Not You
StoryBrand by Donald Miller is another important book that our team read for our monthly book club. That strategy also runs against traditional wisdom, like a sharp who bets against the public money, by putting the emphasis on the customer (or prospect) as the hero of the story. The mistake most companies make is believing that THEY are the hero of the story – not the customer. Have you ever gone on a first date with someone who talked about themself the entire time? Did you have a second date with them?
Like those old Choose Your Own Adventure books that were so popular when I was a kid, today’s customers strongly favor the DIY research and buying model, rather than engaging with Sales. People are even purchasing new and used cars from high-rise-sized vending machines these days. Don’t you think they’re ready to download their resource without signing away all their information?
It Must Be Good Enough for your B2B Content Strategy, No?
Still not sure? Need some more data?
OK, wonk out…
- 60% of B2B buyers make the final purchase decision solely based on digital content (Brand Culture)
- Over 80% of buyers say they view at least five articles before making a decision, while 50% of B2B buyers go through at least eight pieces of content (EIGHT PIECES OF CONTENT! – emphasis mine) while purchasing (Brand Culture)
- 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience, strongly favoring self-service and digital channels compared to engaging a salesperson (McKinsey)
- 77% of B2B purchasers said that they would not even speak to a salesperson until they had done their own research (The Corporate Executive Board)
In conclusion, we as B2B marketers need to be doing more to encourage our customers and prospects to get as much information as they need to understand that we have the solution to their pain points. The B2B buying trend should be going in the other direction: Get engaging and persuasive content into the hands of your customers as quickly and frictionlessly (is that a word?) as possible. Make it easier for them to decide they can’t live without you, not harder.
