Bring your Customer Journey to Life: Becoming the B2B Mentor to your Hero Customer
In the glamorous world of B2B marketing, we’ve grown accustomed to playing the hero, swooping in to save the day for our customers. But hold your capes and adjust your masks, dear marketers, because it’s time for a plot twist! Instead of hogging the limelight, we must now embrace our inner Yoda, Gandalf, or Dumbledore, and let our customers take center stage as the heroes of their own journeys.
So, let’s embark on an epic adventure where we, the wise mentors, guide our customers — the true heroes — through the magical realm of B2B marketing.
Let’s talk about the legendary Hero’s Journey. This narrative framework, popularized by Joseph Campbell, aligns perfectly with the B2B customer journey, capturing the essence of overcoming challenges and achieving goals. So, buckle up, and let’s explore this mythical marketing thought.
Hero’s Journey is as follows:
Call to Adventure → Meeting the Mentor → Crossing the Threshold → The Ordeal and the Reward → The Return
But how does that relate to our customer journeys? Let me explain.
Call to Adventure (Problem Identification)
Our hero (your customer) faces a daunting challenge, akin to Frodo with the One Ring, as businesses stumble upon problems that need solving. Your marketing, like Gandalf’s fireworks, shines like a beacon in the night, illuminating the issues and whispering of legendary solutions just beyond the horizon.
“I should like to save the Shire, if I could — though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don’t feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again.” — Frodo
The journey to Mount Doom is long and chaotic, but once you reach your destination and find the solution, order is achieved and the change needed is located. The Shire will be safe — the home base of the Hero. Especially in B2B, the customer journey is known to be long, and decision-making may take a while, which is why the beginning of the story is so important.
Find that hook that calls them to take action, and help them navigate and identify their problem.
Meeting the Mentor (Research and Discovery)
Every hero needs a wise mentor, their very own Gandalf, and in the realm of B2B marketing, that’s you! Weave your magic as you offer valuable resources, educational content, and product demos, guiding your customers on a path to enlightenment and business mastery.
“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good one?”
“All of them at once,” said Bilbo. “And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain.”
Through the chaos of figuring out the need to solve the greater problem, the customer navigates through a lot of information. As a service provider, you become the mentor that aids the hero in finding their way through this hazardous journey, illuminating potential paths and helping them through their quests. But remember; a mentor allows the Hero to think for themselves as well.
Crossing the Threshold (Evaluation and Consideration)
The hero commits to the journey, boldly venturing into the uncharted wilderness of decision-making. As customers evaluate solutions, your marketing and sales teams swoop in like Sam, providing personalized support and showcasing your unique value proposition, helping to navigate the twisting paths of choices with ease and confidence.
When Frodo and Sam enter Mordor, the goal is in sight. Now the last perilous steps must be taken.
Frodo: “I can’t recall the taste of food, nor the sound of water, nor the touch of grass. I’m naked in the dark. There’s nothing — no veil between me and the wheel of fire. I can see him with my waking eyes.”
Sam: “Then let us be rid of it, once and for all. I can’t carry the ring for you, but I can carry you! Come on!”
Signing a B2B deal is a significant decision that can have a long-lasting impact on a business. As a result, customers may face various challenges and obstacles during the decision-making process. No matter how complicated or convoluted the decision may be, businesses should ensure a smooth onboarding and exceptional customer support to ensure customer satisfaction.
The Ordeal and Reward (Conversion and Implementation)
The climax! Our hero emerges victorious. In B2B, the customer purchases your solution, and it’s time to ensure a smooth onboarding and deliver outstanding customer support.
The clouds were torn by the wind, and a red sunset slashed the West. Seeing the sudden gleam in the gloom Bilbo looked round. He gave a great cry: he had seen a sight that made his heart leap, dark shapes small yet majestic against the distant glow.
‘The Eagles! The Eagles!’ he shouted. ‘The Eagles are coming!’
You, as the mentor, guide them in the right direction and aid them in locating the ultimate reward. You are the one who ensures that the eagles are coming with your business magic and that the Fellowship of your company stands united with the hero, ready to aid and guide.
The chaos ends, and order prevails.
The Return (Advocacy and Retention)
Transformed and empowered, the hero returns home. Similarly, satisfied B2B customers evolve into advocates for your solution. Nurturing the relationship and offering valuable resources will foster long-term loyalty and turn customers into brand champions, and your role as a mentor is no longer as prominent.
“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.” — Gandalf
The decision has led to something great. The problem has been solved, yet the Fellowship remains. You offer guidance if need be in the future, always there to aid your customer.
Welcome home to the Shire, heroes of Middle-earth.
I know — I know, the Fellowship does come to an end in the story when some choose to cross the Sea. But I would argue it never truly disbanded; that the story itself keeps it alive, and that the bonds forged in such an epic quest can never be undone.
Summary
In conclusion, the B2B customer journey can be seen as a heroic journey where businesses act as wise mentors to guide their customers to success. By providing valuable resources, educational content, and personalized support, businesses can empower their customers to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. It is important to note that businesses should shift their focus from acting like the hero to letting the customer take center stage, becoming the hero of their own journey. With this approach, businesses can transform their customers into brand champions who advocate for their solutions, forging lasting relationships and customer loyalty.
