Where is demand for highly considered B2B sales really coming from?

For a high ACV and/or a highly considered B2B SaaS purchase, we think that the genesis of the sale could come from a number of sources. However, that source likely isn’t paid search, even if a form fill occurs through that channel.

Brand Awareness

We know that people don’t just decide to do a search on your brand one day. They don't just say, I want to work with 'X company' that I haven't heard of before, today. I certainly couldn’t decide to work with a brand before I’ve actually seen it, heard of it or engaged with it. Therefore, it’s safe to say that a click on a result from a branded search is a means to engage with a searcher that discovered you from another source. They're somehow familiar with your brand, and that triggers the search. It does not occur in a vacuum.

What about category searches?

Category, or generic searches are often looked upon as a way to generate novel demand for a product. Dare I say we think of this as demand creation? If we have a generic paid search campaign, and generate a form fill for a demo request - you would believe this to be incremental demand gen, right? Sadly, it probably isn’t. Particularly if your product has a high ACV, high implementation cost, or is in any other way highly considered. From what we have seen, people aren't just searching category terms and signing up for 10 demos to try all of them. If they pick you, something else triggers that pick, and that's when messaging wins the points for the day.

High consideration is a brand game

Just like branded search, a search for a highly considered product works the same way. As soon as a prospect decides they indeed want to solve their problem (and for high ACV, it's usually a significant one), you are in a very competitive situation. Therefore, if someone ends up filling out a form for a demo based on a generic search, it is likely that they already knew about you, just like if they were doing a branded search. They originally found you through another source, and only now decided to click & fill out a form.

What to do about it?

The way to stand out, and as we like to say “be the Coca Cola of your industry” is to be super specific about who you’re talking to and what you're saying.

Be known for something. Unique to you and your audience. What do you do that nobody else does like you? In almost any game, you cannot be 10X better than the competition. As such, you need to take a clear stand about what pain you solve and be deliberate about that.

Know your audience. Again, we need to be very specific about who we're speaking to because that is the only way to stand out in the sea of noise. You don't need to have every feature, you just need to have the right one, for the right ICP. Find the best way to target the group that likely will experience the pain you specifically solve. Walk through the solution for them.

Aim small miss small. Both audience targeting and message targeting have the potential to miss the mark, but when they both hit, it will get you noticed and help create a name (brand) for yourself for a niche segment.

Creating familiarity before for better results

Get noticed and create awareness. How? By knowing who you are, who you're helping and how. 'The mere exposure effect', also known as the 'familiarity principle', suggests that people develop a preference for things simply because they are familiar with them. Familiar brands often benefit from cognitive heuristics – mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making. We choose them simply because they're easier than evaluating every other alternative in a sea of options.

So, for high(er) ACV, the true genesis of a sale often lies before paid search. Brand awareness is crucial, it's the familiarity with your brand that drives serious prospects to you. This is a game of brand recognition and targeted messaging, not just about being present in search results.