Which departments should be involved in journey mapping exercises and why?
In a digitally transformed world, where 70%+ of B2B buyer's journeys are typically over before prospects are open to sales contact, marketing needs to take the lead with developing and maintaining buyer insight, as well as how that buyer insight intersects with the company's core capabilities. Just as important, current customers, churned customers, and non-customers are way more likely to open up to candid dialog with a marketing professional than with a sales professional.
Regardless of whether it's inbound or outbound sales development reps, SDRs are in a unique position, often to be the first point of contact within a company. As a result, inbound SDRs can get immediate feedback on what motivated a prospect to convert on an inbound offer or pick up the phone and engage with an outbound call. At the risk of oversimplifying, if marketing owns the first five or six "innings" of the journey, sales development is typically the first pitcher out of the bullpen.
While it's well-documented that B2B sales has dramatically changed during the past 12 months, most of the impetus changes date back well over a decade to seminal events -- such as the release of the original iPad (2010) and the publication of The Challenger Sale (2011). Sales professionals now live in a world where prospects have instant and unlimited access to information, thus eliminating sales professionals' monopoly on information. And now that sales cycles have elongated and nearly all considered purchase decisions are made by committee, the challengers' ability to inspire change by sharing unique insights generally win. Because of this, sales professionals are also in a tremendous position to know what is working and what isn't for mapping key journey steps.
Now that so many business models are based on recurring revenue streams, customer onboarding is generally really just the beginning. With the advent of tracking journey milestones such as initial value, intended value, and extended value, CS needs to be a key listening post for understanding journey mapping.
Among startups that have yet to achieve true product/market fit and go-to-market fit, members of the product, finance, and operations teams can also bring unique perspectives on how the buyer's journey impacts their teams' success factors.
Which people and teams at your company get involved in mapping your customers' buyer's journey? Let me know in the comments below.
And if you need to improve your buyer's journey strategy so you can grow your company better and faster, be sure to enroll now in our free 7-day eCourse: Go-to-Market Strategy 101 for B2B SaaS Startups and Scaleups.