Corporate Buying Process

Within corporations, there exists a formalized new vendor evaluation process. Within this process, corporate buys are structured as pilot tests (hypothesis test that a platform can generate a superior ROAS or lower CPA by being able to target bottom of the funnel users) for the new solutions to organizational challenges & goals. Each solution often requires a business case to be made with the procurement team from both a conceptual and quantitative perspective. The procurement team then works with the planning team to get budgetary approval regarding the new vendor/solution. Once budget is approved, the buy is structured in the form of a pilot test of the solution with agreed upon KPIs and an attribution methodology to prove them out. From there, once the ROI is proved out on the pilot test per hitting the co-authored KPIs, then the solution can be scaled across the organization or upgraded.

Since the corporate buying process is formalized and incremental in nature, the enterprise sales process mirrors this and is also incremental. The EAE works with the corporate buying team in order to evaluate the platform as a potential new vendor. This new vendor evaluation process involves the EAE co-authoring a solution and Buying Paradigm & ROI model with the buying team in order to build the business case for budgetary approval. This process follows certain stages and requires multiple meetings:

SETTING THE DC - The client willing to take a meeting with us

DC - The client agreeing to evaluate us as a potential vendor

PC - The client agreeing to test a pilot

PROPOSAL CALL - The client agreeing to the buy

CLOSING & ONBOARDING - The client agreeing to upgrade once certain KPIs are achieved

WHAT IS A PILOT?

I consider a pilot to be a hypothesis test of some sort on either a certain number of locations out of the total or for a certain period of time. Basically, a way of testing the solution to prove out the ROI before scaling it across or up. Most sophisticated corporate buyers want to prove out ROI on a smaller pilot before scaling whether that is smaller subset of locations or for shorter period of time as in actual MM or enterprise accts vs. quasi local accts.

PILOT BEST PRACTICE

Obviously, our goal should be to begin the discussion around all locations having a need and look at it from that perspective but the data does confirm that sophisticated corporate buyers want to pilot from either a smaller # of locs or for shorter time period before scaling across or up.

I think the main takeaway is to ask questions to demonstrate we should have all locations in play with the understanding that sophisticated corporate buyers typically test new vendors gradually and be ready to tailor the solution accordingly.

A helpful way of doing this is to find out:

How they are measuring success in the first place. How are they tracking success?

Do all locations have the same needs or different needs/growth goals?

Any capacity constraints to be able to hit that goal?

Is the marketing budget there to support hitting that goal?