Value chain marketing: Influence all buying power ”The key to success is to influence all decision-makers along the value chain at the right time, with the right solution.”
MARKETING
PHOTO: SAMI PISKONEN
– Kaj Pärkkä, Account Director at creative digital agency Buorre
As the efforts to find the ideal route to the customer’s heart seem to become more scientific as time goes by and technologies evolve, companies seem to lose sight of what still should matter the most: the customer experience. Fragmented target groups and diversified needs don’t qualify for excuses anymore – the time has come to turn those challenges into competitive advantage by mastering them in a way that lifts you above the rest. TEXT: TIMO MANSIKKA-AHO
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he good news is, it does not have to take more than a refreshed, comprehensive way to present yourself to the audience. When the entire approach is based on customer needs and wishes instead of mere product development and sales, it goes without saying that customer experience has what it takes to reach new heights. “We need to step into the customers’ shoes to understand them, and that is where it all should begin”, Kaj Pärkkä, Account Director at creative digital agency Buorre, points out. “Adding value to buying process creates satisfaction, which again leads to customers returning and even becoming ambassadors to the brand and service in question.” Value chain marketing can address issues and elements that are beyond reach when it comes to traditional target group marketing, and that just might be the missing detail with many. 22
BUSINESS CLASS | AUTUMN 2023
Who is making decisions, and who is influencing who? Every team member has different expectations towards the chosen alternative. While a product engineer, for example, pays most attention to the product’s ability to perform and available support, the procurement specialist’s focus is on price. The managers are interested in bigger entities such as agreements, lifecycle costs, and purchase history. With value chain marketing, understanding and actions can be established to influence all these people and their interaction with each other. As buying personas and their actions overlap quite often, that becomes an even more critical, also and especially from the customer experience’s point of view. In addition, different target groups often interact with each other in the value chain.
Developing an ecosystem for value chain marketing begins with traditional buyer persona analysis. It is essential to gather information about what everyone values in their respective responsibility. As these personas are strongly connected to each other, it is vital to find the ones that influence the decision making the most, and then create and execute a well-targeted marketing plan. While this approach is apparent with long industrial value chains, it is equally crucial to any company that plans to internationalize its operations. “Value chain marketing helps design series of elements that can be used to communicate with and support each buying persona in a relevant, value-based manner”, Kaj Pärkkä says. “It is a selection of tools and strategies, out of which the right combination is put together for the entire value chain.” The key to success is to influence all decision-makers along the value chain at the right time, with the right solution. After all, decisions are not made based on only one standpoint, but on complex influences from everyone involved. Value chain marketing maps out these relationships and finds the most powerful path to influence buying behavior. |
Read more at buorre.fi/en
