The C-Level executives or CxOs are the final decision-makers in a company. However, connecting and engaging with them is a challenge. A 2012 survey from Harvard Business Review reported that more than 90 percent of C-suite executives never respond to email blasts or phone calls.
Meanwhile, utilizing automation in your data strategy can be the holy grail in winning over the executives. According to the State of Multichannel Marketing report conducted by PFL and Demand Metric, triggering messages based on the specific needs of the CxO in a targeted account is the most effective approach. In other words, you can reach and engage them by delivering personalized touchpoints at the right time in the right channel with the right technology.
Here are 5 strategies how you can win over the C-level executives:
Define Your Target
We can never stress enough that the secret to getting your perfect future customer is to clearly define who your target is. It is more true when you’re dealing with C-level executives — it is not the quantity, but the quality.
Identify the right people in your target accounts. Create a database with contacts for all the right personas in each purchasing committee. To ensure that you target the right CxO, you have to understand your target’s rank, organizational dynamics, and influence patterns. Having that information enables you to find the executive that can receive the highest value from your product. Make sure you have verified the industry, size, and location of your target account.
Don’t Forget to Engage the Gatekeepers
After you identify the right executive to target, know their entire team to give you a better chance. In B2B sales, the gatekeepers are those who research and evaluate prospective investments and purchases. The executives trust their opinions and decisions. Thus, it makes sense to target them as well.
Start by building a relationship with your target. If you have built a relationship with them through previous campaigns, strengthen that. If not, find a common ground to build on. Having a relationship with all the key players within the organization helps you close the deal much faster.
Conduct an In-Depth Research
CxOs are more interested in the commercial value and insight they can get from a product or service. Thus, you need to show them how your service or product can help them solve their pain points. Factors that will influence their buying decision include:
- How well you know and understand the industry
- How well you know and understand their business concerns
- Insights and ideas to help them grow their business
- Return of investment and efficiency
To get this information, detailed and thorough research is necessary. Here are some of the things to focus on during your research:
- CxO’s priorities
- Their business priorities
- Their pain points, concerns, and challenges
- Their industry, various drivers (i.e financial and operational), competitive dynamics, etc.
- Trends that affect their decision
- Trends that affect the company’s position in the global market
Related: 7 Most Effective Market Research Tools for Creating Effective Lead Generation
Create a Multi-Channel Strategy
When reaching out to CxOs, generic demand generation tools are not enough. Whether it is B2B or B2C sales, human-to-human interaction is still the best way to convey the value of your product. And that means creating a multi-channel strategy that uses:
- Emails
- Events
- Social media ads
- Online advertising
- Direct mails
- Web personalization
- Phone calls
Reaching and engaging CxOs require a team effort. If you want to successfully do that, assign the right people to the right tasks. You also need to combine different methods and tools to connect to them.
Social media ads or phone calls are not enough to engage CxOs. Again, go back to point #3 — thorough research will tell you what channel works best to engage your target persona.
Related: Strategies That Will Help You Gain Freedom from Multi-channel Marketing Worries
Create a Personalized Content Strategy
Focus on the value proposition and stay relevant to your targets. Use the insight you got from your research and create a personalized content strategy that is relevant to their role. An ITSMA research revealed that “75 percent of executives will read unsolicited marketing materials that contain ideas that might be relevant to their business.”
Related: 5 Ways to Turn your Lead Generation Strategy on Autopilot
Conclusion
Follow the tips we gave to successfully connect and engage CxOs. If you need further assistance to target and capture the C-suit, get in touch with us today and schedule a strategy session with our team of experts.
