One of the main “musts” of marketing is to analyze, understand, and address the customer's needs; ultimately, it is individual needs that create demand in markets.
In B2C, individual needs are more easily known as they relate to personal spheres, emotions, ego, etc.
In B2B, the needs of the person are combined with those of the buyer's company, which can exert strong pressures on the former. Depending on the case, the ego plays a less significant role compared to B2C, where it manifests differently and more subtly.
In this post, I do not intend to delve into the psychological aspects – a field outside my expertise – but rather the motivational factors that strongly influence the purchasing decision. These are the needs we must keep in mind when presenting ourselves to our clients, or at least the primary needs.
For each need, we must have ready corresponding arguments, clearly distinguishing the different planes. Here are three, in my opinion the most important, related respectively to the rational, emotional, and ego spheres of the buyer.
Security of choice for the buyer
The new product we are proposing must be at least as reliable as the existing one.
Do we know the competitors' products well enough to compare them and understand their reliability? Is our product genuinely up to the task? The customer will be well-prepared about their product, and there is a risk they may challenge us.
At this stage, it is not about highlighting the quality of our product but its technical, constructional, and functional aspects that make it reliable and capable of competing with the competition.
An anecdote on this: During one of the few trips allowed in 2020, I was in France with a client to propose an injection press for rubber. The French buyer had prepared a checklist of 20 points to verify if our press had at least the same characteristics as the one he already possessed.
this aspect of security relates to the rational sphere of the purchase
Minimizing the buyer's risk
The buyer fears risk for themselves as they are part of a hierarchy that oversees them; this is a delicate situation that we do not ponder enough.
do we take care to create conditions of peace of mind for the buyer, or do we limit ourselves to praising our products?
Here, quality comes into play: it must be highlighted with very objective arguments so that the buyer can sleep soundly. This is an important psychological barrier that needs to be overcome. It is essential to be well-prepared on quality tests and the topic of warranties, service, spare parts, etc., i.e., the conditions related to our management of the sales and post-sales cycle of the product, whether technical or not (a machine or a jogging shoe makes no difference).
This aspect is related to the emotional sphere of the purchase: fear and mistrust towards the new – in this case, the reliability of the new supplier – are indeed emotional aspects. This happens to us too when we buy something important, right?
Providing an additional advantage, at least one
The new product must allow growth for the buyer through achieving an additional benefit. This makes the convenience felt, a powerful lever for purchase. Furthermore, the buyer will look good in front of colleagues and superiors.
Do we have arguments in this sense? Otherwise, the buyer is unlikely to change suppliers. A list of benefits should be prepared, which can relate to direct product advantages or the ability to provide indirect benefits, from logistics to packaging, from product upgrades to its innovative content.
This aspect relates to the Ego, understood as the belief of making a good deal and having done good for the company, thus gaining personal advantage.
What has been said above may seem obvious, but many companies do not have the necessary tools and fail to hit the target.
The three analyzed aspects can be the subject of a narrative in three distinct moments and directed at the three spheres of the buyer's "personality": they guide the client into our world without distrust, increasing curiosity and willingness to purchase.
This is particularly true for building a relationship with potential clients – who know nothing about us – by implementing a strategy of gradual approach: the more expensive the good, the more in-depth the analyses of the buyer's multifaceted dimension and the actual value of our proposal must be.
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