The Importance of an ICP

An ICP is not just a sales tool. It’s a strategic blueprint that guides your marketing approach, enabling you to tailor your messaging, decide on communication channels, and inform content creation. Furthermore, it guides product development, ensuring that your product or service evolves in response to your ideal customers’ needs and wants. Moreover, having a well-drawn ICP significantly aids in decision-making, helping you to allocate resources to where they will be most effective.

It’s not just about finding customers but about finding the right customers—those potential customers who derive real value from your offering. This leads to higher lifetime value, lower churn rates, and more potential for expansion.

Setting the Stage: The Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Before zeroing in on your ICP, you must understand the bigger picture—your Total Addressable Market (TAM). TAM helps you evaluate the total potential customers or the maximum revenue opportunity for your product or service.

Identifying the TAM puts into perspective the “bigger picture” of the market you’re operating in. It gives you a clearer understanding of what your market looks like and what potential it holds—crucial information when deciding on your business’s strategic direction.

Questions that guide this understanding include:

• Is it an existing or a “new” market?
• What is currently happening in the marketplace?
• How big is the market? (What is the total expenditure in the market?)
• What major trends are influencing the market?

ICP vs. Buyer Persona

Often, the terms “ICP” and “Buyer Persona” get used interchangeably, though in reality, they serve different purposes. While an ICP focuses on the organizational traits and behaviors that make up your ideal customer, a buyer persona focuses on the individual decision-makers within those organizations, giving them personality and behavioral traits. The ICP guides your sales process to the right doors, while the buyer persona guides your interaction with the individuals behind those doors.

Building an Effective ICP Framework

After recognizing the bigger picture with TAM and understanding the difference between an ICP and a buyer persona, the next step is to build out your ICP. This involves your marketing team utilizing your existing customer data to identify common characteristics among your best customers. These characteristics could include firmographics such as size and industry, as well as specific challenges they are trying to overcome, and the solutions they seek. This information will give you a solid foundation for creating a detailed ICP.

Step 1: Utilizing Existing Customer Data

Start by analyzing your existing customer base. Identify your best customers and recognize what characteristics they share. These characteristics could include firmographics such as size and industry, as well as specific challenges they are trying to overcome and the solutions they seek. This information will give you a solid foundation for creating a detailed ICP.

Step 2: Mapping Tiers

Having identified common characteristics, you can then plot different tiers based on these patterns. For example, amongst medical manufacturing companies, you could have tiers ranging from large-scale enterprises to startups and design houses.

Step 3: Drill Down into the Tier

For each of the tiers identified, you want to dig deeper to understand their specific characteristics. This involves identifying traits such as the size of the organization, geography, product type, and lifetime value, amongst others. The more detailed your ICP, the more valuable it will be for your sales and marketing efforts.

For instance, within a Tier 1 company, you might have:

• Company Size: 1,000-5,000+ employees
• Industry: Medical Equipment Manufacturing
• Annual Revenue: $17 Billion
• Geography: North America, Europe, Asia
• Product Type: Portable Medical Equipment
• Lifetime Value: $8 Million ($⅕ Million annually)
• Pain Volume: Mid-High (existing vendors often have a need for affordable and increasingly competitive complementary products)
• Speed to Close: 6 months to 3 years
• Stakeholder Buying Committee (Complexity): 5-10 Stakeholders
• Pricing Strategy: SLG
• Macro Trend: Need to innovate and differentiate products more aggressively as market grows and becomes more saturated

Step 4: Creating a Fit Matrix

The final step involves creating a fit matrix for your ideal customer profiles. Based on their pain points, deal size, the complexity of their buying process (speed to close), number of stakeholders, digital impact, macro trend, and product fit, this matrix will help prioritize your marketing and sales efforts.

Using the Ideal Customer Profile to Identify High-Quality Leads

Once you’ve defined your ICP, you can leverage it to qualify potential leads visiting your site. Those potential customers with characteristics that match your ICP should be prioritized. This way, you align your sales process and marketing efforts with the customers most likely to convert, allowing for the most efficient use of resources.

Sales and Marketing Strategies Derived from the ICP

Your ICP can serve as a cornerstone for your sales and marketing strategies. It allows you to create personalized content and campaigns tailor-made for your ideal customers. Your ICP can also help you identify new markets and develop your product strategies

Revisiting Your ICP: An Ongoing Process

Creating an ICP is not a one-time activity. With the dynamic nature of markets, customer preferences, and business goals, your ICP will require regular revisits and revisions. As market conditions change, customer preferences evolve, and your business goals shift, your ICP will also need to adapt. Regularly revisiting and updating your ICP ensures your sales process and marketing strategies remain effective and focused.

Creating an Ideal Customer Profile is not a destination but a journey—an ongoing strategy that guides your business toward success. The process might seem challenging, but the insights gained can lead to more efficient marketing campaigns, better-aligned products, and a more profitable business.

So, if you haven’t started defining your ICP yet, there’s no better time than now. Embrace the journey and watch as it leads you to a deeper understanding of your ideal customers, more targeted marketing and sales efforts, and sustained business growth.

The post What is an ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): A Deep Dive into Crafting Your Perfect Customer Profile appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

Feeling the heat?

Relax, you’re not alone. Picture this blog as that reassuring colleague patting you on the back, saying, “You’ve got this.”

As we move into the final quarter it’s all about quick wins, and to achieve your quick wins you’ve got to start by honing in on your “lowest hanging fruit” — that is, the ICP that is most likely to buy.

Read on to learn why and how to find your strongest ICP. As a bonus, we’ve included a downloadable checklist so you can get started refining your IPC right away.

[Click here for the downloadable checklist.]

Why Identifying the Strongest Ideal Customer Profile Matters in Q4

In the sprint towards year-end goals, precision is your ally. Zooming in on your most promising ICP can be a game-changer:

• Resource Efficiency: In Q4, resources need to be allocated with laser precision. Targeting the strongest ICP ensures you utilize your marketing budget effectively.

Example: Consider a SaaS startup providing project management solutions. By focusing on ICPs from industries with complex project needs (e.g., IT services, consulting), they allocated their ad spend more effectively, leading to a 25% higher conversion rate.

• Tailored Strategies: As the year concludes, tailored strategies are imperative. A strong ICP allows you to craft messaging and campaigns that resonate profoundly.

Example: Imagine a marketing agency focusing on ICPs seeking personalized digital strategies. By tailoring marketing collateral and outreach to emphasize personalization, they observed a 30% increase in engagement and inquiries.

How to Identify the Strongest ICP for Your Q4 Goals

To pinpoint your strongest Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and pave the way for a successful Q4, you need an informed approach. Understanding who your ideal perfect customers are involves comprehensive research and analysis. Here’s a helpful roadmap to guide you in this vital exploration: (If you’ve never done ICP research for your B2B, take a moment to jump into our article on the topic: “Creating an Ideal Customer Profile that Works: A Guide for B2Bs”).

Researching the Right Customers:

1. Customer Surveys and Interviews:
   • Conduct structured surveys or interviews with your current customers to understand their needs, pain points, and what led them to choose your product or service.
2. Competitor Analysis:
   • Analyze the customer base of your competitors (i.e.: your potential customers) within your industry to identify patterns and preferences.
3. Website Analytics:
   • Utilize your website analytics to study your visitor behavior on site (for example, what pages are visited most often, what pages they visit prior to submitting a “contact us” form and becoming a quality lead, etc.),. Also explore your sources of web traffic, and which segments of the audience are most engaged when on your site.
4. Social Media Insights:
   • Leverage social media analytics to gather insights into the demographics, interests, and interactions of the portions of your audience you identify as high-quality leads. List everything you can find that might be relevant.
5. Sales Data Analysis:
   • Analyze your sales data to identify trends and characteristics of customers who have made purchases, including the industries they represent, purchase frequency, and typical purchase value.
6. Customer Support Feedback:
   • Review feedback and queries received by your customer support team to understand common concerns and issues faced by customers. Your most valuable customers can tell you a lot about your target market and your ideal customer — learn from them via your customer success team, and even consider conducting in-depth customer interviews to gain more insight.
7. Industry Reports and Publications:
   • Explore industry-specific reports and publications to understand the evolving needs and challenges within your target industries so that you can refine your content and even increase your customer lifecycle.

Stakeholders to Research:

• End Users: Understand the individuals who directly use your product or service and their pain points. While they may not be your potential buyer, their happiness matters to their procurement team, and they’ll be your product’s greatest evangelist — as well as the stakeholder likely to be the most informed about the market.
• Decision Makers: Identify those who have the authority to make purchasing decisions within organizations. This is a key ICP to develop a buyer persona profile for. Develop an understanding of how they make their purchasing decisions — and what factors they must consider.
• Influencers: Determine individuals or groups that influence purchasing decisions or shape opinions in your industry. This could be someone within your target market’s companies or it could be an industry leader, trendsetter, or “public voice”.
• Industry Experts: Research professionals with deep insights into your industry, as their perspectives, can provide valuable guidance.

By employing these research methods and thoroughly examining various stakeholders, you’ll gain invaluable insights to tailor your marketing strategies and hone in on your strongest ICP for a successful Q4.

Maximizing Your Highly Tailored ICPs: Strategies for Marketing Success in Q4

Once you’ve identified your strongest Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs), it’s time to supercharge your Q4 marketing strategy. Tailoring your approach to these high-potential segments can be a game-changer. Here’s how to optimize your efforts and achieve a streamlined approach from start to finish.

1. Efficient Budget Allocation:

To maximize the impact of your Q4 marketing, allocate your budget wisely. Campaigns always take time and money — so organize wisely and cultivate the patience to wait for things to work.

Consider the following distribution for optimal results:

• ? Awareness (20%): Capture the attention of potential decision makers, but keep the focus sharp. They are in the periphery, getting ready to make choices. While awareness is a crucial stage of the funnel — it’s not where we recommend you invest in Q4 — this season is about converting those that are most likely to buy not focusing on those who haven’t heard of you yet.
• ? Consideration (30%): Engage with decision-makers more intensively. They are in the evaluation stage, considering your offerings. These highly likely future customers would appreciate tailored content that showcases your value against your competitors and explains why choosing you is the right choice. Put some effort into inbound marketing here, just to keep the funnel flowing.
• ? Decision (50%): Channel a significant portion here. This is where you’ll find your prospective customers — and it’s where your marketing team (and eventually your sales team) should put their primary energy (and budget). Decision makers are prepared to buy; your strategies should seal the deal effectively and efficiently.

In the final stretch, it’s all about focusing your resources where it truly matters. The decision-makers are the sprinters, ready to take that final leap into a purchase.

2. Tailored Marketing Strategies:

Now is not the time for batching full-funnel content or launching complicated campaigns. Bring sharp focus to your marketing efforts — and make sure they speak directly to those potential buyers who are the most primed for your product.

• Personalized Messaging: Craft messaging that directly addresses the pain points, needs, and aspirations of your ICP at each stage of their buyer’s journey, with extra weight on the “Decision” stage.
• Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Implement ABM strategies to target high-value accounts within your ICP, customizing campaigns and interactions for a more personalized experience. Reaching out to where they are with valuable offers during this busy season can often prove very fruitful.
• Content Segmentation and Customization: Tailor your content for different segments of your ICP, ensuring that each piece addresses specific concerns and interests.

3. Building a Marketing Machine:

• Automation and Marketing Technology: Leverage marketing automation tools to streamline and personalize communication with your ICP at scale, ensuring no leads fall through the cracks. (Spoiler: it’s never too late to build a MarTech stack!)
• Lead Nurturing Sequences: Develop automated lead nurturing sequences that guide your ICP through their buyer’s journey, providing relevant content and touchpoints.
• Sales and Marketing Alignment: Align your sales and marketing teams to ensure a seamless transition from marketing efforts to sales interactions, enhancing the customer experience.

Creating a marketing machine that resonates with your ICPs throughout their journey, from awareness to decision, significantly shortens the distance from lead to a closed won. An aligned strategy ensures that every touchpoint speaks directly to their needs, accelerating the conversion process.

In the fast-paced realm of Q4 marketing, precision is paramount. Tailoring your strategies to your strongest Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) can be your North Star. By allocating your budget efficiently, crafting tailored marketing strategies, and building a marketing machine that speaks directly to your ICPs, you’re setting the stage for a highly successful Q4. Let’s make this quarter count.

Ready to break all this down and get into action? Click here to download your Q4 ICP Refinement Action Checklist now!

The post How to Nail 2023 Q4 Marketing Planning by Identifying Your Strongest ICP appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

And then, there’s the elephant in the room: meeting year-end sales and marketing goals. With this blog, we aim to provide you with a concrete, action-oriented plan that focuses on quick wins, so you can finish 2023 stronger than ever. Because if there’s one thing we know, it’s that every second counts when you’re racing against the year-end clock.

1⃣ Sharpen Your Targeting—Focus on the Ready-to-Buy

Why It’s Crucial

Missing the mark in targeting is just flushing your budget down the drain. The tighter your focus, the higher the ROI. Focus on the folks in your funnel already in “decision mode”.

How to Do It

• Re-Engage Open Leads: For example, if you’re in the business of SaaS for healthcare, it’s likely you have pending conversations with administrators or healthcare providers. Reach out to them and mention the new feature that directly caters to a problem they had expressed earlier.

? Pro Tip: Use a CRM to automate follow-ups and track engagement. Make sure the message is personalized. (Here’s HubSpot’s advice on how to do that in their CRM).

• Spot the Hyper-Engaged: Take note of the people who are engaging with your LinkedIn posts, Twitter updates, or regular newsletters.

? Pro Tip: Use LinkedIn analytics to track engagement and use Direct Messages to reach out with a soft sell.

Real-Life Example

A SaaS provider of ours in the logistics sector revisited their pending leads with a focused message around Q4 budget spend, capturing a 20% increase in close rate within a month.

2⃣ Skip the Fluff—Drive Sales Intent, Not Just Brand Love

Why It’s Crucial

With limited time and resources, you can’t afford to focus on activities that don’t convert. Save brand awareness investment for next year.

How to Do It

• Host Decision-Driving Webinars: For instance, if you sell recruitment software, a webinar titled “How to Streamline Your Hiring Before Year-End” can attract HR managers desperate to close positions before 2024.

? Pro Tip: Use the webinar to showcase your software in action, addressing problems in real time. (Here’s our guide on building successful webinars).

• Deliver Conversion-Oriented Content: Content pieces like ‘7 Reasons Why Our Software Beats Competitors’ are straightforward but incredibly effective.

? Pro Tip: Use A/B testing to fine-tune your CTAs and increase conversion rates.

Real-Life Example

A cloud-based inventory management service we advised switched from general topics in their webinars to specifics like ‘Managing Holiday Inventory Efficiently’ in Q4. They reported a 30% hike in trials and a 15% increase in conversions.

3⃣ Upgrade Your Conversion Playbook—Incentivize, Incentivize, Incentivize

Why It’s Crucial

Q4 is when budgets get spent. Your prospects are looking to make purchasing decisions; make it easier for them.

How to Do It

• Roll Out Exclusive Bundles: Package your core product with add-ons at a reduced price.

? Pro Tip: Highlight the savings they get from the bundled pricing prominently in your marketing material.

• Unlock Early Access: For example, if you plan to launch a new analytics dashboard in Q1 2024, give your Q4 customers early access to it.

? Pro Tip: Use this as an upsell opportunity to move them onto annual contracts.

• Boost Referrals: Offer a free month of service for every successful referral.

? Pro Tip: Use automated emails to remind your customer base of the referral program.

Real-Life Example

We worked with an e-learning platform that offered course bundles along with a free consultation session as a Q4 special. The result? A 40% uptick in course sign-ups and a new revenue line from consultation services.

Takeaway: Your Time Is Now + Quick Win Plan Template

Navigating the turbulent waters of Q4 doesn’t have to be a Herculean task. A focused, pragmatic approach can make all the difference, helping you secure those quick wins and ease into 2024 with momentum on your side.

Simply make sure that:

You’re speaking to the hottest audience (hot leads, that is).

Offering decision-making content geared toward their stage in the buyer’s journey and their pain points. (Read this for more insights).

Incentivizing them to buy now!

You’ve got this!

Quick Win Plan Template

The post Close Out 2023 Strong: The Essential Guide to Quick Wins for Early-Stage B2Bs appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

If you haven’t built your foundational marketing machine — you haven’t built anything.

This is a message we — at StepUp — spend a lot of time trying to communicate to our audience and our clients.

We know you’re hungry for leads, and we know you’ve picked up a variety of pretty solid instincts about how to convert your leads into sales. But building a pipeline — a marketing machine that consistently refreshes your leads pool with new qualified leads takes significant strategic know-how and a solid investment of time and money.

So, what’s the right way to spend, and craft your annual marketing budget, when you’re cash-strapped, time-crunched, and aching for new customers? We’ve broken it down for you into the five steps below — with some wisdom on how to structure your marketing dollars thrown into the mix.

Spoiler: We’re going to keep on recommending that you hire experts to do your initial go-to-market strategy (you know, like us).

In a world that’s become besieged by AI-fueled quick fixes (not that we don’t love AI), and performance marketing hijinx it has never been more vital to do ?? the ?? work ?? to craft a solid, well-researched, message and marketing plan.

We’re honored to work with some wonderful clients who’ve taken this important message to heart (and a few who wish they had done so several years earlier), and we’ve learned a lot about how to get your early-stage B2B company off the ground and running. Read on to learn!

Step 1: Set Clear Big Picture Goals (Spoiler: Your Goal is Always Leads)

This might be stating the obvious, but all of your marketing efforts should be designed to attract qualified prospects who are interested in your product or service.

But far too many businesses skip the MQL (marketing qualified leads) phase of business development growth, neglecting to build a pipeline of warm and open prospects and focusing instead on cold outreach via their sales team.

Not Just Any Leads: Marketing Qualified Leads

Setting clear goals around acquiring MQLs orients you toward building your pipeline — and gets you thinking about data-driving metrics such as lead acquisition cost, conversion rates, and return on investment of pipeline inbound marketing content — this will help you assess the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make necessary adjustments along the way.

When setting your lead generation goals, it is important to consider various factors that may impact the success of your marketing campaigns. These factors include your target audience, industry trends, competitive landscape, and available resources. By taking these factors into account, you can set realistic and achievable goals that will drive your business forward.

Just as not all leads are the same, not all marketing activities and tactics are equal, and some may be more effective in generating leads than others. By understanding your goals, you can allocate your budget and resources to the strategies that have the highest potential for success (this is called “optimization”).

MQL Goal Clarity is Motivating for Your Marketing Team

Additionally, setting clear goals provides a sense of direction and purpose for your marketing team. When everyone is aligned on the overarching objective of lead generation, it becomes easier to collaborate and work towards a common goal. This alignment fosters a cohesive and focused marketing strategy, resulting in more impactful campaigns. As obvious as this sounds on paper, for the most budget-stressed team in most businesses — goal alignment is crucial to manifesting aligned creative energy and helping team members feel invested in being a part of the solution. Don’t overlook it.

Moreover, having measurable goals allows you to celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement. When you achieve your lead generation targets, it serves as a validation of your marketing efforts and motivates your team to continue their hard work. On the other hand, if you fall short of your goals, it provides an opportunity to analyze what went wrong and implement changes to enhance your future performance.

Step 2: Consider all Your Potential Marketing Costs

Like a parent at a grocery store with their kids — our inclination when budget setting is to figure out how to “take stuff out of the cart”.

Penny-pinching is understandable but I urge you to set your red pen aside and dream big when drafting this spreadsheet.

Early-stage B2Bs usually have big goals (“I’d like to eventually dominate the North American market!” is a sentence I hear more often than you realize). And big marketing goals are great! But they require big marketing visions — and the courage to execute. That doesn’t mean you’ve got to do it all today — or even this year — but a realistic snapshot of what efforts you might undertake, and what they’re really going to cost is essential.

Prepare for Paid Advertising

As B2B marketers, we want our message to reach the right audience, and that means allocating toward paid advertising spending. Whether it’s on Google, social media platforms, or wherever our target audience may be, we want to be there with our brand. After all, what good is a killer marketing strategy if it’s not reaching potential customers? So, when it comes to setting our marketing budget, we need to make sure we’ve got some allocated for digital advertising. That’s where the magic happens. By strategically placing our ads on the right advertising channels and boosting visibility, we can directly reach our target audience to generate brand awareness and ultimately qualified leads.

Bottom Line –> Have a digital marketing budget that includes enough money for a comprehensive digital spend: on PPC, LinkedIn paid Ads, Google Display, and wherever your audience lives online.  

Invest in Content, Content Management Tools (and a Martech Stack)

Content Marketing (this includes social media marketing) is the backbone of any marketing strategy, it plays a vital role in attracting and engaging potential customers around their pains gains, and wants. But these days, content is more than a killer 2000-word blog (like this one), it’s about keyword optimization, SERP scores, and integration.

Your content tools should include talented writers and content creators, but they’ll also need to make room for your tech stack — from SEO optimization and Google Analytics tools to AI batch generators to distribution management software (ie: HubSpot) — the content marketing world is its own ecosystem and gone are the days when you can neglect those vital aspects of your content marketing strategy.

Bottom Line — budget for creating great content — and the tools you’ll need to make sure people see it. 

Event Marketing Works, Put it in Your Company Budget

Event marketing is crucial for boosting brand visibility, and incorporating it into your budget is a must-do. Whether it’s through digital or in-person industry events that you attend (or host!), this powerful marketing strategy offers opportunities to connect with potential customers, showcase your products or services, and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

Bottom Line — From digital webinars to industry booths, budget for participation and marketing to show up as a thought leader in the right spaces.

A Budget Line for Salaries, External Hires, and Marketing Agencies

This topic deserves its own whole blog (or book). But suffice it to say that talent costs and talent matters. Make sure you’ve got your ad spend separate from your salary and contract spend — hiring the right people — the people who know how to do what you need to be done (and no, you cannot “wing it” on SEO anymore so cut that out), is simply a must.

Step 3: Hire an Early-Stage Expert to Build Your Go-To-Market Machine (yes, we’re talking about us)

Speaking of a budget for hires and agencies: Step 3 in building an effective B2B marketing budget is in planning — intentionally — to hire GTM experts to build your marketing machine (ideally BEFORE you begin investing in tactics and channel marketing).

As impressive, capable, and vital as your in-house marketing leader hire (CMO, marketing manager, etc.) is — creating a GTM strategy and building a solid marketing machine pipeline is its own specific skill set. We highly recommend that you plan and budget for this investment out of the gate (and our business is made of supporting companies who need this — we’re really speaking from experience here).

So what exactly IS a Go-To-Market Strategy / Machine?

In short, a GTM Machine is a framework (or pipeline) that is designed to generate demand from your ideal target market. It’s a strategy for who you’re going to talk to and how you’re going to talk to them that is based on a deep understanding of your services and products as well as a deep understanding of the market you’re targeting.

As a business owner, partnering with early-stage marketing experts (who specialize in B2B) to craft this crucial strategy will save you heaps of time, money, and frustration.

• It is the process that every business needs in order to operate from the knowledge of their marketing.
• It is the opposite of (and anecdote to) guesswork and blind experimentation.
• It is the answer to the question ” what’s your plan for business growth?”
• It’s the work/strategy that comes before your sales team picks up the phone or sends an email;
• and more importantly than any of this: it is the foundation upon which will rest all of your effective marketing efforts for years to come.

Here’s What to Expect from Your GTM Machine Architects

1. A deep understanding of you, your business, and your products and services.
2. A comprehensive analysis of all your competitors, their messages, and their offerings.
3. Elaborate persona profiles of your Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) that clearly identify their goals, the challenges they face, the solutions they crave, and how you solve their problems.
4. Powerful Value Proposition Messaging that marries your product or service with their most painful needs.
5. A content strategy that outlines for you the types of content you should be creating so that your ENTIRE funnel is full of awareness, consideration and decision-making messages that compel your potential customers to click on you.
6. An execution strategy that tells you where you want to be and how to distribute and deliver your marketing in optimized and effective ways.
7. Expert guidance on the right Martech Stack tools to maintain and grow your company. (To go down the rabbit hole of this key topic that often creates budget friction, read this blog, or to check out growth in this marketing department sector based on CMO surveys, read here).

I could go on. A well-executed GTM is not something you can get around, and something you’ll feel the lack of if you don’t invest. Hire these experts — and let them guide your early-stage business down the right path toward growth.

Step 4: Hire Your In-House Marketer and Build Your Team

I know that you know the value of hiring an in-house marketer (or maybe, dear reader, you ARE the in-house marketer — looking to understand your budget and structure needs better).

Whoever you are — our advice for hiring an in-house expert is this:

No marketer is (or should be) a jack of all trades. Find a marketer whose strengths play to your needs. You can hire based on skill set, but hiring based on industry expertise is just as valuable an approach. Whatever you do, understand that you’re hiring a partner; and a good rule of thumb is to invest in wisdom, and be willing to bring in full- or part-time support for them so that they can execute the vision you (and your GTM experts) have crafted.

Step 5: Optimize Your Marketing Pipeline Every Six Months

Okay! Whew! We’re done outlining where you should invest your money.

You’ve got your marketing budget lines clear and a plan you’re ready to implement.

Just remember to put a little cash aside for some strategy refreshes twice per year.

Why? The market changes.

Audience behavior changes, keyword costs change, digital advertising changes.

Bring in your GTM experts to do a check-in once in a while to make sure that you’re course correcting along the way (and to avoid waking up one day and realizing that your target market just isn’t where you are anymore).

Regularly analyze your marketing metrics to determine which marketing channels are generating the most leads and conversions. Consider A/B testing different ad creatives, landing pages, and email campaigns to optimize your conversion rates. Adapt your messaging and tactics based on customer feedback and market trends.

The digital landscape is dynamic, and consumer behavior is constantly evolving. Regularly reviewing your marketing efforts enables you to identify what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation.

Remember that B2B marketing budgets are not set in stone. They should be agile and adaptable to accommodate changes in your industry, market conditions, and customer preferences.

By following these steps and staying committed to continuous improvement, you can build a marketing budget that maximizes your investment and drives sustainable growth for your early-stage B2B marketing department. So, set your marketing goals, evaluate your costs, seek expert guidance, build your team, and optimize your pipeline.

With these strategies in place, your B2B marketing budget will be a powerful tool for propelling your business forward.

For more nitty-gritty marketing budget advice, check out HubSpot’s blog on the topic (we’re proud to be HubSpot partners and love their resources on these topics).

The post B2B Marketing Budgets: A Step-By-Step Guide to Spending Smart on Your Early-Stage Marketing appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

Why does marketing messaging even matter? Really, you put so much work (and money) into “the right words”, what’s it all about? Well, the truth is — messaging that connects your audience to what you offer is the key piece of the puzzle in emotionally connecting with your potential audience and getting them to take the next (or first) step in your funnel. But getting there should not rely on quick scans of your competitors’ ads and guesswork. It should rely on asking good questions about who your target market is and what you offer them that truly improves your life.

That’s why we developed the Value Proposition Canvas — our methodology that helps us to connect the product to the market to the right message. Our unique approach gets us results every time, and we think it’s an ideal approach for early-stage B2B startups. This is why we love it, why we use it (hundreds of times for our customers, and counting) and it’s also the secret sauce behind writing content that works.

Read on to learn!

[And scroll down for our template! We expect you to steal it!]

The post Use the Value Proposition Canvas to build your early-stage B2B Start-Up’s Messaging appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

B2B Founders and marketers can get a tad conceptual when it comes to talking about their buyers. And it makes sense! When you’re focused on selling high-volume, global solutions — it’s easy to lose the trees for the forest.

But a solid GTM Strategy requires you to come back down to Earth, which is to say, to remember that your customers are just people — who make purchasing decisions the same way anyone would, whether it’s for shampoo or medical devices.

That’s why it’s essential to imagine — and learn from — the imaginative journey through the “mind” of the buyer.

In this article, we will delve into the importance of understanding this fascinating process and uncover the key stages that buyers go through. So, hold on tight as we take you on a journey like no other!

Defining the Buyer’s Journey

Before we dive into the details, let’s start by defining what the Buyer’s Journey actually is. Simply put, it is the process that potential customers go through from the moment they become aware of a problem or need to the moment they make a purchase decision. It’s like a rollercoaster ride filled with emotions, questions, and lots of choices.

Imagine you’re standing at the entrance of a theme park, ready to embark on a thrilling adventure. The Buyer’s Journey is just like that, except instead of roller coasters and cotton candy, it’s filled with moments of discovery, consideration, and ultimately, decision-making. It’s a journey that takes individuals from a state of unawareness to becoming loyal customers.

So why is it essential for businesses to wrap their heads around the Buyer’s Journey? Well, hang on, and we’ll uncover the answers in the next section!

The Importance of Understanding the Buyer’s Journey

Understanding the Buyer’s Journey is like getting insider information on the world’s best-kept secret. It allows you to tailor your marketing efforts, create compelling types of content, and engage with your potential buyers at every stage. By being in sync with their needs and desires, you can meet them exactly where they are in the buying process.

Think of it as navigating through a maze. Without a map, you’re left stumbling in the dark, hoping to stumble upon the right path. But with a clear understanding of the Buyer’s Journey, you have a compass guiding you toward success. You can anticipate their questions, address their concerns, and ultimately, guide them towards making a purchase decision.

The Buyer’s Journey isn’t just a game of chance. It’s a game of strategy. And the better you understand it, the higher your chances of success.

Key Stages of the Buyer’s Journey

Every buyer goes through a unique adventure, braving various stages. To help you navigate this exciting journey, we’ve broken it down into four distinct stages: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and the Post-Purchase Stage. Each of these stages presents its own set of challenges and opportunities. So, hold on tight as we examine each stage, one paragraph at a time.

Imagine yourself at the start of the Buyer’s Journey, standing at the entrance of a grand hall filled with possibilities. This is the Awareness stage, where potential customers become aware of a problem or need. It’s like stepping onto a platform, where individuals begin to notice the gap between where they currently stand and where they want to be. At this stage, your goal is to capture their attention, spark their curiosity, and make them realize that there is a solution to their problem.

As the journey progresses, we enter the Consideration stage. Here, buyers have identified their problem and are actively seeking solutions. They’re like explorers, venturing into uncharted territory, researching and evaluating different options. It’s your chance to showcase the unique value your product or service brings, highlighting how it can address their pain points and meet their specific needs. By providing valuable information and engaging content, you can position yourself as a trusted advisor, guiding them toward making an informed buying decision.

Next comes the Decision stage, where buyers are on the brink of making a purchase. They’ve narrowed down their options and are ready to choose the best fit for their needs. It’s like standing at a crossroads, weighing the pros and cons of each path. This is your opportunity to demonstrate why your offering is the superior choice. Showcasing testimonials, offering incentives, and providing a seamless buying experience can all help tip the scales in your favor.

But the journey doesn’t end with a purchase. The Post-Purchase Stage (this often overlooked stage of the buying journey) is where the real adventure begins. This is the moment when buyers transition from being customers to brand advocates. It’s like stepping off a thrilling ride, exhilarated and eager to share their experience with others. By providing exceptional post-purchase support, fostering customer loyalty, and encouraging feedback, you can turn your customers into brand ambassadors, driving future sales and growth.

The Buyer’s Journey is an exciting expedition that every business must embark on. By understanding its intricacies and incorporating it into your marketing strategy, you can create a seamless and engaging experience for your potential customers.

The Awareness Stage

Welcome to the land of discovery! The Awareness Stage is where it all begins. Buyers in this journey stage are in search of answers, trying to identify the problematic dragon that needs slaying. It’s crucial to identify your buyer’s problem accurately at this stage. After all, you can’t slay the dragon if you don’t know what it looks like!

Imagine stepping into a dense forest, the air thick with anticipation. As you cautiously make your way through the undergrowth, you can feel the excitement building within you. Every step brings you closer to uncovering the secrets of the mythical creature that has been wreaking havoc on the kingdom.

Identifying the Buyer’s Problem

The first step in the Awareness Stage is to help buyers identify their problem. Are they battling a pesky issue that’s been keeping them up at night? Maybe they’re in desperate need of a solution, but they’re not sure where to find it. By understanding your customer’s pain points, you can position yourself (through compelling content) as the knight in shining armor, ready to save the day.

Picture yourself sitting across from a troubled buyer, their eyes filled with uncertainty. You listen attentively as they pour out their frustrations, their words echoing in your mind. With each sentence, you gain a deeper understanding of the challenges they face and the obstacles that stand in their way. You become their confidant, their guide in this treacherous journey towards a solution.

How to Attract Buyers in the Awareness Stage?

Now that you’ve got their attention, it’s time to showcase your expertise. Provide them with valuable content that educates and sparks curiosity. Show them that you understand their problem better than anyone else. Take them on a magical journey through blog posts, videos, and social media content that leaves them hungry for more!

Imagine crafting a captivating blog post, each word carefully chosen to captivate the reader’s imagination. With every paragraph, you paint a vivid picture of their potential solutions, and all possibilities that lie ahead, inspiring them to take consider taking action.

With your content marketing strategy, you create a tapestry of engaging and informative content that entices and enthralls. Each piece of video content you produce is a window into a world of knowledge, where viewers can catch a glimpse of the transformative power that awaits them. The comments section buzzes with excitement as people share their own experiences, forming a community.

So, embrace the Awareness Stage with open arms. This key phase of the buyer journey should never be overlooked and is the place to showcase the best of your inbound marketing strategies. Embody the spirit of a seeker, a guide, and a storyteller. With every word you write and every piece of content you create, remember that you have the power to ignite the spark of curiosity in your prospective customer.

The Consideration Stage

Congrats, fearless warrior – you’ve made it to the Consideration Stage! Buyers here have moved past their initial discovery and are now actively exploring different solutions to their problem. It’s time for you to present them with compelling options that will make them go, “Eureka! This is exactly what I’ve been searching for!”

But what does the Consideration Stage really entail? It’s a critical phase in the buyer’s journey where potential customers are no longer just browsing. They have identified their pain points and are actively seeking solutions. They are hungry for information, and eager to find the perfect fit that will address their needs.

Presenting Possible Solutions to the Buyer

At this stage, your potential customers are actively evaluating different solutions. They want to weigh the pros and cons, compare options, and find the best fit for their needs. It’s your chance to showcase your unique selling points, highlight the benefits, and prove that your solution is the stuff dreams are made of.

Imagine this scenario: a buyer has finally recognized their need for a new CRM system. They have done their initial research and are now ready to dive deeper into the available options. They want to know how your CRM system can streamline their sales process, improve customer relationships, and ultimately boost their bottom line. This is your moment to shine.

Consider creating detailed product comparison charts, showcasing the features and functionalities of your CRM system alongside your competitors’. Provide in-depth case studies highlighting how your CRM has transformed similar businesses, showcasing real-life success stories. By presenting your potential customers with tangible evidence of the value your solution brings, you can help them make an informed decision. Whatever consideration stage content you choose,

Engaging Buyers in the Consideration Stage

Remember, knowledge is power! Engage with your buyers by providing them with educational content, case studies, or even personalized consultations. Show them the depth of your understanding, and they’ll be more likely to take a leap of faith with you.

Consider hosting webinars or workshops that delve into the intricacies of your solution. Offer whitepapers or eBooks that provide valuable insights into industry trends and best practices. By positioning yourself as a thought leader and a trusted advisor, you can build credibility and establish a strong rapport with your potential customers.

Personalization is key in the Consideration Stage. Take the time to understand your buyer’s unique pain points and tailor your messaging accordingly. Offer personalized consultations or demos to demonstrate how your solution can specifically address their needs. By showing that you truly understand their challenges and have a tailored solution, you can significantly increase your chances of conversion.

In conclusion, the Consideration Stage is a critical juncture in the buyer’s journey. It’s your opportunity to present your potential customers with compelling options, showcase your unique selling points, and engage with them on a deeper level. By providing educational content, case studies, and personalized consultations, you can build trust and position yourself as the ideal solution provider. So, embrace the Consideration Stage, fearless warrior, and guide your potential customers towards their “Eureka” moment!

The Decision Stage

You’ve come a long way, brave soul, and now you’ve reached the Decision Stage – the final showdown before the ultimate victory. The buyer is about to make their move, and it’s your job to show them why your solution is the hero they’ve been waiting for!

Convincing the Buyer to Choose Your Solution

When it comes to the Decision Stage, the name of the game is persuasion. Take a deep breath, flex your storytelling muscles, and paint a vivid picture of the positive outcomes your solution will bring using a variety of types of content. Focus on highlighting the unique value you bring to the table and why your offering is the best fit for their needs.

Strategies for Closing the Sale

To seal the deal, you need more than just a pretty speech from a sales rep. While your sales team does its work, your marketing team can also continue to provide relevant content. Offer incentives, provide guarantees, and create a sense of urgency that will lead your prospective buyers to take action. Discount coupons, limited-time offers, or even personalized messages of encouragement, using messaging geared to their buyer persona type can be the secret sauce that entices them to make the purchase.

Post-Purchase Stage

Congratulations! You’ve successfully guided the buyer through the entire buyer’s journey, and your B2B buyer has made a purchase. But the adventure doesn’t end here! It’s time to ensure buyer satisfaction and establish a long-lasting bond.

Ensuring Buyer Satisfaction After Purchase

Your buyer has chosen you as their champion – now it’s your turn to deliver! Provide exceptional customer service, go above and beyond their expectations, and address any concerns they may have. By ensuring their satisfaction, you’ll win their loyalty and turn them into raving fans.

Encouraging Repeat Business and Loyalty

The customer journey doesn’t end here; you want them by your side for the long haul. Offer loyalty programs, exclusive perks, or even create a community for your customers to interact with one another. Treat them like family with useful perks and engaging content, and they’ll keep coming back for more grand adventures!

And with that, dear adventurer, we have reached the end of our epic voyage through the Buyer’s Journey. We hope you’ve gained valuable insights into the inner workings of your potential customers’ minds. Now, go forth and conquer the market, armed with the knowledge of their journey!

The post How to Tailor Your B2B Marketing Process to the Stages of Your Buyer’s Journey appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

You’ve calculated your TAM and perhaps (hopefully!? click here if you haven’t yet) you’ve even done the research necessary to outline your key ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles). At this point, you’re no longer just relying on guesswork to get your marketing done, and that’s great!

But wait! Your work’s not done just yet. While identifying your ICPs is crucial (read our most recent blog on how to do just that if you haven’t done it yet), marketing is essentially a person-to-person conversation, which means that you’ve really got to know who you’re talking to before you start.

Why are Buyer Personas so Important?

Creating a buyer persona is like unlocking the secret code to your customer’s hearts. It’s not just about demographics and data; it’s about truly understanding who your potential customers are and what motivates them to become actual customers. By delving deep into their needs, desires, fears, and aspirations, you can tailor your marketing efforts in a way that resonates with them on a personal level.

Let’s say you are a B2B manufacturer of industrial lighting solutions for performance spaces and theaters, you might assume that your target audience consists solely of businesses in need of high-quality lighting products, and therefore you focus on targeting supply buyers for theatre houses. However, by creating a buyer persona, you can develop a more profound comprehension of your ideal customer.

For example, you might discover through your research that your more accurate user persona is Jason. He is a seasoned professional in the theater industry, specializing in lighting design and production. Jason recognizes the significance of superior craftsmanship and values the reliability of lighting solutions. He is deeply passionate about creating captivating visual experiences on stage, understanding that lighting plays a pivotal role in enhancing performances. Jason is motivated by his aspiration to set new industry standards and inspire awe among audiences and fellow professionals.

By doing some thoughtful research, you’ve created a major shift in your marketing teams’ focus, and you’ve likely increased your revenue in the process. This is why creating buyer personas of all your prospective customers is vital.

What is a buyer persona, exactly?

A buyer persona (sometimes called a marketing persona) is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. It’s like creating a character for a novel, except this character represents the people you want to reach with your products or services. It goes beyond vague generalizations and digs into specific details that help you truly understand who your customers are.

When creating a buyer persona, you need to consider various factors such as age, gender, level of education, occupation, income level, hobbies, and interests. But it doesn’t stop there. You also need to understand their pain points, challenges, and goals. What keeps them up at night? What are their aspirations and dreams?

By understanding these nuances, you can tailor your marketing messages to address their specific needs and desires. For example, if you know that your ideal buyer is a busy working professional with limited time, you can highlight the convenience and time-saving features of your product or service.

Why Your Business Needs a Buyer Persona

Imagine trying to sell a fur coat to someone who lives in a tropical paradise or pitching your high-end gym membership to someone who prefers leisurely walks in the park. Without understanding your audience, your marketing efforts are bound to miss the mark. That’s where a buyer persona comes in handy!

Having a clear understanding of your buyer persona allows you to create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with your potential customers. It helps you speak their language, address their pain points, and showcase how your product or service can improve their lives.

Moreover, a buyer persona helps you identify new opportunities and niches within your target market. By analyzing the characteristics and preferences of your ideal customer, you may discover untapped segments, different types of customers, that you can cater to with a specialized offering.

Creating a buyer persona is an essential step in developing an effective marketing strategy. It enables you to connect with your customers on a deeper level, tailor your messaging to their specific needs, and identify new opportunities within your target market. So, take the time to understand your audience and unlock the secret code to their hearts!

The Steps You Should Take to Create a Detailed Buyer Persona

Creating a buyer persona is an art. It requires research, analysis, and a sprinkle of creativity. However, it’s always helpful to have a guide to make sure you’re covering your basis. Use the steps we outline below as your buyer persona template anytime you want to develop a deeper understanding of your potential customers and strengthen your marketing messaging.

Step One: Identifying Your Ideal Customer

The first step is to clearly identify who your ideal customer is. Start by jotting down the characteristics of your target audience – their age, gender, location, occupation, and any other relevant details. Paint a vivid picture of who they are.

If you’re a business whose been around for a while, your existing customers might be your ideal customers, and you might be doing this work simply to strengthen your existing marketing or solidify your buyer persona profiles. If so, that’s great! You can draw your research from your typical customers. If you’re looking to find your product market fit, you’ll need to do more imagination-based research to draw the ideal persona examples you’re looking for.

For example, if you’re a fitness brand targeting young adults, your ideal customer may be a 25-year-old male living in a metropolitan area, working in a corporate job, and passionate about staying fit and healthy. By understanding these key characteristics, you can tailor your marketing efforts to resonate with this specific audience.

Step Two: Gathering Relevant Data

Now that you have a general idea of your ideal customer, it’s time to dive deeper and gather data that supports your assumptions. Conduct surveys, and interviews, and analyze existing customer data to make sure you’re getting accurate representation of your buyers and complete data. Look for patterns and trends that can help you refine your buyer persona.

For instance, you can create online surveys to gather demographic information, preferences, and buying behaviors from your target audience. Additionally, you can conduct interviews with existing customers to understand their motivations, challenges, and what they value most in a product or service. By collecting this data, you can gain valuable insights into the needs and desires of your ideal customer.

Step Three: Analyzing Customer Behavior

What drives your customers to make a purchase decision? What are their pain points and motivations? By understanding their behavior, and their decision-making process, you can anticipate their needs and tailor your marketing messages to address them directly. Track customer interactions, analyze website data, and embrace the power of analytics.

For example, by tracking customer interactions on your website, you can see which pages they visit the most, what products or services they show interest in, and how long they stay on each page. This data can help you identify the pain points and motivations of your ideal customer throughout their buyer journey. Additionally, by leveraging analytics tools, you can gain insights into customer demographics, behavior patterns, and conversion rates, allowing you to optimize your marketing strategies — and even empower your sales teams — accordingly.

Creating a detailed buyer persona involves identifying your ideal customer, gathering relevant data, and analyzing customer behavior. By following these steps, you can gain a deeper understanding of your target audience and create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with their needs and desires.

The Key Elements of an Effective Buyer Persona

When crafting your buyer persona, make sure to include the following key elements:

Demographic Information

Include details such as age, gender, location, occupation, income level, and educational background. This information gives you valuable insights into your customers’ lives and helps shape your marketing strategy.

For example, knowing the age range of your target audience can help you tailor your messaging and design to appeal to their specific preferences. Understanding their location can also help you determine if there are any regional factors that may impact their buying decisions.

Additionally, considering the occupation and income level of your ideal customer can provide insights into their purchasing power and what kind of products or services they may be interested in. Educational background can also play a role in understanding their level of expertise and knowledge in a particular industry or field. All of this information should play a key role in how you choose the types of content your produce and your overall digital marketing and content marketing strategy.

Psychographic Information

Go beyond demographics and delve into your customers’ psychographic traits. What are their interests, hobbies, beliefs, and values? Understanding these aspects allows you to create a more targeted and personalized marketing approach.

For instance, knowing your customers’ interests and hobbies can help you identify potential partnerships or collaborations with other brands or influencers that align with their passions. Understanding their beliefs and values can also help you craft messaging that resonates with their ideals, building trust and loyalty.

Moreover, considering psychographic information can help you identify any specific pain points or challenges your customers may be facing. By understanding their needs and desires on a deeper level, you can develop products or services that address those pain points and provide meaningful solutions.

Behavioral Traits

What are the behaviors and habits that define your ideal customer? Are they tech-savvy trendsetters or traditionalists who prefer tried-and-true solutions? By understanding their behavior, you can craft messaging that resonates with their preferences and drives them to take action.

For example, if your ideal customer is a tech-savvy trendsetter, you may want to focus on showcasing the innovative features and cutting-edge technology of your product. On the other hand, if your target audience is more traditional and prefers tried-and-true solutions, you may want to emphasize the reliability and long-standing reputation of your brand.

Understanding behavioral traits can also help you determine the best channels and platforms to reach your customers. If they are active on social media, you can develop a strong presence on those platforms and engage with them directly. If they prefer offline interactions, you can focus on in-person events or traditional advertising methods.

An effective buyer persona includes not only demographic information but also psychographic traits and behavioral traits. By considering these key elements, you can gain a deeper understanding of your customers and tailor your marketing strategy to effectively reach and engage with them.

Utilizing Your Buyer Persona to Improve Customer Engagement

Now that you have a well-crafted buyer persona, it’s time to put it into action. Here are some tips to effectively utilize your persona and improve customer engagement:

Tip #1: Personalize Your Marketing Efforts

Gone are the days of generic marketing messages that speak to no one in particular. With your B2B buyer persona in hand, you can create personalized content and advertisements that speak directly to your ideal individual customer. Use their language, address their pain points, and show them how your product or service can make their lives better.

Imagine this: you have a B2B customer persona named Alex. They are an environmentally conscious procurement manager in their early 30s, responsible for sourcing sustainable and eco-friendly products for their organization. With this insight, you can develop marketing materials that emphasize the environmental advantages of your offering, illustrating how it aligns with Alex’s values and objectives. By customizing your messaging to resonate with their specific interests, you enhance the likelihood of capturing their attention and converting them into a loyal customer.

Tip #2: Enhance Your Customer’s Experience

Your buyer persona can also help you improve the overall customer experience. By understanding your customers’ preferences and frustrations, you can tailor your website design, user interface, and customer service to meet their expectations. This personalized approach will not only increase customer satisfaction but also foster loyalty and repeat business.

For example, let’s say your buyer persona, Mark, is a tech-savvy individual who values efficiency and convenience. By analyzing Mark’s preferences, you can optimize your website’s navigation and checkout process, ensuring a seamless and hassle-free experience. Additionally, you can offer a live chat feature to provide instant support and address any concerns Mark may have. You can also educate your customer service team using the customer insights you’ve gained from your persona research. By going the extra mile to meet Mark’s expectations, you create a positive customer experience that encourages him to continue doing business with you.

Tip #3: Increase Customer Retention

With a detailed buyer persona, you can identify opportunities to increase customer retention. By understanding your customers’ needs and desires, you can develop loyalty programs, personalized offers, and exclusive content that keep them coming back for more. Happy customers are loyal customers!

Remember, your buyer persona is a powerful tool that allows you to understand your customers on a deeper level. By utilizing it effectively, you can personalize your marketing efforts, enhance the customer experience, and increase customer retention. So, put your buyer persona into action and watch your customer engagement soar!

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Your Buyer Persona

Creating a buyer persona is not without its challenges. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

Making Assumptions About Your Audience

Don’t rely solely on assumptions when crafting your buyer persona. Conduct thorough research and gather real data to support your assumptions. The more accurate your buyer persona, the more effective your marketing efforts will be.

Overlooking Existing Customer Data

Your existing customer base holds a wealth of information that can help you refine your buyer persona. Analyze customer feedback, purchase history, user experience and and website analytics to gain insights into their preferences and behavior. Utilize this valuable data to further personalize your marketing strategies.

Continuously Updating and Refining Your Buyer Persona

Creating a buyer persona is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. Keep your buyer persona up to date by:

1: Keeping Up with Market Changes

The market is constantly evolving, and so should your buyer persona. Stay updated on industry trends, competitor strategies, evolving customer challenges, and changes in consumer behavior. This will help you adapt your marketing efforts to stay ahead of the curve.

2: Regularly Gathering and Analyzing Customer Feedback

Your customers hold the key to unlocking valuable insights. Continuously gather and analyze feedback through surveys, social media interactions, and customer service interactions. This firsthand information will ensure your buyer persona remains accurate and relevant.

Conclusion: The Power of a Well-Crafted Buyer Persona

Creating an effective buyer persona is like having a secret weapon in your marketing arsenal. By understanding your customers on a deeper level, you can tailor your messaging, personalize your marketing efforts, and improve customer engagement. So, grab your creative tools and start crafting your buyer persona today (and drop it in this handy persona template tool from HubSpot when you’re ready to present your findings). Your customers will thank you for it, and your business will reap the rewards!

The post Build Effective Buyer Personas to Improve Customer Engagement: A Step-by-Step Guide for B2Bs appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

It’s not easy to avoid the trap of trying to be all things to all people. It’s understandable that you want to not only, keep your current customer, but to attract as many new customers as possible. But the truth is, not every business will be a good fit for your products. That’s where an ideal customer profile (ICP) comes in – it’s a blueprint for the perfect customer for your business and helps you focus your sales and marketing efforts. In this article, we’ll walk you through the key elements of an effective ICP and how to create one for your B2B business.

Understanding the Importance of an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

First, let’s take a minute to understand why having an ICP is important. Having a comprehensive understanding of your ideal customer is crucial in today’s competitive market. Defining your ICP helps you:

• Focus your sales and marketing efforts on the right customers
• Improve customer acquisition and retention rates
• Identify areas for product or service improvements
• Develop a targeted messaging strategy that resonates with your ideal customer

In other words, creating an ICP can help you streamline your business operations and increase revenue.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these benefits:

Focusing

your sales and marketing efforts on the right customers

Knowing who your ideal customer is can help you target your sales and marketing efforts more effectively. By understanding their needs, pain points, and behaviors, you can tailor your messaging and marketing campaigns to resonate with them. This can lead to higher conversion rates and more qualified leads.

For example, if your ideal customer is a small business owner who values affordability and simplicity, you can create marketing materials that emphasize those features of your product or service. You can also target your advertising to small business owners who fit that profile, rather than wasting resources on a broad audience that may not be interested.

Improving customer acquisition and retention rates

When you know who your ideal customer is, you can create a customer acquisition strategy that speaks directly to them. This can help you attract more of the right customers and increase your conversion rates.

Additionally, understanding your ideal customer can help you improve your customer retention rates. By providing a product or service that meets their specific needs and preferences, you can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Identifying areas for product or service improvements

Creating an ICP can also help you identify areas for product or service improvements. By understanding your ideal customer’s pain points and preferences, you can pinpoint areas where your product or service may be falling short.

For example, if your ideal customer is a busy professional who values convenience, you may discover that your product is difficult to use or requires too much time to set up. Armed with this knowledge, you can make improvements that will make your product more appealing to your target audience.

Developing a targeted messaging strategy that resonates with your ideal customer

Finally, creating an ICP can help you develop a targeted messaging strategy that resonates with your ideal customer. By understanding their values, interests, and pain points, you can create messaging that speaks directly to them.

For example, if your ideal customer is a health-conscious millennial who values sustainability, you can create messaging that emphasizes the eco-friendliness of your product or service. This can help you differentiate yourself from competitors and attract more of the right customers.

As you can see, creating an ICP is crucial for any business that wants to succeed in today’s competitive market. By understanding your ideal customer, you can streamline your business operations, increase revenue, and create a more loyal customer base.

Understanding your TAM is a critical step in developing a successful business strategy. It allows you to gain valuable insights into the size of the market you’re operating in, as well as the potential demand for your products or services. By analyzing your TAM (Total Addressable Market), you can identify new growth opportunities and develop a better understanding of your competition.

One of the primary benefits of understanding your TAM is that it helps you identify your market share. This is important because it allows you to set realistic growth goals for your business. For example, if your TAM is relatively small, you may need to focus on niche marketing strategies to gain a foothold in the market. Alternatively, if your TAM is large, you may need to invest in more aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns to capture a larger share of the market.

Another benefit of understanding your TAM is that it helps you determine your pricing strategy. By analyzing the size and composition of your TAM, you can gain insight into the price points that are most likely to be successful. For example, if your TAM consists primarily of price-sensitive consumers, you may need to offer lower prices in order to remain competitive. Conversely, if your TAM is composed of high-end consumers, you may be able to charge premium prices for your products or services.

Once you have a solid understanding of your TAM, you can then begin to create more targeted ICPs. These ICPs should be designed to appeal to specific segments of your TAM and should be tailored to meet the unique needs and preferences of each segment. By creating more targeted ICPs, you can increase the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, and gain a larger share of the market. In conclusion, understanding your TAM is a critical step in developing a successful business strategy. It allows you to gain insight into the size and composition of the market you’re operating in and helps you identify new opportunities for growth. By analyzing your TAM, you can develop more effective marketing strategies, set realistic growth goals, and ultimately achieve greater success in your business.

When creating an ideal customer profile (ICP), businesses should consider factors such as industry, company size, budget, and pain points. By analyzing these characteristics, businesses can determine which companies are most likely to benefit from their products or services. This information can be used to create a targeted marketing strategy that is tailored to the needs of those specific companies. This is not the same as creating a buyer persona. Buyer personas focus on the people who are involved in the decision-making process. This includes identifying the job titles, responsibilities, and pain points of each person who will be involved in the purchasing process. By understanding the needs of each person, businesses can create messaging that speaks directly to them and addresses their concerns. For example, if a business is selling software to a large corporation, it may create an ICP that includes companies with a revenue of over $500 million. However, when creating buyer personas, they may identify the CFO as the decision maker who is responsible for signing off on the purchase. By understanding the CFO’s pain points, such as the need for accurate financial reporting, the business can create messaging that speaks directly to those concerns.

It’s important to note that while an ICP focuses on the characteristics of the ideal target customer for your products or services, buyer personas focus on the people who are involved in the decision-making process. By creating both an ICP and buyer personas, businesses can create a targeted marketing strategy that speaks directly to the needs of their ideal customers and the people who will be involved in the purchasing process.

Crafting the Perfect ICP for Your Business

Crafting the perfect ICP can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not sure where to start. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.

Here are some key measures to follow:

Using Firmographics to Define Your ICP

Firmographics are the characteristics of a business that are used to define your ICP. These can include factors such as industry, company size, location, revenue, and more. By identifying these firmographic criteria, you can create a clear picture of what businesses you should be targeting.

For example, if you’re selling software to small businesses, you might want to focus on businesses with less than 50 employees and annual revenue of $1 million or less. On the other hand, if you’re selling enterprise-level software, you might want to target larger businesses with more than 500 employees and annual revenue of $50 million or more.

How Technographics Can Help You Create a More Accurate ICP

Technographics are the technologies that a business is currently using. By analyzing technographic data of your existing customers, you can better understand which businesses are most likely to benefit from your products or services.

For example, if you’re selling a marketing automation tool, you might want to target businesses that are already using a CRM system. By targeting businesses that are using a CRM system, you can be reasonably sure that they’re interested in streamlining their sales and marketing processes.

Understanding the Role of Demographics in ICP Segmentation

Demographics are the personal characteristics of the individuals within a business. These include factors such as job title, age, education, and more. Demographic data can help you identify the decision-makers within the businesses you want to target.

For example, if you’re selling a B2B software product, you might want to target businesses that have a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or Chief Information Officer (CIO). By targeting these decision-makers, you can ensure that your message is reaching the people who have the power to make purchasing decisions.

By using demographics to refine your ICP, you can ensure that you’re targeting businesses that have the right people in the right positions to make purchasing decisions.

Job-to-be-Done: A Powerful Tool for ICP Segmentation

Jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) is a way of thinking about product development that focuses on the needs that a product is meant to fulfill. By understanding the JTBD for your products or services, you can identify the types of businesses that will benefit the most from what you offer.

For example, if you’re selling a project management tool, you might want to target businesses that are struggling with managing multiple projects at the same time. By targeting companies that have this specific need, you can ensure that your product is meeting a real need and providing value to your customers.

By following these steps, you can create a more accurate and effective ICP for your business. By targeting the right businesses with the right message, you can increase your chances of success and grow your business.

Filters vs Signals: Which is Better for ICP Segmentation?

When it comes to segmenting your ICP, using filters and signals are two common approaches. Filters are objective criteria that you use to identify your ideal potential customer. Signals, on the other hand, are subjective factors that help you identify the businesses that are the best fit for your products or services.

While both approaches have their pros and cons, using signals can help you dig deeper into the characteristics that make a business the perfect fit for your products or services.

How to validate your ideal customer profile

Once you’ve created your ICP, it’s important to validate it before moving forward with your sales and marketing efforts. Here are some ways to do that:

Common mistakes with creating an ICP for B2Bs

It’s easy to make mistakes while creating your ICPs but being aware of these common pitfalls can help you avoid them. Some of the most common mistakes include:

• Not doing enough research before creating your ICPs
• Creating ICPs that are too broad or vague
• Not revisiting your ICPs regularly to ensure they’re still relevant

B2B ideal customer profile examples

To help you get started, here are a few examples of B2B ICPs:

• A small tech startup that wants to focus on businesses with 50-200 employees in the software development industry.
• A marketing agency that specializes in B2B marketing and wants to target mid-sized businesses in the financial services industry.
• A SaaS company that targets businesses with revenue between $5-20 million in the healthcare industry.

What next: (Buyer Persona, Buyer’s Journey)

Now that you’ve created your ICP, it’s time to create buyer personas that will help you tailor your messaging to the decision-makers within the businesses you want to target. In addition, mapping out the buyer’s journey will help you identify touchpoints in the sales process where you can optimize your messaging and increase conversions.

Developing and Defining Customer Personas for Your ICP

Creating buyer personas is similar to creating ICPs but with a focus on the personal characteristics of the individuals involved in the buying process. By developing detailed buyer personas, you can craft messaging that will resonate with each person in the decision-making process.

Creating an effective ICP is crucial for the success of your B2B business. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a clear picture of who your ideal customer is and tailor your sales and marketing efforts to attract and retain these customers. Remember to revisit your ICP regularly to ensure it remains relevant and continues to help you meet your business goals. Finally, for those of you ready to dig in right now — here’s a useful HubSpot resource, with an Ideal Customer Profile Template, for getting started.

Happy targeting!

The post Creating an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) That Works: A Guide for B2Bs appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

Have you ever wondered how businesses determine the size of the market for their products? Enter the Total Addressable Market, or TAM: a concept that will help you make sense of it all. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down the TAM basics and show you how to calculate it. By the end of this article, you’ll be a TAM expert!

What is Total Addressable Market (TAM)?

TAM, simply put, is the total revenue opportunity available for a product or service. It’s the maximum possible market share a business can achieve in a specific market. Understanding your TAM is an essential step for setting realistic growth objectives, evaluating investment and business opportunities, as well as potential revenue growth, crafting a market strategy, and determining the feasibility of your business idea.

Definition and Importance

TAM is used by businesses to understand the size of the market they are targeting, which helps them predict revenue potential. TAM can be calculated in a variety of ways, depending on the type of business and the industry it operates in. Mapping out TAM allows businesses to set realistic goals and plan their resources in a more effective manner.

For example, a software company may estimate its TAM by looking at the number of potential customers in a specific industry, the amount of money those customers are currently spending on similar software, and the potential for growth in that industry. This information can then be used to determine whether it’s worth investing in the development of a new software product.

TAM vs. SAM vs. SOM

TAM is often confused with two similar concepts: serviceable addressable market (SAM) and serviceable obtainable market (SOM). SAM includes only the portion of TAM that a company can target given its business model, resources and capabilities. SOM, on the other hand, is the portion of SAM that a business can realistically achieve, ie: it’s obtainable market. Understanding the differences between these concepts can help you more accurately gauge your business’s market potential.

For instance, a company that sells luxury cars may have a TAM of $1 billion, but its SAM might only be $100 million if it only targets high-income customers. Its SOM might be even smaller, say $50 million, if it only targets a specific geographic region. By understanding these different market sizes, the company can make more informed decisions about how to allocate its resources and which markets to enter.

The Benefits of Estimating Your TAM

Estimating TAM can have several benefits for businesses. It allows them to determine the size of the market opportunity, creating a clear vision of the potential growth of the industry. It also lets businesses evaluate their competition and identify gaps in the market. Being able to gauge the size of the market can help reduce risk, more accurately assess growth potential, and ultimately lead to better decision-making.

Estimating TAM can also help businesses identify new markets, which, in turn, can lead to increased revenue. For example, a company that sells organic food may estimate its US TAM at around $50 billion. However, if it expands its products to other countries, it might discover an additional TAM of $20 billion, leading to increased revenue and growth opportunities.

This same company might also discover that it has the resources to enter niche markets and expand its customer base by creating additional products.

In conclusion, TAM is a critical metric for any business looking to grow and succeed. By estimating TAM, businesses can gain a better understanding of their market potential, identify new growth opportunities, and make informed decisions about where to allocate their resources in their growth strategy.

Methods for Calculating Total Addressable Market

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get into the specifics of calculating TAM. Understanding your TAM is essential for any business to determine its potential for growth and profitability. There are three primary methods for calculating TAM: the top-down method, the bottom-up method (or bottom-up analysis), and the value theory approach. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages and is more or less suitable for specific businesses and industries.

Top-Down Approach

The top-down approach involves starting with the overall market size, or the total market demand, and then narrowing it down to your specific segment. This method is often quicker and easier to implement, but it can also be less accurate due to its reliance on general market data instead of specific industry or customer insights from market research tools. This approach is best suited for businesses that have a clear understanding of their target market and can easily identify the total size of the market. However, it may not provide a detailed view of the potential market opportunity.

Bottom-Up Approach

The bottom-up approach, on the other hand, involves starting with granular data and building up to the overall market size. This approach is generally more time-consuming but can be more accurate as it is based on specific customer behavior and industry trends. This method is best suited for businesses that have a deep understanding of their customers and can gather specific data on their behavior and buying patterns. This approach may provide a more detailed view of the potential market opportunity but may not be feasible for businesses with limited resources or access to data.

Value Theory Approach

The value theory approach analyzes the value proposition of a product or service, examining how much customers are willing to pay for a solution and how many customers are willing to pay that amount. This approach is often useful for early-stage startups that are still defining their target market and value proposition. This approach may provide a more accurate estimate of the potential market opportunity, but it requires a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences.

Choosing the Right Method for You

When choosing a method for calculating TAM, businesses must consider the nature of the industry, the variety of potential customers, and the product or service offering. A combination of approaches may provide a more accurate estimate depending on the specific circumstances. It is important to remember that TAM is not a static number and may change over time as the market evolves, new competitors emerge, and customer preferences shift. Therefore, it’s essential to regularly review and update your TAM estimates to ensure they remain relevant and accurate.

Ultimately, a thorough understanding of your TAM is critical for any business looking to grow and succeed. By using one or more of these methods, you can gain valuable insights into the size and potential of your target market, allowing you to make informed decisions about your business strategy and investments.

How to Estimate Your Total Addressable Market

Are you planning to launch a new product or service and wondering how big your potential market is? Estimating your Total Addressable Market (TAM) is a crucial step in determining the viability of your business idea. By understanding the size of your potential market, you can make informed decisions about your marketing strategy, pricing, and overall business plan. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the steps you can take to estimate your own TAM.

Step 1) Define Your Target Market

The first step in estimating your TAM is to define your target market. This involves identifying the characteristics of your ideal customer. Consider factors such as their age, gender, location, and interests. By understanding who your target market is, you can better tailor your marketing efforts and estimate the potential size of your market.

Step 2) Identify Market Segments

Once you’ve defined your target customers, the next step is to divide them into specific segments that share similar characteristics and behaviors. These segments can then be compared to industry data to identify the potential market size. For example, if you’re launching a new fitness app, you might segment your target market into categories such as “fitness enthusiasts,” “beginners,” and “seniors.”

Step 3) Gather Relevant Data

Research is essential in estimating TAM. Gathering data from market reports, market research companies, and secondary sources can supplement your knowledge of your target market and industry trends. You can also conduct surveys and focus groups to gather primary data. The more data you have, the more accurate your TAM estimate will be.

Step 4) Choose the Appropriate Calculation Method

Based on your business, industry, and target market characteristics, choose the most suitable approach to calculate your TAM. There are three main methods: top-down, bottom-up, and value theory. Top-down involves starting with the total market size and then estimating your market share. Bottom-up involves estimating the size of each customer segment (after identifying your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)) and then adding them together. Value theory involves estimating the value of each customer and then multiplying it by the number of potential customers.

Step 5) Validate and Refine Your Estimate

Finally, it’s important to validate and refine your estimate. Compare your estimate to industry data and adjust as necessary. Continually updating your TAM estimate as new data becomes available can also help improve the accuracy of your predictions over time. Remember, estimating your TAM is not an exact science, but by following these steps, you can make informed decisions about the potential size of your market.

In Conclusion

Understanding and calculating your Total Addressable Market is a vital step for any business looking to gauge its potential growth and evaluate investment opportunities and it should be a critical step in your overall market strategy (and your path to success!). While it may seem complicated and time-consuming, there are many available resources on the internet, including Total Addressable Market Calculators, and this comprehensive guide, which should give you all the information you need to calculate your TAM and make the informed business decisions you need to be a successful startup.

The post Total Addressable Markets (TAMs): An In-Depth Guide appeared first on StepUp Marketing.

That’s what this article will show you how to do. Let’s dive right in!

Knowing what your customers need and how to provide it better than competitors is the key. To make sure your company stands out and truly wows your customers, you must analyze the competition.

This is called competitor analysis and it involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of other businesses in your industry.

A methodical approach to evaluating the competition ensures a well thought out foundation for the multiple stages that follow in your GTM strategy. B2B competitive analysis involves taking the time to study your competition and understand their market strategies so that you can make informed decisions about how to effectively target your own ideal customers.

By understanding your competitors you will gain valuable insight into the market’s needs, and be able to craft a strategy that will give you a truly competitive edge.

Let’s take a closer look at what it is and why competitive analysis is key for a successful product launch, as well as how to properly address this component within your GTM strategy.

The wrong approach to B2B competitive analysis

Let’s get this out of the way because as much as you might know this, it is very challenging to not do. The wrong approach to competitive analysis is looking for what your competitors are doing well and try to emulate it (and put your own spin on it of course).

While this strategy may appear to be a safe route, (“seems to be working fine for them”) it usually leads to mediocre or even embarrassing outcomes in the long run. Not only does this approach leave you no better off than your competitors, but attempting to imitate them will likely make you look worse rather than better in the public eye.

Instead of looking for ways to replicate success, focus on creating original strategies and ideas that set you apart from the competition. This approach will show off your unique value and help you stand out from the crowd.

What should your competitive analysis outputs look like?

Competitive analysis is a powerful tool to gain great insights into your competition. Its main outputs include determining product strengths and weaknesses, understanding competitor positioning, and examining the channels they use to reach their target customers. It can help give you an edge in the competitive landscape, so that you can find the opportunities to stand out from your competition.

Let’s have a look at what these actually mean:

Product strengths and weaknesses

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your product or service compared to those offered by other competitors is the most essential part of the analysis. Evaluating these differences can help you determine what value your offering brings to the market and reveal areas where you have advantages over your competitors. Additionally, by closely examining what areas you fall short in comparison to another business, you can determine where improvements are needed in order to remain competitive. This can be done through customer feedback, competitor research, and industry benchmarking.

To simplify we can use these basic questions for each competitor:

Internally, what are they really good at? what are they not good at?

Which opportunities does the market offer them?
What are potential threats for them in the market?

Positioning insights

Examining your competitors’ positioning strategies can provide invaluable insight. Look for their main focal points and identify any potential areas they may be overlooking in terms of their approach to positioning statements, social media presence, and customer testimonials. Understanding how they position themselves in the market will help you better understand their target customers and what makes them unique. Additionally, it will give you an idea of what ideas and values they are trying to convey to their audience, allowing you to craft a more compelling message that resonates with potential customers.

Content and Channels

Understanding how your competitors use various channels to reach and engage with their audiences, can provide invaluable insight for your own business. Analyzing their activity on all channels relevant to your audience can help you determine what types of content are producing optimal or poor results. Additionally, identifying which channels are being underutilized by your competitors can open up opportunities for you to expand your own presence in those areas. By taking the time to assess the various strategies employed by your competitors, you can capitalize on those insights and gain an advantage over them.

In evaluating a content marketing program, you want to assess the types of content produced (blog posts, ebooks, case studies etc.), the publishing cadence , and measure the performance.

You can measure website content in SEO performance,
Which keywords do they rank for?
Which Keywords are bring in the most traffic?

Social channels performance can be measured by looking at reach, engagement etc.

How to do competitive analysis effectively

Identify the most relevant competitors

Finding the right competitors is critically important for businesses in competitive places like the B2B sphere. Digging up useful information about your website when compared to bigger players in your market can be daunting and disheartening at times. For that reason, it’s essential to be realistic about who you decide to face off against. Bear in mind that you can always update your rivals after a certain amount of time if you feel ready to move on from your existing adversaries.

Two simple starting points:

Google Search – A simple way for you to identify good competitors is just to Google your target keywords.

Specific market analysis tools – Try tools or platforms like,  G2 or Semrush market explorer.

Join professional communities – Joining professional communities that your target audience are likely to be part of allows you to see which vendors are being recommended for the same problem you solve. (This method can be a gold mine for a whole bunch of valuable information beyond just who your competitors are).

SEO competitive analysis gives you more than SEO

We mentioned analysing your competitors SEO above for content but it’s important understand that SEO competitive analysis gives much more than just insights into search engine optimization. It can provide a comprehensive analysis which takes many different aspects into account to give you a robust picture of your go-to-market (GTM) strategy’s performance in the market. This analysis can help identify both opportunities and potential weaknesses that can be used to formulate and adjust strategies for success by understanding the values, preferences and needs of the target audience.

Additionally, SEO competitive analysis allows you to gain insight into what your competitors are doing with regards to their own marketing campaigns, giving an advantage when formulating new strategies to compete in the same markets. Understanding such data helps companies craft plans tailored specifically for their target customers needs while capitalizing on the opportunities that exist from the gaps left by competitors.

What part does the competitive analysis have in the GTM strategy?

When it comes to constructing a winning GTM strategy, it is essential to take a step-by-step approach as every layer relies heavily upon the prior. This is especially crucial for the competitive analysis step. Let’s explore the steps of the GTM strategy and underline where the competitive analysis step comes in the order.

Identify your target audience

The first stage of the workflow is defining the total addressable market, which includes identifying your ideal customer profile at the company level as well as determining who are the relevant stakeholders within that company. This information provides important context for later steps in the process, such as understanding their buying journey and formulating actionable strategies for success.

Breakdown Your Buyer’s Journey

The next stage requires you to detail the stakeholder’s buying journey by mapping out how they interact with your products or services from start to finish. By understanding their needs, pain points and expectations clearly, you can create marketing content and sales processes that cater specifically to them for maximum efficacy.

competitive analysis

Afterwards comes competitive analysis which helps you gain insight into what your competition is doing and how successful they are being at meeting their business goals. Leveraging this information will help you understand both your strengths and weaknesses when compared to those of your competitors while giving you guidance on which markets or sectors might be better suited for your products or services in terms of risk minimization.

Value proposition, messaging, demand generation and KPIs

Finally, once you have completed competitor analysis you can move forward with completing the final pieces of your GTM strategy: value proposition formulation, messaging development, demand generation strategies formulation, as well as setting up key performance indicators (KPIs) that will allow you track progress towards targets throughout the entire process.

Following a structured approach when creating a B2B GTM strategy is essential in order to ensure that all required tasks are taken into consideration in order to achieve desired results efficiently and effectively. Additionally it can provide valuable insights from competitive research allowing businesses leverage such knowledge when crafting plans tailored specifically for its target audience’s needs.

Get that piece of cake and make it grow!

Analysing the competition is essential for devising an effective GTM strategy that will ensure a successful product launch. With a comprehensive approach to evaluating the competition, you can build a strong foundation for your strategy and increase your chances of success. The payoff of this effort – new customers and a larger slice of the cake – makes it well worth the investment. By taking a methodical approach and investing in a competitive analysis, you set your company up for success and expand your market share.

The post The B2B Competitive Analysis That Will Supercharge Your GTM Strategy appeared first on StepUp Marketing.