Main image courtesy of Corporate Finance Institute.
Picture this: The owner of a bank is looking for ways to reach out to businesses in need of loans. Cold calling and newspaper ads are not providing any satisfactory results. Looking at other B2B companies, the team decides to use online marketing to get new clients.
However, before using online marketing, a firm has to know the ins and outs of B2B marketing and create an effective B2B marketing campaign. Marketing professional services in a B2B competitive industry is not a cakewalk. When it comes to B2C marketing guides, the internet is flooded with information, but the situation is not that bright for B2B marketing. In order to present a hard to resist offer, B2B firms have to delve deeper into the customers’ minds.
One study shows that 70% of B2B buyers define their needs before engaging with a sales representative. And, 44% of customers know which solution will solve their problem. B2B clients have clear needs, and it’s the service provider’s responsibility to deliver the same. Firms can only do that through an effective B2B marketing strategy that encompasses keys to success.
B2B marketing statistics every business owner must know in 2022
- Favorite marketing strategies for B2B companies are blogging, email newsletters, social networks, eBooks, and events.
- 55% of B2B buyers consider three to five pieces of content before reaching out to the supplier.
- Through events, brands generate more leads in B2B settings, and case studies help convert and accelerate maximum leads.
- More than 80% of social media leads come from LinkedIn.
Factors that Make a Successful B2B Marketing Strategy
Quality and creative content
Publishing low-quality content will act as a roadblock in the firm’s B2B business growth. Clients demand an in depth-review and explanations concerning the content. Firms have to spend a lot of time and effort on each article to make it informative and attractive.
Through content, firms can show how they can solve clients’ problems. They can also use real-life examples like statistical findings and case studies. Also, a longer post catches audiences’ attention if it is properly structured and clearly outlines the main ideas.
Video testimonial works like a magic
When hiring a B2B firm, clients look for reviews and ask fellow customers about their experiences. A testimonial video will act as a referral for B2B firms and prove their professional authority in the industry. Common elements that must be present in a video testimonial include:
- How the firm approaches and communicates with the clients
- How the firm customizes offers according to client needs
- Do firms look for long-term client relationships?
Before including videos in the B2B marketing strategy, firms have to ensure every part of the video reflects professionalism and authority.
Include the best channels of communication
Never waste money on irrelevant platforms. The best channels of communication include:
- Website: make it content-rich and easy to navigate
- Email-newsletters: it’s the most effective channel of communication
- Social media: focus on important B2B networks
- Events: while firms go digital, events provide the human touch which clients appreciate
Measure data, it is the cornerstone of a successful strategy
B2B companies or even B2C companies, can’t improve what they can’t measure. Even if they have sufficient data, the inability to encode the data and draw conclusions will result in a failure. That’s why firms need skilled data analysts who focus on key performance indicators and promptly identify and respond.
6 tips to craft an effective B2B marketing strategy
Who is your target audience? What are their needs and preferences?
Want to establish a successful B2B marketing campaign? The first step is to research your target audience. If the firm is unaware of its ideal buyers, their needs, and preferences, creating a successful marketing strategy will be impossible. B2B companies targets both firmsand their decision-makers, and you should include both segments when creating a marketing strategy. In target market analysis, firms have to focus on:
- Company size
- Company type
- Company location
- Key points
- Position of decision-makers within the company
Figure out the main selling points
After defining the target audience and ways to reach them, identify what content will work best for them. Next, outline the main selling points like will B2B product increase client’s sales, improve the customer experience or improve employee motivation. Firms can use statistical data like numbers, case studies, infographics, and other statistics to define the key selling points. Through the statistical data, communicate to the client’s that firms, products, or service can improve their operations in the long run.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) will become popular in 2022
As a marketer, do you believe more the leads, the better it is? It’s not always true. In Account-Based marketing, firms focus on creating campaigns that are targeted to a specific audience. In this way, ABM makes live of salesforce easy, as the content and campaign will be target audience-specific. Firms, who include ABM in their B2B marketing strategies, have one primary goal; establish a closer alignment between sales and marketing. Alignment between sales and marketing leads to:
- Increase in revenue
- Greater brand awareness
- More money from the deal
To know more about the AMB, use our Account-Based Marketing Playbook.
Live chat and conversational selling will take center stage
Do you think live chats are only for dealing with complaints? There is no denying it’s an extremely effective customer service channel. 92 % of customers are satisfied with the live chat experience, which is more than any other communication channel. However, live chat is much more than a customer service function.
Firms can use live chat as their most effective and productive sales channel. According to a study, customers who use webchat will 2.8 times convert more than those who don’t use the feature. It’s easy to set up live chat on any website or landing page. Firms have to sign up and customize the chat widget.
Have a clear and engaging brand voice
Unless and until you don’t have a clear brand message, you can’t interact with your audience. To develop an effective marketing strategy, firms have to identify and communicate key messages based on their brand values and the customers’ needs. Next, develop strategies to align the brand message with the target audience. Firms can communicate the brand message via various online and offline channels.
Invest in paid media
Every proactive marketer is aware of the benefits of paid media; both search as well a social. B2B firms must include innovative digital marketing tactics in their B2B business plan. B2B firms must move from a tactical, siloed approach to a well-driven strategic approach that includes all paid channels. Benefits of including paid media in the marketing strategy include:
- Google ads generate an 8 % click-through rate.
- More than two-thirds of marketers invest in social ads.
- Facebook and LinkedIn deliver the best ROI
- Video posts deliver the highest organic engagement on Facebook
- 26 % of Facebook users who click on ads purchase a product based on the ads they see
- 50 % of B2B buyers refer to LinkedIn before making any purchase.
Organic marketing tactics are on the decline because of the decrease in the organic search click-through rates. In 2022, B2B businesses can’t afford to turn a blind eye to paid marketing activities. Professional B2B firms have to focus on retargeting i, as the chances of retargeting customers clicking the ads are higher.
In addition to the above factors, other elements of a successful B2B go to market strategy includes follow-up scheduling, growth hacking, completive research, event marketing, and marketing automation. Amidst changes in the B2B industry, it’s high time for firms to shift from in-person sales strategies to leveraging technology and data to craft a value-driven marketing strategy.
How will Company Expert help you in developing an effective marketing strategy?
Finding it a challenge to offer unique value in the competitive business environment? Need help in crafting a well-articulated marketing strategy? Company Expert will help you out by using innovative business tools like business playbooks. Our marketing playbooks will give B2B businesses a road map to boost their growth and stand out in the competition. The marketing playbooks cover everything from B2B positioning and messaging to B2B professional services sales and marketing campaigns.
A case study demonstrating how Company Expert helped a FinTech firm in the evaluation of their business lines against market opportunity
Problems
Our client, a FinTech firm, had two core business lines – one focused on the retirement industry and one on the mutual fund industry. They were a midsized FinTech firm that had limited resources. They wanted a third party to assess these business lines against market opportunities to determine where they should focus their resources.
Solutions
We conducted market research to identify the market size and growth of each market and determine the size of the addressable market. We analyzed their existing P&L and developed pro forma financials. In addition, we conducted an overall competitive assessment of their products against key competitors to identify the client’s key strengths and areas needing improvement.
Based upon the results of our analysis, we recommended that the client exit one of the business lines and focus their resources on a better opportunity. The client agreed with our recommendation and exited the one business.
Outputs
- Benchmarking Against Competitors
- Sizing the Market
- Sales Segmentation
- Assessed Each Product Against the 4 Levers of Growth – e.g., Optimize Distribution, Enhance Existing Products, Pursue Adjacencies, Grow Inorganically.
- Industry Research
- Financial Modelling
