Why Buyer Enablement is Critical in the B2B Buying Process

Summary

Synopsis:

Buyer enablement has become an essential element of B2B sales and marketing strategies
How buyer enablement simplifies the B2B buying process
The key components of a buyer enablement strategy

Buyer enablement is a vital strategy for adapting to the evolving B2B purchasing process, as it increases in complexity as a result of economic uncertainty and heightened buyer scrutiny.

This has driven the expansion of buying committees and the lengthening of sales cycles, with 77% of buyers now rating the buying process as challenging or difficult (Gartner, 2024).

Indeed, buyer scrutiny has created a greater emphasis on independent research and evaluation, as buyers spend almost 70% in this phase collaborating with other buying group members (6sense, 2024). In addition, 96% of buyers engage with an average of seven to eight sources before making contact with a sales development representative (State of Sales Report, 2024).

Therefore, supporting prospective buyers with relevant resources and information throughout this portion of the buyer’s journey is critical for securing lasting interest and winning their first point of contact.

This article explores four key areas of buyer enablement:

The role of buyer enablement

Content and messaging

Lead
nurturing

Sales
strategies

WHAT IS BUYER ENABLEMENT?

Buyer enablement is a strategic approach in which organisations provide potential clients with the necessary tools, information, and support to facilitate their buying process. In contrast to traditional sales and marketing techniques, buyer enablement prioritises supporting independent buyer-led research.

As a key element of high-quality demand generation, buyer enablement is focused on the delivery of targeted information to improve the understanding of the challenges facing buyers at both an individual and organisational level—and finding potential solutions.

Effective buyer enablement strategies target multiple stakeholders simultaneously (also known as multi-threading) to address their unique priorities and needs. Buying groups have expanded to an average of 4-10 members (Voice of the Buyer, 2024), making this an essential strategy for ensuring that key stakeholders are not forgotten.

The ultimate goal of buyer enablement is to foster deeper interaction through relevant content and personalised communication, building trust and reducing friction from the buying process. It positions companies as industry authorities, resulting in increased conversion rates and higher client lifetime value (CLTV).

The role of buyer enablement in the B2B buyer's journey

Due to prolonged sales cycles and the involvement of multiple stakeholders, the B2B buyer’s journey is becoming increasingly non-linear.

As a result, decision makers often revisit previous stages during the purchasing process as they evaluate different vendors and involve more members from the buying group. Therefore, buyer enablement strategies should allow buyers the flexibility to seamlessly transition between different funnel/buying journey stages.

The B2B buying process by funnel stage:

As buying groups navigate each stage of the buying journey, additional decision makers are introduced, engaging across multiple channels. This can result in a sales cycle spanning up to 640 interactions per vendor.

73% of B2B buyers value the ability to seamlessly communicate across multiple channels (Zendesk, CX Trends report, 2023). Therefore, an effective buyer enablement strategy should employ an omnichannel marketing approach that allows stakeholders to interact through touch points without needing to restart the process.

Ensure seamless communication using an omnichannel approach

The 4 components of buyer enablement

Buyer enablement requires providing relevant content to support decision making, clear messaging that conveys a brand’s unique value proposition (UVP), effective lead nurturing, and deploying strategic sales engagement throughout the buyer’s journey.

This section explores the four key components of buyer enablement, how to implement them, and how each contributes to performance.

#1 Content

Content is the foundation of buyer enablement strategies. As most buying group members consume between four and ten pieces of content per sales cycle, compelling assets are integral to informing and influencing stakeholder decision making.

If relevant and valuable, content can simplify the purchasing process by providing materials to guide stakeholders—either shared to them through outreach, or consumed as part of buyer-led research.

The impact of buyer enablement is clear. Research reveals that clients are three times more likely to close on a larger deal when they receive valuable insights throughout the purchasing process (Gartner, 2024).

By coordinating resources with each stage in the buyer’s journey, buyer enablement strategies can better accommodate the needs and challenges of all buying group members.

Below is an example of how content can be aligned with the needs of each buying group member:

Influencer/
Initiator

Need

Identify potential solutions for the organisation’s challenges

Content type

Educational content (articles, guides, infographics), whitepapers, industry research

Content goal

Increase awareness of UVP and the likelihood of the initiator proposing the brand’s solution

Manager

Need

Assessing cost, quality, implementation, and ROI

Content type

Content focused on in-depth benefits of the solution (webinars, eBooks, free tools)

Content goal

Provide detailed information to support research and position the brand as an authority

Operational and
IT professionals

Need

Usability, risk, ease of integration

Content type

Technical demos, presentations, technical content hubs

Content goal

Address implementation, compatibility, and security concerns by providing detailed technical information

C-level
executive

Need

Risk, ROI, tech stack integration, and contribution to the organisation’s strategic needs

Content type

Detailed proposals, personalised product information, case studies

Content goal

Streamline the research required from executives and demonstrate how proposed solutions will help companies' challenges and affect the bottom line

Financial
manager

Need

Cost, ROI, risk, contribution to the organisation’s goals

Content type

Testimonials, case studies, detailed competition comparison charts, one-on-one consultations

Content goal

Demonstrate the ROI of solutions and how they compare to competitors

Discover how to engage the entire buying group to secure the first point of contact

In addition to tailoring strategies to meet the needs of each buying group member, it is essential to consider the channels through which content will be distributed.

Each stakeholder within a buying group consumes information according to their preferences and role, making it critical to distribute content through a mix of marketing channels aligned with their buyer’s journey.

For instance, email campaigns can be highly effective for delivering detailed proposals and personalised content directly to decision makers. However, social media platforms are more effective for sharing educational articles and industry insights that attract and engage early-stage influencers and initiators.

As such, this is another area where an omnichannel approach holds an important function within buyer enablement strategies, by reducing friction and allowing stakeholders to access the information they need.

Explore how to establish a compelling omnichannel presence in 5 steps

#2 How nurturing supports buyer enablement

Lead nurturing involves supplying prospects with resources and support to facilitate their independent research, making it an integral component of buyer enablement.

By doing so, an effective nurturing strategy builds a relationship with the prospect while simultaneously increasing funnel velocity by simplifying the purchasing process.

As the majority of B2B sales cycles now last more than six months, lead nurturing is essential for ensuring that buyers are engaged and actively encouraged to progress toward making a purchase decision.

To implement a lead nurturing strategy that enables buyers:

Collect intelligence

Nurturing strategies require a robust database of data insights to adequately meet the complexity of the buying process. Gather data through direct communication with your prospects, search intent data, surveys, and feedback from your sales teams. This data will allow you to identify the in-market status of your prospective buyers and inform nurturing strategies based on their intent and interests.

Learn how to use intent data effectively

Personalise

By segmenting your audience based on criteria such as industry, company size, role, and stage in the buyer's journey, you can provide stakeholders with materials that address their unique challenges and requirements.

For example, C-level executives could be delivered content that focuses on strategic impact and long-term ROI. Similarly technical professionals could be provided materials that explore product specifications, integration capabilities, and security features.

Discover how to develop personalised strategies for each buying group member

Provide SME support

Effective lead nurturing strategies should go beyond addressing knowledge gaps and should focus on sharing expertise focused on the goals of buyers. Position your team as valuable subject matter experts (SMEs) by providing tailored assistance throughout the buyer’s journey.

This could include offering consultations where your team can assess the specific technical challenges being faced by buyers and recommend tailored solutions. This way your teams can solidify your brand’s expertise and reinforce your UVP.

For example, in the case of a technical professional requiring more details on your solution’s integration capabilities, offering a consultation allows for a far more personalised approach than simply sharing resources.

Implement behaviour-based triggers

Behaviour-based triggers enable you to deliver highly personalised content and support to prospects based on their engagement patterns. Analysing intent data, such as the pages and topics buyers are focused on, can be leveraged to establish automatic actions aligned with buyer interests.

Below is an example of a behaviour-based trigger

Action: A prospect downloads a whitepaper on a specific challenge
Trigger: Send a follow-up email with relevant content
Strategy: Add prospect to a nurture flow that leverages content. For example, case studies that demonstrate how your solution has helped other companies overcome the same challenge. These assets offer deeper insights and validate the effectiveness of your solution in similar scenarios

It is important to note that, as a part of the nurturing strategy, outreach should be focused on buyer enablement and not on driving for an immediate sale. Sales teams should utilise nurturing to provide additional resources, personalised guidance, and answer questions prospects might have.

Contact our demand experts to craft a nurturing strategy that drives conversions

Optimise based on performance

Evaluating the performance and timeliness of your content, tools, and outreach efforts can inform improvements to your lead nurturing— and better support your prospects through their buyer’s journey as a result.

Implementing this process establishes a feedback loop. Insights from performance analysis guide the data collection process, which, in turn, serve as a basis for your future strategies.

Below is an example of a lead nurturing feedback loop:

Lead nurturing does not end at the purchase stage. To ensure long-term client success and decrease churn rates, organisations should regularly provide their clients with resources and content tailored to their needs. This drives buyer enablement after the sale, contributes to increased client lifetime value (CLTV), and creates client expansion opportunities.

Drive your conversions with our lead nurturing guide

#3 Sales

Today's buyers rely on a variety of sources when making purchasing decisions including online research, peer reviews, industry publications, and advisors. Consultants have also gained prominence as a buyer resource due to their ability to provide tailored guidance and resolve uncertainty.

This is as a result of an increased preference for personalised support, changing how buyers view sales teams. 87% of B2B buyers now expect sales representatives to act as advisors (State of Sales, 2024).

As part of a broader buyer enablement approach, sales teams can accommodate the requirements of modern buyers by acting as consultants evaluating specific challenges prospects face, and outlining solutions to address them. The shift from selling to problem-solving reduces friction in the buying process by providing tailored guidance and encouraging prospects to return to sales teams for support.

Establishing this dynamic helps to position your brand as a trusted partner and contributes to higher conversion rates.

To increase the effectiveness of the role of sales teams in buyer enablement:

Ensure alignment between sales and marketing teams: Establish regular communication, feedback loops, and data flows between teams. This will enable both teams to benefit from shared insights and result in better buyer experiences.
Provide technical guidance: Sales teams can support prospects lower down in the funnel by ensuring they are provided the technical details they need. This also presents sales teams with the opportunity to deliver personalization and frame the value proposition of solutions in a compelling way that highlights a dedication to facilitating the process and enabling buyers to achieve their goals.
Offer free reviews: Providing an assessment can be a valuable tool for building trust—however, this must be executed based on assisting buyers and not pushing for sales. This approach positions your brand as a partner rather than a simple vendor.

Sales teams can support buyer enablement strategies by assuming a buyer-centric, consultative role. This helps to de-risk solutions and encourages prospects to re-engage with their brand, securing valuable positioning.

#4 Messaging

Consistent messaging across all touchpoints is essential for delivering a seamless buying experience. Successfully aligning messaging across inbound and outbound strategies establishes a cohesive narrative, reinforces the value of solutions, and promotes trust.

A single stakeholder, on average, interacts with a brand across 16 touchpoints per sales cycle (6sense, 2023). Uniform messaging across all channels is central to enabling decision makers to understand and communicate the brand's proposition to other buying group members.

To ensure clear and consistent messaging you should:

Anchor messaging with clear value: Your brand messaging should be constructed around a core value that directly addresses the key challenges faced by your prospective buyers. This should be easily identifiable across all touchpoints to demonstrate a deep understanding of your ideal buyer’s needs.

A well-defined unique value proposition (UVP) is essential in differentiating your offering from competitors, and should be consistent across all messaging.

Create a UVP that sets you apart from the competition

Ensure cohesive messaging: Keeping a unified voice and tone throughout all communications is essential for building brand recognition and trust. Through all touchpoints, the voice should reflect the brand’s identity, personality, and values while remaining uniform in style.

Anchor your messaging by creating a style guide

Segment your audience: Segmenting your audience enables you to tailor communication around the needs and concerns of different decision makers within buying groups. Dividing stakeholders by their role in the buying group ensures that each decision maker receives messaging that directly addresses their pain points, making your proposition more compelling, and increasing the likelihood of a favourable decision.

Discover how to segment and target stakeholders

Consistent messaging that communicates your brand's value is integral to buyer enablement, as it enables stakeholders to understand, recall, and confidently advocate for your brand's solutions during internal discussions.

Buyer enablement resources

Below are key resources to help you plan and execute a buyer enablement strategy:

Developing
ICPs

Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

Content planning and creation

Omnichannel strategy

Key takeaways

Below are essential insights on why buyer enablement is crucial:

Buyer preferences have shifted toward independent research. This, combined with a non-linear buyer journey and expanding buying groups, has increased the complexity of B2B purchasing
Buyer enablement strives to simplify the complex purchasing process by providing adequate information to all members of the buying group
To support buyer-led research, sales teams should assume a consultative role and reduce friction by providing easy access to information and support
Maintaining consistent messaging is essential for enabling decision makers to recall and to advocate for your solutions