If you’ve tried to buy B2B software or services recently, you know the struggle. It’s complicated, opaque, and often frustrating.
Research from Gartner highlights a stark reality: 77% of B2B buyers describe their latest purchase as “very difficult or complicated.”
We are all in the business of solving problems for our customers, yet the process of buying our solutions often creates a massive headache. The average buying group now consists of 6 to 10 decision-makers, each with their own agenda. On top of that, the market is saturated—thousands of vendors are vying for attention, making the signal-to-noise ratio incredibly low.
While you cannot control the complexity of the market, you can control how easy it is to do business with you. This is where Buyer Enablement comes in. It’s about shifting your mindset from "how do we sell this?" to "how do we help them buy this?"
What is Buyer Enablement?
Buyer enablement is the strategic provision of information and tools that support customers in completing critical buying jobs. Unlike traditional content marketing, which often focuses on generating awareness or leads, buyer enablement is designed to be self-service, prescriptive, and objective.
It acknowledges a fundamental shift in behavior: buyers prefer to learn, evaluate, and decide on their own terms, often long before they ever speak to a sales rep.
Buyer Enablement vs. Sales Enablement: What’s the Difference?
It is easy to confuse the two, but they serve different masters.
Sales enablement strategies focus on the seller. They equip your internal team with the training, collateral, and data they need to close deals effectively.
Buyer enablement focuses on the buyer. It equips the prospect with the data, calculators, and insights they need to make a confident decision internally—often without your direct involvement.
Think of sales enablement as giving your team a better script, while buyer enablement is giving your customer a better map.
The 6 Jobs Your Content Must Complete
To create effective buyer enablement content, you need to understand what your buyers are actually trying to achieve. Gartner identifies six distinct "buying jobs" that customers must complete to finalize a purchase. These align closely with a robust inbound marketing methodology:
- Problem Identification: "We have a problem and need to do something about it."
- Solution Exploration: "What options exist to solve this problem?"
- Requirements Building: "What exactly do we need this solution to do?"
- Supplier Selection: "Does this specific vendor meet our requirements?"
- Validation: "We think this is the right choice, but we need to be sure."
- Consensus Creation: "We need to get the CFO, the CTO, and the VP of Sales on board."
If your content doesn't help them complete these specific tasks, they will stall—or worse, they will find a competitor who helps them move forward.
Examples of High-Impact Buyer Enablement Content
Generic white papers and fluff pieces don't help buyers make decisions. To truly enable your buyers, you need to build assets that act as tools. Here are practical examples:
- Interactive Calculators: Help buyers estimate ROI, implementation costs, or potential savings. Don't make them guess; give them the math.
- Diagnostic Assessments: Tools like a Website Performance Test or a maturity model assessment allow users to benchmark their current state objectively.
- Comparison Guides: Be honest about how you stack up against competitors. If you don't provide a comparison, they will find one on a third-party review site that you can't control.
- Transparent Pricing: Even if you can't list exact prices, providing pricing models or "starting at" ranges builds immense trust and helps buyers qualify themselves.
- Implementation Roadmaps: Show them exactly what happens after they sign. This reduces fear and helps with the "Validation" buying job.
From Gatekeeper to Guide
The era of the salesperson as the "keeper of information" is over. Today, your goal is to be a guide.
When you provide high-quality buyer enablement content, you aren't just giving away information; you are building trust. Buyers are significantly more likely to purchase from a vendor that makes the buying process easier to navigate. By providing the map, you become the partner they want to take the journey with.
Ready to Enable Your Buyers?
The first step is understanding where your current strategy might be creating friction. Start by mapping out exactly what your buyers go through.
Download the Buyer’s Journey Map Template