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When someone buys for themselves, you usually have one person to convince, or a household. When someone buys for an organisation, you usually have several. The person who finds you is often not the person who signs. Between them sit the budget holder, the people who will use what you sell and the specialist who checks the detail. Any of them can slow things down.
Few organisations call this group a committee, but most bigger decisions have one. A firm choosing an adviser, a company choosing a supplier, a charity choosing a partner: the roles change names, the pattern holds. We looked at one sector in healthcare marketing and the buying committee. This is the wider version.
Map who decides
Before any message, list everyone with a say in the decision, including the people you may never meet.
The quickest way to start is to ask. Early on, ask the person you are talking to who else will need to be comfortable with this, and what they will want to see. Then check what you hear by talking to people who have chosen you before. That is where our human-centred design work always starts, and what good discovery actually looks like covers how to run those conversations.
The people who matter most may not be the ones you expect. For HCML, they were the intermediaries who recommend and buy its corporate health services. For Bush & Co, they were the solicitors and insurers who choose it. We interviewed both groups to learn how they decide, and the healthcare piece tells both stories.
What each person fears, and the proof that settles it
Everyone on the map is protecting something. Write it down, then match it with proof. The roles below are a starting point. Your own conversations will change them.
| Who | What they ask first | What they are afraid of | Proof that settles it |
|---|---|---|---|
| The person who found you | Will this solve the problem I came to you with? | Being let down in front of colleagues | A case study from an organisation like theirs |
| The budget holder | Is it worth the money? | Spending on something that never pays back | How your fees work and what is included |
| The people who will use it | Will this make my work easier or harder? | A change chosen by people who won’t live with it | A demonstration, or a word with someone who uses it now |
| The specialist who checks the detail | Does it really do what it says? | Missing the flaw they were there to catch | Specifications, standards and straight technical answers |
| Whoever signs it off | Is this the right call? | Being asked later why they agreed | A clear summary, and what happens if things go wrong |
| Advisers outside the organisation | Can I recommend this without risking my name? | Their own client blaming them | Evidence they can share, and a provider who keeps in touch |
Most of these fears are personal. When people enquire with us, a quieter question sits behind the ones about time and budget: can I justify this internally? Helping each person answer that does more than another argument for your offer. For more on choosing the proof, read social proof that works.
One story, told the same way to everyone
Giving each person their own proof doesn’t mean giving each their own message. People on a committee talk to each other. If the story changes from one meeting to the next, each of them meets a different company.
So settle one story first: what you do, who it is for and why it matters. Then arrange the proof around it. That is the job of positioning and messaging.
The hardest committee to align is sometimes your own. Leadership, sales and delivery each see the business a little differently, and a buyer may hear from all three. A brand workshop gets your leadership team pulling the same way. For Sava, a workshop with the senior management team was the start of bringing several brands, divisions and websites under one name and one site. Making a complex offer simple tells that story.
Give your champion what they need
One person usually ends up arguing your case inside the organisation, often the one who found you. They will retell your story in rooms you never enter. If your sales depend on the few people who can explain what you do, the story has to travel without them.
So make your champion’s job easy. Their kit needn’t be elaborate:
- A line they can repeat. What you do and why it matters, in one sentence anyone could say.
- A page they can forward. The problem, what you would do, what it costs and what happens next.
- A deck that stands on its own. Slides that make sense without you there to talk them through.
- Proof from someone like them. One case study from an organisation that looks like theirs.
- Answers to the hard questions. Cost, timing, risk and who they would deal with, before anyone has to ask.
Film can help with the hardest parts. For Sava, we introduced film clips as a quick and engaging way into the more complicated parts of the offer, and a short clip is easy to forward. This is where pitch decks and sales tools earn their keep.
Content for each stage of the decision
A decision made by a group often takes weeks or months, and the people involved change as it goes. One person may find you. Several more will judge you.
| Stage | Who is usually involved | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Noticing a need | One person, often searching | Articles and guides that answer their question in their words |
| Making a shortlist | The finder, perhaps a colleague | Pages that say plainly who you are for, and case studies |
| Making the case inside | The champion, the budget holder, the people who will use it | The champion’s kit above |
| Checking the detail | Specialists, procurement, sometimes legal | Specifications, policies, references and the documents they ask for |
| Deciding | Whoever signs | A clear summary, clear terms, and the people they will work with |
The pattern underneath: visibility when people first notice you, clarity while they compare, trust when they decide. Mapping how your buyers decide, from interviews rather than guesses, shows where you are helping them and where you are losing them.
How a website serves a committee
Several people on a committee may visit your website separately, before anyone gets in touch, each looking for a different answer. A site that only speaks to the obvious buyer leaves the rest to guess. Three things help.
- A route for each reader. The Anderson Group, a global outsourcing and payroll business, has a varied customer base. So the website we built adapted to each audience, with a clearly mapped route for each visitor depending on their needs.
- Proof where the question comes up. The documents a specialist needs one click from the service page, and a case study beside the claim it backs.
- Pages worth forwarding. A page that answers one question well is something a champion can send on.
Serving several readers doesn’t mean giving each one equal space on every page. For Staffline, we ran workshops with clients and with candidates. The results gave a strong steer on what would satisfy all of them, and the new site put the candidate first. Knowing whose question comes first on each page is part of the map, and part of good website design.
Where to start
Take the next decision you most want to win and fill in the first table for it, with real names where you have them. Any row with no proof beside it is a gap. Start with the one that would worry whoever signs. The healthcare piece sets out the same map in five steps.
If an outside view would help, our free marketing audit comes back with three things you could fix this month, or you can just get in touch.
Common questions
What if we only ever deal with one person?
Then you are probably dealing with your champion. Ask early who else needs to be comfortable with the decision, and give your contact the kit above, so the case reaches the others in your words.
Should we market to the decision maker or the champion?
Both, in different ways. The champion needs material they can use and pass on. The decision maker needs short, clear answers, and those usually reach them through the champion.
Does this apply to charities and the public sector?
Yes. A charity’s decision may pass through its trustees, and a public body’s through a formal procurement process. The names change. The need for one clear story, with proof for each person, doesn’t.
