In B2B sales and marketing, knowing who's involved in buying decisions is key. The Decision Making Unit, or DMU, is made up of different people in a company that have a say in these purchases. By getting to know the DMU, you can tailor your approach to each member, increasing your chances of making a sale. Let's break down who's in a DMU and how to connect with them for better results.
Who's who in the buying process
Initiator
The initiator is often the spark that ignites the purchasing process. This person identifies the need or opportunity for a product or service and is the first to suggest a purchase or a change in vendor. They may not make the final decision, but their influence lies in getting the ball rolling. In reaching out to the initiator, your content should be educational, showcasing how your product addresses specific needs and offers unique benefits.
End-User
The end-user is someone who will directly use the product or service. Although they may not have final authority, their feedback often carries weight in the overall decision. To resonate with end-users, focus on functional advantages, usability, and how your offering can help them in their daily work more efficiently.
Internal Influencers
Internal influencers are individuals within the organization who have a say in the purchase but are not the final decision-makers. They can be technical experts, senior staff, or managers from various departments.
External Influencers
External influencers could encompass a diverse group of key stakeholders, including consultants, industry experts, and notably, current vendors or competitors that the company has contractual agreements with. These entities hold considerable sway due to their proven track record, industry expertise, and the objective insights they can provide.
Decision Maker
The decision-maker holds the power to say 'yes' or 'no' to the purchase. They tend to be senior managers or C-level executives who consider the purchase's impact on the bottom line and strategic alignment with business goals. When engaging with this role, emphasize the ROI, overall value, and how your product or service can fulfill the company's strategic vision.
Buyer
The buyer, often a procurement officer or finance department personnel, handles the practicalities of the purchase. Their focus is on the price, terms, and logistics. The marketing materials tailored for the buyer should include a detailed and transparent pricing structure that leaves no room for ambiguity. This includes clear pricing pages, perhaps tiered options if the product or service offers different levels of functionality or support, as well as clearly defined contracts that clearly outline terms of service, payment schedules, and any other contractual obligations.
Understanding the dynamics of a DMU
Understanding the internal dynamics of a DMU is crucial to pushing your product or service through the sales pipeline. As dynamic entities, DMUs often feature intricate relationships and hierarchies influencing the buying process. Sales and marketing tactics must therefore be adapted to both the individual and collective nature of the DMU.
To navigate these dynamics, consider the following tips:
Create personas: Build detailed personas for each DMU member, understanding their unique motivations and concerns.
Map the influence: Use relationship maps to visualize the level of influence each member has over the others.
Align messaging: Tailor messages to resonate with each member's specific role in the DMU, but ensure they align under a unified brand message.
Facilitate internal discussion: Provide content that members can use as a basis for internal discussions, such as FAQs or comparison sheets.
Monitor and adapt: Use CRM systems to keep track of interactions and adapt your strategies based on the DMU's responses and behaviors. By aptly managing these relationships and ensuring that each DMU member receives personalized, relevant information, you can facilitate a smoother decision-making process and improve the chances of securing the sale.
Example: Marketing Growf to software startups and scale-ups
Now that you understand the theory behind the DMU, let's move on to a real-world example!
Let’s say we’re marketing Growf to software startups and scale-ups. Because our product does not impact the companies' primary processes and is not a significant financial investment, it is safe to assume that the need for approval from wider roles may not be as critical. Hence, focusing on the key DMU members who will directly benefit from and influence the adoption of Growf is a pragmatic approach to effectively market the product to software startups and scale-ups.
So instead of targeting 6 or 7 different DMU members, we’ll focus on 2 or 3.
Initiator
The Marketing Manager or CCO typically identifies the company's need for innovative marketing solutions to drive growth. They recognize the potential of Growf in automating and enhancing marketing operations and are the ones to initiate the search for such a tool.
Our messaging to this DMU member would highlight Growf’s ability to quickly develop impactful marketing strategies, create detailed audience profiles, and streamline content creation, ensuring that their team can spend more time on high-value tasks that contribute to the bottom line.
End-User
The end-user, such as a Growth Hacker or Digital Marketing Specialist, will be the person who actually uses Growf day-to-day.
For these tech-savvy individuals, the appeal of Growf lies in its user-friendly interface, the depth of audience insights it generates, and its capacity to facilitate personalized marketing at scale. We will emphasize how Growf helps them to efficiently execute tasks such as keyword research, content creation, and campaign optimization, all of which are critical to their role in driving user acquisition.
Decision Maker
Finally, the CEO or Founder of a software startup or scale-up is likely to be involved in the decision-making process, especially when it involves tools that impact the business’s scalability and efficiency. They are concerned with the bottom line, return on investment, and overall business growth.
Growf’s appeal to this DMU member would involve demonstrating how adopting the platform ensures that marketing resources are being used as effectively as possible.
