Lots of people play a part in a typical B2B purchase decision and naturally, identifying them is an important activity for any influencer relations program. You need to know who they are, including their name, job and location. First, you have to figure out who they are. That’s no so easy.
The big temptation is to start by asking the primordial question, “Who’s influencing the decision-makers at my accounts?”, and then jumping right to the obvious answers.
Not so fast!
It pays to back up one step. Start by thinking about the different kinds of people likely to be involved in purchase decisions for your products and services. This exercise helps you form a more complete picture of the influencer landscape. It also helps you avoid falling into ruts. This step encourages you to think about new types of influencers that may have emerged in your market and types of influencers your company tends to overlook.
In my case, I use the 24 categories of influencers from the Influencer Marketing book (page 55) with some additions for some clients. Generally, this basic list covers the ground and more:
Academia
Authors and management thinkers
Bloggers (and microbloggers)
Business and trade journalists
Buyers groups, purchasing lists and procurement authorities
Commentators and other individuals
Complementary partners
Conferences and events
Consumers and consumer groups
Customer firms
Financial analysts
Government agencies and regulators
Individual and niche consultants
Industry analysts
Industry bodies, forums and federations
Internal influencers
Management consultancies
Online forums
Peers (role-based, industry-based)
Retailers
Specialty consultancies
Standards bodies
Systems Integrators
VARs, distributors and similar channel partners
Venture capitalists and investors
Get the most out of this exercise by concentrating on the types of influencers likely to have an effect on decision-makers during the actual decision process. Influence can be exerted directly — one-to-one, influencer to decision-makers — or indirectly. Indirect entails exerting influence through intermediaries.
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One group of influencers is about to undergo sweeping change in the U.S.: government agencies and regulators. Government influence varies greatly by industry. Yet it is present to some extent in virtually all industries.
In the book, Influencer Marketing, Nick and Duncan identify three likely roles for government agencies and regulators:
- proclaimers - those who mandate or “proclaim” how the world will be
- aggregators / communicators - information gatherers and disseminators
- negotiators - determining anything from ethics to environmental requirements
It’s easy to see what they mean. Look at the green tech / clean tech markets. These have become a hot spot for government influence. Many governments are encouraging — if not mandating — rapid adoption. They are raising awareness among consumers and businesses. Some governments are pioneering new standards. Still others are funding R&D, manufacturing, professional training, entire industries, and jobs.
Every new administration in the U.S. federal government brings substantive changes throughout the uppermost layers of government. Sooner or later, the changes trickle down to local governments.
Changes in government influence are headed your way. Be ready for it.
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