What’s the hardest challenge facing B2B marketers?
In an ever-changing world of tastes and choices, marketers like yourself are rushing to find new ways to engage your customer base. But when marketing to other businesses, the highest target you can reach is also the most elusive; the holy grail, so to speak, of engagement are these mysterious beings hidden in topmost tower of any corporation.
The C-Suite.
An amalgamation of high executive leaders with a ‘c’ in their titles (CEO, CTO, CFO, etc), these leaders are usually in charge of prominent level decisions, determining if your product is worth implementing into their current corporate structure and if it’s worth the return on investment. But these leaders are also extremely hard to get a hold of, with their time taken up by other daily business matters that can make it impossible to get an audience with them.
Understanding the C-Suite
A study by Harvard in 2015 found that executive leaders only spent 2% of their time with vendors.
As a member of the C-Suite, my inbox is constantly filled with email from clients, partners, employees, and pieces of marketing material. My schedule is busy, with both work and family, so I don’t have the time to sit down and read through every piece of email that comes my way.
Only 2% of C-suite leaders spend time with vendors
With so little time, it’s important that your brand is able to make a direct impact on the minds of the C-Suite, engaging us in such a way that we want to pay attention to your content, make a connection, and ultimately push us to work with your company.
What We Want
So what does it take for a B2B to get in front of a C-level executive?
Tell us something we don’t know, be credible, and help solve our challenges
Knowing what we, as leaders, are looking for can help your brand target products and services. These are some of the top focus points to consider:
- Tell me something I don’t know: The more you know, as they say. Even at the highest levels of a business, executives must continue to grow their skills and experience and if you can help us in that endeavor, you have endeared yourself to us. Thought leadership articles and blogs are perfect vehicles for this – instead of telling us what the latest trend is, explain why the trend is and will be important to us.
- Be a credible source: Credibility is extremely important in business, especially when trying to gain the attention of the C-Suite. We like data, hard facts, and how they tie together with what you’re trying to tell us. Nothing says ‘not credible’ more than a business that doesn’t do the research.
- How are you going to solve my problems: Business leaders don’t care about your business; we care about what that business can do for us. How can your business help executives like myself? How can you solve my business pain point?
How to Engage with the C-Suite
Knowing what top executives want from you and your business is just the first step; putting this into action are the next steps.
While getting in front of executives can be tricky, there are still a few ways to help get your foot in the door. One way is by online networking. Your business networks with others all the time and thanks to the growing popularity of the internet, especially social media, networking via these platforms has become another staple for getting yourself in front of others.
Social networking means you need to actually be social
LinkedIn is still a popular choice for business and is considered to be the business social network, if you will. Networking on this site isn’t just about sending in-mails to prospective leaders; as with any social network, you need to be social – while joining some of the groups on the site is great, new features have allowed businesses to utilize the site to their advantage. One of these is the long post, an insightful blog post on a particular topic or further introspection on something that is already on your company’s blog, which you can link to.
Facebook is another avenue to try, especially if a company you are interested in is having an upcoming event. Businesses can post events to the page, allowing for interested parties to learn more about it or ask questions.
If your business isn’t on social media yet, you can check out some of the top networks you should consider, as well as our blog on what tech companies should be talking about on social media.
Not having a mobile ready site is a sure-fire way to lose your brand cred with the C-suite
One of the newest trends to attract the C-Suite is making sure that your website and content are mobile ready. With many of us on the go, it’s not uncommon for executives to read or check various things on their mobile phones. The last thing I want to see is a company’s website from 1997, especially if this company is trying to engage with me; this is the best way of losing your credibility and authority if you try to present an executive with a site that can’t be easily seen on a smartphone or tablet.
Getting content in front of the C-Suite can be challenging, but executives can be available, if you know how to reach them. Creating high-level content is essential for ensuring the C-Suite pays attention to your words and your business. Change3’s Creative Content team can help you navigate a path towards the C-Suite leadership tower. Contact us today to get started.
Resources:
Creating content the C-Suite truly values
How to Choose Content Topics That Get C-Suite Attention
How to Reach the C-Suite with Content
4 Ways to Get C-Suite Executives to Notice You Online
