Creating Insanely Great Customers: A Lean innovation strategy for engaging the planet's most strategic customers, the Insanely Great ones. | Get The Book | http://www.creatinginsanelygreat.com Help develop a more effective B2B content strategy. Save time. Provide a great starting point for defining your stage by stage requirements. Provides, requirements for the internal B2B champion at each stage of the buyers journey to ensure they become an “Insanely Great Customer” . Provides sample descriptions for each stage include: What the champion needs to accomplish. The information they need. The best way for you to provide that information. The experience you will need to create for them so they are motivated to take the next step with you instead of your competition. | www.spicecatalyst.com |

1. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
B2B
Content
Stage
by
Stage
Requirements
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Mike
Connor
|
Principal
|
Spice
Catalyst
mike@spicecatalyst.com
Status
Quo
www.spicecatalyst.com

2. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
What
will
this
presenta?on
do
for
you?
• Help
develop
a
more
effec?ve
B2B
content
strategy
• Save
?me
• Provide
a
great
star?ng
point
for
defining
your
stage
by
stage
requirements
• Requirements
for
the
internal
B2B
champion
at
each
stage
of
the
buyers
journey
to
ensure
they
become
an
“Insanely
Great
Customer”
• Sample
Descrip?ons
for
each
stage
include:
• What
the
champion
needs
to
accomplish
• The
informa?on
they
need
• The
best
way
for
you
to
provide
that
informa?on
• The
experience
you
will
need
to
create
for
them
so
they
are
mo?vated
to
take
the
next
step
with
you
instead
of
your
compe??on
What
does
it
cover?

3. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
You
have
a
lot
to
do!
The
demand
to
produce
great
B2B
content
is
skyrocke?ng!

4. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Unfortunately.
.
.
you
aren’t
the
only
one
crea%ng
content
You
Prospects

5. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
So
the
obvious
ques%on
is.
.
.
“How
do
you
create
valuable,
differen%ated,
easy
to
find
and
use
content?”
You
Prospects
Content
that
leads
to
conversion

6. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Food
for
thought
#1
B2B
Marke%ng
2013
CMO
Impera%ve
• Embed
personas
in
marke%ng
plans
• Map
the
buyers
journey
• Address
data
and
analy%c
skills
gaps
• Foster
collabora%on
across
marke%ng,
product
and
sales
silos

7. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
In
B2B
crea%ng
in-­‐depth
personas
is
key
to
crea%ng
great
content
Content
that
leads
to
conversion

8. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
B2B
purchases
usually
involve
mul%ple
account
types
and
mul%ple
decision
makers
(personas)

9. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
The
Customer’s
Journey
provides
a
powerful
framework
for
defining
and
delivering
a
highly
effec?ve
content
strategy
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Status
Quo

10. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
To
create
personas
that
drive
conversion
requires
stage
by
stage
insight
into
each
persona’s
requirements
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Validate
Value
Expand
Use
Refer
Deploy
Solu%on
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Purchase

11. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
• Their
goals
/
desired
outcomes
• What
informa?on
they
need
and
in
what
form
• The
experience
you
need
to
provide
so
they
are
mo?vated
to
move
to
the
next
buying
stage
with
you
In
addi%on
to
the
typical
Persona
you
will
need
to
know

12. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Stage
based
Content
/
Experience
Requirements
This
is
a
starter
set
focusing
on
the
Champion’s
needs
Actual
requirements
will
vary
by
product,
industry,
and
persona
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer

13. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Status
Quo:
Starts
before
prospects
know
they
need
a
solu?on
Status
Quo
• Excel
at
Job
• Stay
on
top
of
trends
&
drivers
• Leadership
insight
into
industry
and
func?on
trends
and
prac?ces
• Objec?ve
thought
leadership
on
their
industry
and
job
func?on
• Be
a
trusted
informa?on
source
• Provide
objec?ve
informa?on
• Deliver
be^er
insight
than
most
• Make
it
easy
for
them
to
be
seen
as
objec?ve
when
they
present
the
insight
you
provided
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
The
experience
you
need
to
create?

14. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
• Convey
solid
grasp
of
issues
• Establish
leadership
role
• Define
ini?al
needs,
decision
makers
and
influencers
• Framework
for
comparison
• Key
solu?on
requirements
• Impact,
deployment
&
risk
factors
• Decision
making
process
• Objec?ve,
insight
• Thought
leadership
led
framework
for
requirements
&
decision
making
• Provide
them
a
solid,
objec?ve
grasp
of
the
business
drivers
and
and
solu?on
benefits
and
a
balanced
perspec?ve
of
compe??ve
solu?ons
Trigger
Point:
A
business
driver
creates
need
for
change
and
ac?on
(A
cross
func?onal
team
(mul?ple
personas)
is
formed)
Trigger
Point
The
experience
you
need
to
create?

15. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
• Framework
to
narrow
field
• Define
constraints
• Needs
of
users
&
influencers
• Understand
impact
of
change
/
adop?on
/
deployment,
and
training
/
support
and
costs
• Methodology
and
detail
for
framework
• Comparisons
for
key
solu?on,
impact,
deployment
&
risk
areas.
• Support
for
evalua?on
method
and
process
• Informa?on
easily
modularized
to
fit
into
evalua?on
framework
• Support
for
choice
of
evalua?on
framework
• Provide
objec?ve
informa?on
• Offer
an
objec?ve
framework
for
selec?ng
solu?ons
to
more
deeply
evaluate
• Help
them
convey
recommenda?ons
in
a
credible
non
biased
way
Explore
Op%ons:
The
team
explores
a
broad
range
of
solu?ons
Explore
Op%ons
The
experience
you
need
to
create?

16. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
• Rank
value
of
core
needs
• Refine
with
influencers
input
• Compare
capability
&
reputa?on
• Analyst
reports,
peer
discussions,
vendor
presenta?ons,
live
trial
• Meet
w/
reference
customers
• Contrast
&
compare
vendor
proof
points
on
core
issues
• 3rd
party
assessments
/
valida?on
of
vendor
capability
and
competency
• Hands
on
experience
and
comparison
in
areas
most
relevant
to
their
highest
value
needs
• Modular
3rd
party
info
for
key
use
/
concern
areas
• Demo
framework
to
explore
/
compare
/
validate
capability
in
high
value
use
areas
• Help
them
be
confident
of
evalua?on
criteria
• Make
it
easy
to
asses
alterna?ves
• Help
them
confidently
and
objec?vely
communicate
findings
and
conclusions
• Provide
solid
/
balanced
proof
points
that
your
solu?on
delivers
the
best
business
value
for
them
Evaluate
Solu%ons:
Detailed
evalua?ons
of
a
handful
of
alterna?ves
Evaluate
Solu%ons
The
experience
you
need
to
create?

17. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
• Build
business
case
to
move
forward
with
vendor
selec?on
criteria
• Review
with
key
stakeholders
• Iden?fy
key
proof
points
• Define
areas
of
nego?a?on
• Review
internally
with
key
stakeholders
• Succinct
descrip?on
of
business
need
• Business
value
delivered
• How
need
is
addressed
• Differen?a?ng
elements
• Proof
points,
3rd
party
input
• Full
view
of
cost
/
impact
of
ownership
and
risk
areas
• Framework
for
business
case
• Modular
suppor?ng
content
• Helped
them
build
a
solid
objec?ve
business
case
• Be
seen
as
a
trusted
partner
• Have
delivered
greater
value
at
each
stage
than
compe?tors
• Can
be
relied
on
to
address
issues
and
concerns
in
a
clear
and
objec?ve
way
Business
case:
Findings
and
recommenda?ons
created
/
presented
Business
Case
The
experience
you
need
to
create?

18. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
Internal
buy
in:
Champion
resolves
internal
concerns
/
differences
Internal
Buy
In
• Present
to
internal
decision
makers
• Address
requests
for
addi?onal
inves?ga?on,
proof
points
and
pet
peeves
• Re-­‐present
to
specific
stakeholders
• 3rd
party
valida?on
assessments
• Valida?on
of
vendor
capability
and
competency
• Hands
on
experience
and
comparison
that
support
business
case
• Fast
turn
around
on
new
requests
• Modular
content
/
proof
points
• 3rd
party
references
to
support
needs
of
specific
stakeholders
• Make
sure
they
have
everything
they
need
to
confidently
support
their
recommenda?on
and
to
deal
with
push
back.
• Make
sure
they
feel
excited
about
closing
the
deal
working
with
you
to
deploy
it
The
experience
you
need
to
create?

19. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
Purchase:
Nego?a?ons
are
completed
–
Deal
is
signed
Purchase
• Nego?ate
key
areas
• Set
up
vendor
• Clear
understandable,
descrip?on
of
what
is
being
purchased
and
why
• Clear
understanding
of
tradeoffs
• Industry
acceptable
terms,
condi?ons
and
payment
structure
• Well
structured,
enterprise
ready
legal
agreements
• Balanced
viewpoints
on
tradeoffs
• Provide
win
/
win
partnership
/
ethics
during
nego?a?ons.
• Be
a
partner
rather
than
an
adversary
in
the
nego?a?on
process
• Make
sure
they
are
seen
as
a
hero
The
experience
you
need
to
create?

20. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
The
experience
you
need
to
create?
Deploy
Solu%on:
People
are
trained
and
the
solu?on
is
deployed
Deploy
Solu%on
• Review
and
priori?ze
deployment,
training
and
support
issues
• Establish
metrics
for
value
created.
• Train,
rollout
and
support
users
in
being
successful
in
key
use
areas
• Best
prac?ces
for
deployment
• Support
to
reduce
risk,
disrup?on
and
abandonment
• Great
training
and
support
• Best
prac?ce
deployment
and
training
workbook
/
guidelines
• Support
escala?on
path
• Community
support
• Searchable
reference
materials
• Fast
resolu?on
of
technical
or
user
issues
• Someone
that
can
be
there
quickly
and
be
flexible
in
helping
them
deal
with
issues
• Con?nued
commitment
to
their
success

21. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
The
experience
you
need
to
create?
Validate
Value:
Value
of
solu?on
is
revealed
though
use
and
support
Validate
Value
• Gather
input
from
stakeholders
• Assess
value
promised
versus
results
• Evaluate
vendor
responsiveness
• Build
case
to
con?nue
or
abandon
• Present
findings
/
recommenda?ons
• Input
from
users
• Data
and
metrics
to
help
validate
business
value
• Quotes
&
comments
to
to
support
recommenda?ons
• Data
from
use,
users
and
support
/
training
• Framework
to
capture
/
present
ROI
• Provide
them
what
they
need
to
feel
confidence
that
they
are
receiving
the
value
promised
• Help
them
objec?vely
iden?fy
proof
points
• Quickly
/
fairly
resolve
issues
or
address
new
needs

22. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
The
experience
you
need
to
create?
Expand
Expand:
If
value
is
demonstrated
customer
may
expand
rela?onship
• Make
business
case
to
expand
• Business
case
materials
and
informa?on
to
support
incremental
deployment
• Valida?on
that
vendor
&
solu?on
is
delivering
value
• Data
from
use,
users
• Framework
to
capture
/
present
ROI
/
business
case
• A
track
record
from
that
makes
them
confident
and
excited
about
moving
forward
with
you
that
makes
them
excited
to
share
that
with
others

23. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Deploy
Solu%on
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Internal
Buy
In
Business
Case
Purchase
Refer
Champion
Needs
/
Ac%ons
Informa%on
needed
by
champion
What
should
you
provide?
The
experience
you
need
to
create?
Refer
Refer:
Willing
to
tell
others
about
your
great
company
and
products!
• Convey
the
good,
bad
and
the
ugly
of
their
experience
• Balanced
score
card
to
assess
value
and
experience
• Encouragement
and
easy
pathway
to
refer
• Scorecard
• Easy
way
for
them
to
share
• Suppor?ve
and
balanced
approach
to
helping
them
obtain
the
evidence
and
permission
the
need
to
present
you
as
a
trusted
and
respected
partner
and
a
must
have
-­‐
best
in
class
solu?on

24. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Validate
Value
Expand
Use
Refer
Deploy
Solu%on
Purchase
Internal
Buy
In
Explore
Op%ons
Evaluate
Solu%ons
Business
Case
Status
Quo
Trigger
Point
Customer
buying
stages
Content
/
Experience
Analy%cs
&
VOC
Process
Flow
Progress
/
Risk
Tracking
&
Mgt.
Customer
Insight
Requirements
SWOT
Assessment
of
your
exis?ng
customer
journey
How
well
does
your
current
content
and
customer
experience
address
the
needs?
How
well
do
your
personas
reflect
the
prospect’s
and
influencer’s
needs
at
each
stage?
Rate
each
cell
from
–
5
to
+
5.
(
-­‐-­‐
5
=
Losing
momentum
&
credibility,
0
=
Good
Enough,
+5
Provides
Breakthrough
Compe%%ve
Value)

25. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
www.spicecatalyst.com
For
addi?onal
tools
and
guidance

26. Crea%ng
Insanely
Great
Customers
Let’s
get
this
done!
Your
Agile
Business
Accelera%on
Agency
Thank
You