Here’s the dirty little secret we all seem to agree on, but rarely accept: few buyers’ journeys start with you. And by “you” I mean your brand, your services, or your solutions.
More likely, the buyer simply starts with a vague notion of a problem. In fact, people researching B2B solutions conduct an average of 12 searches before engaging on a specific brand’s site, according to Google.
This is worthwhile reminder for B2B marketers. We spend so much time living and breathing our products or solutions, it’s hard to put ourselves in the minds of our buyers.
For the average buyer, research begins with an empty space in a search engine. Most of the time, they’re not searching for a brand name, they’re just looking to understand and then solve a problem.
That means creating helpful content that addresses those challenges isn’t just a neat inbound strategy, it’s crucial to success. If you’re not appearing in that first or second search, you might as well consider yourself out of the show.
So as you’re thinking through your content strategy, take a step back from your solution to concentrate on the issues your buyers are trying to solve. In fact, take 12 steps back.