B2B technology marketers must generate leads. It is the yardstick by which our work is measured. It is our task. The problem is that most technology buyers now say they would do everything possible to avoid becoming a lead.
The ideal situation for a tech marketer would go something like this: a buyer views our content, provides their name and contact details to access that content, reads it, is impressed, and then receives a call from the sales team to close. the deal.
However, the data shows that this is increasingly far from the truth. In LinkedIn research, only 25% of B2B buyers say they are willing to provide information to access interesting content. We are preventing people from taking advantage of our content when they find it interesting.
Today, four out of five employees participate in some phase of the technology purchasing process, and 50% of those purchases never undergo formal approval. As this has become a task that can be done by anyone in the company, it is difficult to know who is really behind a new purchase. And this is because the only thing these buyers have in common is their desire to remain anonymous.
Meet the anonymous buyer
The person who finds your website or who clicks on a post in your feed could fill any position. It could be a sales manager tired of his team complaining about the CRM system, a marketing manager who wants to improve his website’s chat bot, or a developer who wants to update his email system. You could be one of many advanced users who have enough technology knowledge to suggest new solutions to the frustration of your colleagues.
These people are not considered buyers of IT. Their responsibilities do not include approving data sheets or signing checks. They don’t fill out forms, because the last thing they want to do is talk to a salesperson. However, the fact that they are anonymous does not prevent them from researching their options, trying new solutions and making the purchase.
