Successful B2B marketing often hinges on appealing to and engaging an organisation’s decision makers. These individuals have the authority to make or influence critical business decisions, such as utilising a new product or service.

Decision makers will seek evidence your company is a good fit for their needs, which is where compelling and enticing B2B content comes in.

Let’s explore some key strategies for writing copy that successfully targets decision makers and drives better business outcomes.

What is B2B content?

B2B content targets businesses and organisations rather than individual customers. It includes anything from blog posts and case studies to newsletters and podcasts, aiming to educate, inform, and persuade business owners or decision makers.

The primary goal of B2B content is to drive business growth through lead generation and brand awareness.

An effective B2B content strategy puts you in front of potential customers, where you can demonstrate how you’ll help solve business problems.

Identifying decision makers

Decision makers can make or influence critical business decisions such as sales, acquisitions, expansion, or investment.

Your B2B content may target different decision makers depending on your service. The business size, structure, and industry will also affect your intended audience.

Examples of B2B decision makers include:

  • C-Level executives – including CEOs, CFOs, and CTOs who are responsible for a company’s overall strategic direction and financial decisions.
  • Department heads – such as marketing, IT, and operations managers who oversee specific functions within a business.
  • External advisors – companies may sometimes use external consultants to help advise them on key business decisions, such as purchasing.

Identifying a company’s decision maker may be as easy as looking at their website. You can also use LinkedIn to browse company employees, paying attention to their titles, or contact the business and ask for the best person to approach.

Now you’ve understood what B2B content is and how to identify decision makers, it’s time to start writing your copy.

Writing B2B content targeting decision makers requires a different approach than B2C.

As you’re appealing to an entire business rather than an individual (usually meaning more money and resources are at stake), you’ll need to ensure your copy showcases the broader value of your product or service.

Research your audience

Researching and understanding your target audience is the first step when creating content.

Before writing your B2B copy, identify the key decision makers you want to reach, making sure to understand their pain points, needs, and business motivations.

Knowing your intended audience makes the creation process more efficient, as you can tailor your message to address industry concerns and business desires.

You’ll also better understand how to present your copy and what tone of voice to adopt — for example, how you appeal to a marketing manager may differ from your approach to target a CTO. Competitor research and SERP analysis are also helpful during this stage.

Address pain points

Decision makers are concerned with how to solve problems within their businesses. Your content must address their pain points and concerns, explaining how your product or service can overcome them.

Pain points usually fall into five categories — financial, productivity, people, process, and support. Identifying which group a decision maker comes under means you can tailor your content to illustrate how your service helps solve their issues.

Provide value

Industry leaders seek valuable content, such as data-backed insights, new perspectives, and practical tips.

Ensure your blog or newsletter doesn’t only rave about your product or service. Instead, place your company’s offerings alongside general advice, data, or industry knowledge, drawing attention to how you can help a business at appropriate stages.

For example, your SaaS HR solution could form one of the points in a blog post on improving staff retention and connect the advice.

Providing decision makers with helpful content means they are more likely to see you as a viable solution for their business needs and understand your value proposition.

Consider structure and layout

Most decision makers are busy — they likely receive many pitches daily, meaning their time is limited.

When presenting your B2B content, address why they should use your product or service.

While it may seem counterintuitive to begin with a conclusion, getting your points in early immediately hooks your audience. If they feel your company offers a solution to their pain points, they will feel compelled to keep reading.

Use short and impactful sentences, avoiding generalised statements and utilising direct examples of the value your business can bring. Specific facts and figures are also valuable — for example, demonstrating how much money a business could save using your service.

You can also support your points with graphics or visuals. These are easier to save and share and showcase your points in an easy-to-remember, understandable way.

For detailed advice on content layout, read our tips on how to structure a blog post for lead generation.

Adapt for different funnel stages

How you target decision makers will differ depending on what stage they discover your company.

Utilising journey mapping to adapt your content for different funnel stages is crucial. You’ll need to consider how and when your audience reaches you and what they need to know during each step.

You’ll be altering what you focus on within your copy and how it’s presented. Effective B2B content can come in various mediums, including blogs, whitepapers, email newsletters, social media posts, and more.

For example, B2B content in the awareness stage aims to establish your company as an authoritative voice, making businesses more likely to trust your solutions. Blogs and eBooks are ideal for conveying insights and advice and showcasing your expertise.

The next stage of the funnel is to inform the audience so they consider your product or service a viable option for their needs. This requires evidence of how you can help them, meaning the content could feature case studies, customer testimonials, and product comparisons.

Your copy will become more direct and assertive as you move towards the decision or conversion stage. Use CTAs and provide detailed information on free trials, consultation offers, or live demos to seal the deal with the decision maker.

Take a conversational tone

Whatever funnel stage and industry you’re writing for, adopting a conversational tone makes your business much more approachable for decision makers.

Despite the B2B nature of the content, a relaxed approach is far more successful regarding lead generation. Limit your use of complex jargon and language and use easy-to-understand and engaging language.

This writing style clarifies your key points and establishes a friendly rapport with the audience. Decision makers are more likely to engage with your product or service if they can ask questions or if their inquiries will be met in a relaxed manner.

That doesn’t mean you litter your writing with puns or slang; your content must remain professional. Our blog post offers advice on defining and perfecting your tone of voice for recognisable and memorable copy that converts.

Give evidence

Giving evidence using data and research is invaluable when it comes to appealing to decision makers.

You can utilise evidence during any point of the funnel stage, such as backing up your industry knowledge, supporting insights, and demonstrating how your product or service has helped other businesses.

Hard facts and figures give your content a solid takeaway and make it much easier for decision makers to understand your value.

The evidence you use can come in all different forms, such as

  • customer testimonials
  • endorsements
  • industry expert commentary
  • social media comments
  • awards and accolades
  • relevant statistics and studies.

Incorporating this data helps support any claims within your B2B content and provides evidence-based insights.

Include a call to action

Be sure to include a call to action (CTA) that encourages decision makers to take the next step in using your product or service. This could be contacting your company, subscribing to a newsletter, or downloading an eBook.

Ensure your CTA is clear and easy to follow. Make it simple for decision makers to take the next step, such as supplying their email address or being led to an onsite ‘contact us’ form.

While we often place CTAs at the end of content, there are advantages to giving your reader a chance to engage with your company earlier.

When first clicking on a blog, we rarely read from start to finish — we’re more likely to skim the content and return to intriguing headers. Consider what funnel stage each area of your content addresses and include a customised CTA accordingly.

Final thoughts

Tailoring your B2B content to target decision makers means it’s more likely to lead to a sale or interaction.

Considering your audience, addressing their pain points, demonstrating value, adapting your content, providing evidence, and finessing your structure and tone are all things to consider when creating B2B content.

By following these tips, you’ll ensure that any decision maker who comes across your copy is well aware of how your product or service will benefit their business.