Driving Impact with the Voice of the Customer: 5 Takeaways from IBM's Jill Cross
If you're a B2B marketer or seller, you know that building buyer trust doesn't happen overnight.
But when done right, with the right approach and mindset, it has the potential to generate real business results that are worth the investment. That's what IBM does - and we're proud that G2 is able to support these efforts, in partnership with Jill Cross, VP of Global Demand Generation Strategy, and her team.
Last month, I had the pleasure of taking the stage at the Forrester B2B Summit in Austin, Texas alongside Jill to discuss IBM's strategy and what she learned along the way. .
As she shared in our session, marketers and sellers must start by building buyer trust through shared customer experiences and delivering engaging experiences with engaging content. Ultimately, Jill noted, it's about being market-driven, and customer testimonials are key to engaging buyers in the market.
That's the spark you need.
Impact of reviews on the end-to-end journeyFor IBM, what began as a relationship with G2 for product review syndication has grown into a long-term strategic partnership focused on customer experience, market relevance and insights. the market. A single opinion on G2 can have an impact on several different teams.
At IBM, this powers a field salesperson, demand strategist, product, product marketing, content marketing, competitive strategy, and the list goes on. They are constantly thinking about how review content can be incorporated into social posts, e-books, and sales kits, and leveraged by business development reps (BDRs) for drip campaigns.
While IBM starts out looking for reviews, it clearly doesn't stop there. They syndicate the voice of the customer across marketing and sales journeys with digital content. They fuel business intelligence to drive customer interest. Additionally, they leverage customer advocacy when they use review feedback to influence their product roadmap and identify referral candidates.
IBM has embraced the reviews as a holistic business impact program, not a tactical program.
While there have been many lessons learned from IBM's work to drive business impact through the voice of customers, Jill shared the following as her top five:
Be represented where your customers are. Think top-down engagement and extend your reach far beyond our traditional brand channels. Show where your customers start their search. Leads are a by-product, not the priority KPI. There are different metrics to measure at all stages of the journey; for example: look at growth, asset adoption, unique company signals, intent signals, how the product team uses feedback, etc. Supplement analyst programs with review sites. They both provide value and can support your goals in different ways. Prove quick wins, then implement them for the rest of your portfolio. For vendors with multiple products, especially large companies like IBM, start small before implementing them across your entire portfolio. Take a macro shot to see the forest through the trees. Going beyond tactics to a macro-level management approach is critical to success.For IBM, the proof is...
If you're a B2B marketer or seller, you know that building buyer trust doesn't happen overnight.
But when done right, with the right approach and mindset, it has the potential to generate real business results that are worth the investment. That's what IBM does - and we're proud that G2 is able to support these efforts, in partnership with Jill Cross, VP of Global Demand Generation Strategy, and her team.
Last month, I had the pleasure of taking the stage at the Forrester B2B Summit in Austin, Texas alongside Jill to discuss IBM's strategy and what she learned along the way. .
As she shared in our session, marketers and sellers must start by building buyer trust through shared customer experiences and delivering engaging experiences with engaging content. Ultimately, Jill noted, it's about being market-driven, and customer testimonials are key to engaging buyers in the market.
That's the spark you need.
Impact of reviews on the end-to-end journeyFor IBM, what began as a relationship with G2 for product review syndication has grown into a long-term strategic partnership focused on customer experience, market relevance and insights. the market. A single opinion on G2 can have an impact on several different teams.
At IBM, this powers a field salesperson, demand strategist, product, product marketing, content marketing, competitive strategy, and the list goes on. They are constantly thinking about how review content can be incorporated into social posts, e-books, and sales kits, and leveraged by business development reps (BDRs) for drip campaigns.
While IBM starts out looking for reviews, it clearly doesn't stop there. They syndicate the voice of the customer across marketing and sales journeys with digital content. They fuel business intelligence to drive customer interest. Additionally, they leverage customer advocacy when they use review feedback to influence their product roadmap and identify referral candidates.
IBM has embraced the reviews as a holistic business impact program, not a tactical program.
While there have been many lessons learned from IBM's work to drive business impact through the voice of customers, Jill shared the following as her top five:
Be represented where your customers are. Think top-down engagement and extend your reach far beyond our traditional brand channels. Show where your customers start their search. Leads are a by-product, not the priority KPI. There are different metrics to measure at all stages of the journey; for example: look at growth, asset adoption, unique company signals, intent signals, how the product team uses feedback, etc. Supplement analyst programs with review sites. They both provide value and can support your goals in different ways. Prove quick wins, then implement them for the rest of your portfolio. For vendors with multiple products, especially large companies like IBM, start small before implementing them across your entire portfolio. Take a macro shot to see the forest through the trees. Going beyond tactics to a macro-level management approach is critical to success.For IBM, the proof is...
What's Your Reaction?
