What Is Buyer Enablement? A Comprehensive Guide to an Approach That Benefits Both Companies and Customers | Blog

What Is Buyer Enablement? A Thorough Explanation of an Approach That Benefits Both Companies and Customers!

Last Updated: May 15, 2024

What Is Buyer Enablement?

In recent years, with the spread and development of the internet, it has become standard practice in B2B purchasing processes for customers to conduct independent research before selecting products or services.

On the other hand, the ease of gathering information has created a downside: it can complicate the customer's purchasing process. Specifically, as the volume of available information increases, the effort required for customers to collect and compare information tends to rise. In this context, the concept of "Buyer Enablement" is gaining significant attention.

This article explains the key points for achieving buyer enablement. In addition to the functions required to realize enablement, we also explain how to create a "Buyer Journey" using the largest corporate database in Japan, uniquely built by our company, uSonar. We hope you find this information useful.

>> Click Here for Details on uSonar, Equipped with Japan's Leading Corporate Database

What Is Buyer Enablement? Definition

Buyer enablement refers to the information that companies provide to customers for the purpose of advancing the purchasing process. In a broader sense, it can also refer to the initiatives and strategies themselves used to provide this information to customers.

Gartner, which proposed the concept of buyer enablement, defines information that satisfies the following four points as buyer enablement:

Relevance

It must be relevant to the specific challenges the customer is facing.

Ease of Use

It must be easy for the customer to use quickly and effectively.

Utility

It must be useful for the customer to advance their intended purchasing process.

Credibility

It must be reliable and backed by data and facts.

A key point common to all of these is a "customer-centric perspective." It is important to go beyond simple product introductions and provide the information necessary to advance the customer's purchasing process while keeping that process in mind.

Creating a "Buyer Journey" is a recommended method for understanding the customer's purchasing process. We explain the Buyer Journey in detail in the article below, so please take a look.

>> Click here for an explanation of the Buyer Journey

By grasping the Buyer Journey, it becomes easier to understand what stages a customer goes through when purchasing a product or service, and what information should be provided to help them progress through those stages.

Examples of Content That Meets Buyer Enablement

What kind of content fulfills the aforementioned definition of buyer enablement?
Gartner identifies the following seven types of content that satisfy buyer enablement requirements.

Analytical Content

Provides data and functionality for customers to conduct their own analysis regarding their challenges.

Diagnostic Content

Provides frameworks to help evaluate the customer's current situation and identify available options.

Shared Content

Provides the information necessary for all stakeholders involved in the purchasing process to maintain a common understanding.

Recommendations

Provides clear options based on the information input by the customer.

Advice

Provides guidance to lead customers through their purchasing activities.

Comparative Content

Provides comparative information against competing products and services using data that is otherwise difficult for customers to obtain.

Simulations

Provides tools to estimate the benefits of implementing a product or service.

When creating content that fulfills buyer enablement, using the seven examples above as a starting point is the most efficient approach.

On the other hand, even if content does not fall into these specific categories, any information that aligns with the aforementioned definition of buyer enablement is effective in advancing the customer's purchasing process. It is necessary to design engagement points tailored to your company by considering the characteristics of your products or services, as well as the specific features of your market and industry.

What Are the Key Points for Practicing Buyer Enablement?

Another crucial element for successful buyer enablement is timing. Even if you create content that meets buyer enablement criteria, you cannot effectively practice it if you fail to provide the necessary information at the appropriate time.

Providing information at the wrong time not only wastes resources but also risks creating a negative impression of your service or damaging credibility, which can lead to a degraded customer experience.

To determine the appropriate timing for providing information, it is necessary to grasp which stage of the purchasing process each customer is currently in.

In the later stages of the purchasing process, it is possible to capture the customer's stage through two-way communication between the customer and the sales representative.

Conversely, in the early stages of the purchasing process, information tends to be disseminated one-way from the company, making it difficult to identify the customer's purchasing stage. In such cases, it is necessary to estimate the stage based on information such as the buyer's website browsing history and behavioral data.

Services Useful for Realizing Buyer Enablement

To realize buyer enablement, the following tools and resources are useful.

Content Marketing Platforms

Used for creating and managing content that attracts customer interest, such as case studies and white papers.
Utilized to provide information tailored to the different challenges and needs of each target and stage.

Sales Engagement Tools

Enable the management of dialogues and tasks to provide information and support tailored to customer needs.
Used to build trust with customers while gaining insights into their needs from past interactions.

Data Management Platforms

Possess functions such as CRM and DWH to manage and integrate customer information.
Utilized to provide information at the right time and build trust with customers.

Customer Experience Management

Provides resources such as support desks and information portals that allow for information delivery and feedback sharing, while acquiring data used for analyzing and segmenting customer behavior.

By combining and utilizing the tools and resources mentioned above, it is possible to realize "Buyer Enablement" to advance the "Buyer Journey."
At uSonar Co., Ltd., we believe that the key to our unique method of creating a "Buyer Journey" is to clearly define three elements: "Customer Persona," "Customer Stage," and "Engagement Points."
Please see the article below for a detailed explanation.

>> Click Here for uSonar's Unique Method for Creating a Buyer Journey

Conclusion

Buyer enablement is an approach that offers benefits to both companies and customers.
By focusing on buyer enablement, you can establish a competitive advantage during the product and service selection phase, while simultaneously developing long-term business relationships through the building of trust.

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Click Here for Details on uSonar Services

About the Author

uSonar Editorial Department

MX Group Editor-in-Chief

We are the uSonar Editorial Department.
We provide information on data utilization and digital technology useful for considering future business operations, primarily for companies engaged in B2B business.