What is Buyer Enablement? How to Embrace the Movement

Buyers are vital to practically every business, from manufacturers to medical technology developers. Yet, all too often, organizations focus on the sale. Their main concern is what sellers need to make sales.

But what if that focus was shifted to the buyers themselves?

That’s where buyer enablement comes into play – and it’s a powerful force to be reckoned with. In this article, we’ll look at what buyer enablement is, the benefits of this new approach, and how your organization can get on board.

What does buyer enablement mean?

First things first, let’s talk about definitions. Buyer enablement refers to giving buyers what they need to make a purchase – enabling them to buy, in other words.

This includes basic information about products or services, and an understanding of their benefits. We’re not just talking about delivering information, though. It also includes tools that help buyers to do their own research to make informed decisions when buying.

Here’s a simple way to look at it – all buyers take certain steps on their journey towards making a purchase. Buyer enablement is when you help them with those steps or even complete steps for them, such as:

⚠️ Recognizing a problem and its impact on a business

🧩 Discovering potential solutions and how they can solve that problem

🔍 Researching the different options and how they work

✅ Identifying outcomes and the requirements for buyers

🛒 Making a purchase decision in terms of which vendor best solves the initial problem

⚖️ Validating that decision, weighing up value versus costs

🤝 Gaining consensus and buy-in from key stakeholders

When does buyer enablement take place?

Broadly speaking, there are two main timeframes in which buyers can be enabled – before their purchase and after their purchase.

Enabling buyers before their purchase

Enabling buyers before a purchase is all about making their decision easier. What can you give them to help them decide whether to buy? This includes everything from customer reviews to product demonstrations.

But it’s not just about having this content and giving it to them. Many organizations will already be doing that. With buyer enablement, the task is to make this content revolve around your buyers, their needs, and their pain points. Doing so allows you to better demonstrate your product’s value.

For many organizations, it’s about reshaping or repurposing content you already have to make it about your buyers, rather than sellers.

Continuing to enable buyers after purchasing

Enabling buyers before their purchase might be the priority for many organizations, but it’s also important to continue enabling buyers with a view to:

• Improve customer retention
• Secure repeat business
• Retain ongoing subscriptions or services

After buyers have made a purchase, your focus should be on helping them get the most out of your products. This includes:

• Tutorials and user guides
• Staff training
• Resources for setup and onboarding
• Integration with existing equipment or systems
• Ongoing maintenance or updates

Difference with sales & revenue enablement

When defining buyer enablement, it’s also worth clarifying how it differs from similar terms you might come across. Chief among these is sales enablement, which has gained traction over the past decade or so.

Sales enablement is similar in the sense that you are enabling the sales process. However, it comes at it from the other side – enabling your sellers with the tools they need to target and connect with buyers.

Another enablement concept is revenue enablement. In this case, the focus is much broader. While buyer enablement does encompass both pre- and post-purchase stages, revenue enablement is about aligning the entire customer journey.

Benefits of buyer enablement

Faster sales process 🏃

According to Databox, the average B2B sales cycle lasts over two months (2.1 to be precise). That’s a long time to be waiting for a purchase to be made or not made – and you still need to dedicate your sales team to potential customers in the meantime. By taking care of certain steps and giving buyers everything they need, you can make your sales process quicker and feel less like you’re in limbo.

Increases the likelihood of consensus 🤝

Buyers aren’t standalone decision-makers. The typical B2B buying group includes between six and ten stakeholders, according to Forbes. Each of these have gathered information themselves to bring to the table to address their pains when figuring out which solution to choose.

Buyer enablement gives stakeholders more information about your solution. Rather than leaving it to chance and hoping you come out on top, you can give different decision-makers a sound understanding of your product and how it solves their problems. It takes them one step closer to a consensus on their side.

More effective use of resources 🧰

Did you know that the average B2B buyer only spends 17% of their purchasing journey meeting with potential sellers? If you consider that multiple suppliers are involved, that could mean time with your own sales team only accounts for a tiny fraction of their overall process.

If you’re looking to have more of an impact on purchasing, sales enablement only gives you access to that 5-6% of buyers’ time. In contrast, buyer enablement gives you more influence over the process as a whole.

Sets you apart 🏅

Gartner’s B2B Buying Report reveals that 77% of B2B customers had an extremely difficult experience with their most recent purchase. That’s an overwhelming majority of B2B interactions that don’t go well. Buyer enablement works to make things easier and more enjoyable for potential customers, meaning it could set you apart from lots of competitors.

Enabling your buyers – how to get on board

When it comes to buyer enablement, an important distinction to make is between your buyers as a collective and each buyer as an individual. Buyer enablement can be effective when you’re working with the needs and pain points of your target audience on a broad, collective level.

However, it’s far more impactful when you can home in on each buyer and how your product aligns with their specific requirements, preferences, and circumstances. The technology you choose will be central to this approach.

POP is a buyer enablement platform with a difference. With POP, you can create customized interactive experiences for buyers both before and after their purchase, giving them a wealth of information to make informed and better buying decisions to get the most out of their purchase.

You can create dynamic, engaging and immersive content that enhances your buyer’s journey. By leveraging technology and design, POPcomms enables you to transform traditional presentations and product demonstrations into interactive experiences to facilitate buyers with better understanding, engagement and decision making.

But you’re not left to it alone. POP’s Professional Services Team onboard customers through a comprehensive, structured and collaborative process, called the Customer Success Blueprint, designed to ensure a smooth transition and to maximize the effectiveness of the platform. Our team works closely with your key stakeholders to gather comprehensive insights and align understanding of your business and your buyers’ needs, challenges, and goals. This ensures that experiences are tailored to address your buyers’ unique pain points and potential objectives, crafting compelling narratives around your products and services to meet both their needs and your business goals. This process equips your sales team with the necessary tools to sell and, more importantly, empowers your buyers to make confident purchasing decisions.