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Today’s B2B buyers are fed up with unsubstantiated vendor claims, give them the proven facts they demand!
Third-party testing offers many benefits, but the most important one is simple: it can boost sales. To reap its benefits, though, you have to understand how it works and choose a reputable provider.
At its core, third-party testing takes a product or service and puts it through the same sorts of activities that real users would do. Key to its success are the recognition that each audience and workflow places different demands on products and services, so typically no one offering is the best at everything.
Good testing and evaluation always require the contexts of audience and usage models. They
also require subject matter expertise in all the hardware and software areas involved, as well as any test equipment and facilities necessary to host the products under test.
Results alone are not enough
Even the testing and evaluation efforts, though, are only part of the equation for success. Raw
lab results, without context or explanation of their meaning and value to different audiences,
are not going to win sales. You have to pair them with focused, easily digestible, and actionable marketing collateral that helps buyers find the products that will benefit them. That collateral can take many forms, including test reports, webinars, infographics, videos, and interactive content.
When you bring together all the right pieces, though, the results are powerful sales aids, tools
your salesforce can use to not just tell buyers your advantages but to prove those points.
Buyers are increasingly leery of unsubstantiated vendor claims or claims that have as their only source your own people. Buyers are demanding proof, and third-party testing from a reputable vendor can provide just that.
Buyers demand credible data
According to the 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report from Demand Gen Report, the
majority of buyers increasingly favor concise, credible content from third-party publications,
peer reviews, and user-generated feedback—with claims backed by trustworthy data, industry
influencers, and subject matter experts. By melding easily digestible marketing content with
supporting research and data from a reputable third-party testing provider, your message will
meet the desires of today’s B2B decision-makers, and your products and services will stand out in a sea of choices.
Finally, hands-on third-party evaluation can be invaluable in proving to buyers--businesses and consumers alike--the benefits that products should bring them. Having subject matter experts experience your products first-hand to determine how businesses and users will benefit from them in real-world scenarios can greatly increase your products’ likelihood of success.
Quality costs
Of course, third-party testing has its downsides. It can’t, for example, make your product win where it does not. No reputable provider will simply replay your marketing claims; your products have to deliver the goods. Testing products and creating actionable collateral is also a somewhat expensive and time-consuming effort, because it amounts to doing generalized proofs of concepts with not just your products but also the competitors you are targeting. You have to plan your time and budgets accordingly. Do it right, though, and with a reputable provider, and you can boost sales and help buyers find the right product and/or service for their specific needs.
For a more in-depth look at the pros and cons of unbiased product and service evaluation by a reputable provider, register for Third-party testing: What it can do for you—and what it can’t.
Mark L. Van Name is a marketer, technologist, writer, spoken word performer, and co-founder
of Principled Technologies, an industry-leading technology company that offers fact-based
marketing, training and sales enablement, and hands-on testing and product evaluation
services that help you win in the attention economy. Visit the Principled Technologies website
to learn how our experts can help you: https://www.principledtechnologies.com
Register Now to watch Mark's webcast "Third Party Testing: What it can do for you-and what it can't.