You’ve heard of buyer profiles before. It’s not only a staple for generating sales leads. It symbolizes a solid reality in B2B marketing: No customer is the same as any other. But with differences, there often comes conflicts. How can you maintain a steady flow of sales leads while knowing that you’re doing business with people who have major disagreements with each other?

If you want an example, look no further than attitudes towards Google+. On one hand, some marketers say it’s a ghost town. Yet for others, it’s a social media haven. When you somehow end up catering to both demographics, how do you keep your entire customer base together?

First, here’s an infographic that has a very flowery view on Google+’s capacity to improve marketing. Focus is on gaining more SEO visibility, sharing content, and connecting with influencers.

In contrast, you have critics like Chris Abraham who regard Google+ as the ‘antisocial network.’ Among his reasons include the very fact the people who prefer G+ are the types who don’t really prefer the kind of traditional engagement one prefers on a social network.

Say you’re a social media consultant that offers support to G+ marketing as well as other social networks. These represent two different kinds of prospects for you.

It’s clear that they both have very differing views on how to succeed in online marketing. One thinks that G+ is a great way to boost SEO while another claims G+ caters only to those who don’t value engagement. Do you think there’s a way for prospects like these to get along? Will this eventually mean you’ll have to choose one over the other or will you eventually just start contradicting yourself by agreeing with everything they say?

  • Understand that one approach may not work for the other – This all goes back to the purpose of having different customer profiles. The social media strategy of one organization could have a history that led up to the way they currently view it. On the other hand, those who disagree may claim a different experience. That’s why it’s better that you yourself approach them on their own terms. There is no need for either party to impose their strategies upon one another.
  • Understand the history of preferences – Sometimes it’s just not a matter of effective strategy. The most effective strategies are those done with a certain level of affinity. Some prefer a direct, aggressive marketing approach because it just suits their business culture. Others prefer a more passive, inbound approach because it suits theirs.
  • You have diverse offerings for a reason – Finally, a good way to demonstrate your capacity to serve different customers is to showcase your diverse offerings. There may times in your lead generation campaign that you tend to focus on what’s selling most. However, don’t ever leave out prospects who might be interested in other solutions or products.

As you continue to grow as a business, the number of customers you acquire and retain eventually grows with you. That could mean encountering a lot of people with directly opposing views on how to get things done. That’s why you need buyer profiles. They’re not just means of organizing data. They’re means to help you get along with all of them.