C H A P T E R  4

The Late Stage

The Late Stage

Almost There

The buyer has educated themselves on their need, perused their options and even identified for themselves the different ways your solution solves their problem. They’re nearly ready to make a purchase—but a few obstacles may still stand in their way.

They may need to clear it with their boss or get information to their procurement team to facilitate their purchase. And while they may know you’ve got a viable solution, they may still be nervous about giving the definitive “yes.”

Late Stage of the Buyers Journey
The Goal

The Goal

The goal of your interactive content in the late stage is to prove ROI, alleviate feelings of risk and make it easy for your buyer to make a confident purchase. Your content must also surface deep insights to the sales team to help them close the sale.

Your Buyer Wants to Know…

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What about “X”?—The late stage of the buyer’s journey is where any last questions on features or implementation come to light.
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Does everyone approve?—Especially in B2B situations, the lead will need to get their in-house teams on board and supply them with information to approve the purchase.

You Want to Know…

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Are there any final objections?—Is there any information the buyer is still in need of, or any concerns they still need answers to?
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How can we help the buyer get buy-in?—What information do we need to arm the buyer with to get their internal stakeholders on board?
Consolidated Learnings

Consolidated Learnings

At this point, you’ve learned everything there is to know about the customer. Where other content was about self-discovery, the content you use during the late stages of the funnel may be worked through together by your lead and your salesperson.

Instead of scattered notes or sporadic calls, interactive content helps your sales team and the buyer consolidate everything they’ve learned so far into an easy-to-digest piece of content they can share with others and use to make a final purchase.

Effective Interactive Content Types for the Late Stage

iContact Calculator

Calculators

Late-stage calculators tackle tough tasks like showing the ROI, TCO and pricing. You can use these to give your buyers useful tools that make their discovery totally transparent—especially useful when there are other internal stakeholders to convince.

Your sales and marketing teams also gain valuable data from the buyer’s participation, and can use the completion of a calculator as a buying signal, triggering them to follow up and close the sale.

iContact Calculator

Calculators

Late-stage calculators tackle tough tasks like showing the ROI, TCO and pricing. You can use these to give your buyers useful tools that make their discovery totally transparent—especially useful when there are other internal stakeholders to convince.

Your sales and marketing teams also gain valuable data from the buyer’s participation and can use the completion of a calculator as a buying signal, triggering them to follow up and close the sale.

View Examples
ion interactive QuickStart Configurator

Configurators

Late-stage configurators are incredibly useful for letting your buyer get hyper-specific with their needs. Typically focused on products rather than solutions, configurators deliver the same benefits as late-stage solution builders, illustrating fit and enabling that information to be easily communicated among stakeholders.

ion interactive QuickStart Configurator

Configurators

Late-stage configurators are incredibly useful for letting your buyer get hyper-specific with their needs. Typically focused on products rather than solutions, configurators deliver the same benefits as late-stage solution builders, illustrating fit and enabling that information to be easily communicated among stakeholders.

View Example
ion interactive QuickStart Solution Planner

Solution Planners

Solution planners are even closer to the sale—used to enable buyers to visualize their lives with your solution. Solution planners are perfect for helping your buyer get a transparent look into the solution they’ve chosen, also arming them with a detailed piece of content they can share internally to break down objections and illustrate the value to stakeholders.

ion interactive QuickStart Solution Planner

Solution Planners

Solution planners are even closer to the sale—used to enable buyers to visualize their lives with your solution. Solution planners are perfect for helping your buyer get a transparent look into the solution they’ve chosen, also arming them with a detailed piece of content they can share internally to break down objections and illustrate the value to stakeholders.

View Example
ion interactive QuickStart Solution Builder

Solution Builders

Late-stage solution builders may be more nitty-gritty than their mid-stage counterparts, and may even be guided by sales instead of self-guided by buyers. Using these will help you illustrate the value and fit of your solution in meaningful ways that let buyers share that fit with their colleagues and gatekeepers.

Likewise, solution builders consolidate information in a way that’s easy for salespeople to recall, instead of scattered notes or lengthy recordings. They help your teams stay organized and free the information to be used by anyone necessary to close the sale.

ion interactive QuickStart Solution Builder

Solution Builders

Late-stage solution builders may be more nitty-gritty than their mid-stage counterparts, and may even be guided by sales instead of self-guided by buyers. Using these will help you illustrate the value and fit of your solution in meaningful ways that let buyers share that fit with their colleagues and gatekeepers.

Likewise, solution builders consolidate information in a way that’s easy for salespeople to recall, instead of scattered notes or lengthy recordings. They help your teams stay organized and free the information to be used by anyone necessary to close the sale.

View Example

Learn How to Implement

In the next chapter, we’ll explore new ideas for implementing interactive content marketing experiences by utilizing your existing assets and content.

©i-on interactive, inc.