Our experience says customers, especially in a B2B setting, spend precious
little time searching for a product till they have a need. The implication is that
even if you spend a lot of money and creative energy getting to be known, you are
pretty much wasting your time if your message reaches a customer who is not in active
search mode. This is why the most expensive marketing campaigns tend to be for new
customer acquisition.
Contrast this to the situation where you have a specific group of customers who
have purchased your product in the last 6 months and your objective is to ensure
continued satisfaction. Will your communication be different? Of course, it will
be.
While the customer is in comparison mode, the opportunity is in trying to get into
a close dialog and close communication. Anticipating the information needs at this
stage and highlighting your advantages are critical.