In any business, reaching your target audience can be a challenge. If your business is focused on B2B marketing, you have the added challenge of breaking through the noise and reaching other decision-makers in their respective companies. But just like direct-to-consumer marketing, at the end of the day, you’re still working to speak to a specific audience.
Advertising agencies in Philadelphia, like Padula Media, can help you create a compelling and successful marketing strategy to reach your key business. Consider these suggestions if you’re trying to improve your B2B marketing strategy.
Difference between B2B and B2C
To fully maximize your B2B marketing plan, it’s important to really understand the difference between creating a marketing strategy for B2B vs. B2C businesses.
There is a lot of emotion involved in marketing directly to consumers since that’s how most people decide when and what to purchase. B2C marketing often involves crafting a story or narrative that can pull at consumers’ heartstrings, getting them to feel a specific emotion and make a purchase. You’ll notice the B2C sales cycle is much shorter, too, with the decision being made by one person.
However, in B2B marketing, the overall marketing process is much more complicated and rooted in logic — not emotion. More decision-makers are involved, and with a longer sales cycle comes more money spent reaching the right people. You should consider all of these factors when creating a budget and strategy for your B2B marketing plan. If you’re looking into Advertising agencies in Philadelphia to help you craft your plan, make sure you find someone well-versed in the specific B2B marketing strategies to help you grow your business.
How to Improve your B2B Marketing
- Build connection
- Leverage social media to build community
- Run targeted ads on social
- Use data
- Attend conferences and trade shows
- Segment your content
- Increase the ways people can contact you
- Poll your customers and audience
While B2B and B2C marketing are fundamentally different, there are some things B2C marketing gets right that we can learn from — specifically, the ability to build connections. Sure, marketing to another business isn’t as emotionally-based as a single consumer. But there are still individuals making the decisions behind the scenes. By building connections through storytelling, you add a human element to your business. Don’t forget this when developing your content and marketing materials for your business.
Some of the most successful B2B companies have learned to use social media to drive leads and grow their business. Facebook and Twitter are the two platforms used most by B2B content marketers. With the right strategy, you can build relationships, increase your brand’s presence and grow your business using these free platforms. Make sure you’re joining groups related to your industry and also connecting with influencers who can help elevate your business. By adding a human element to your social media, you’ll be able to build trust and grow your following.
Another advantage of using social media in your B2B marketing strategy is the opportunity to run paid ad campaigns to a specific targetted audience. You can ensure your brand is at the forefront of other customers’ minds through segmentation and audience analytics. This can effectively drive leads for your business while helping grow your brand’s presence. Plus, social media advertising allows for flexible budgets, allowing you to spend as little or as much as you want to reach customers.
As a B2B marketer, the proof is in the numbers. The sales process is rooted in logic and fact, and your audience will be looking for data to back up why they need your good or service. However, by leveraging first-hand data, you’ll be able to illustrate your specific ROI and what problem you solve. Have your customers seen an increase in repeat business after using your company? Has their web traffic spiked? Try and find data points that speak to the value of your business and include those in your marketing.
You should also ensure you’re constantly reviewing your own marketing data to make informed decisions about your marketing strategy. Keep a pulse on what marketing activations are moving the needle and which ones aren’t performing as you had hoped. This will ensure you’re optimizing your marketing strategy for success.
A marketer’s dream is to have a room full of their target audience. Conferences and trade shows allow you to do just that. As you develop your marketing strategy, scope out which events would be beneficial for you to attend and how you can represent your business there. From hosting private dinners to sponsoring a booth, there are countless ways to generate new leads and grow your business by attending conferences.
As you build your marketing plan, you should consider the different types of audiences you are making content for. The C-suite decision-makers will likely want more information and details than a general audience attending a webinar or training. Through this segmentation, you can cater your marketing to ensure your messages resonate with the right people.
Less is never more when it comes to ways your customers can reach you. With today’s technology, there are countless different ways you can optimize your website so prospective or current customers can reach out with a question or inquiry. Consider implementing a chatbot or other messaging plugins that will provide a direct way to contact your business.
The best way to keep a pulse on your audience’s needs is from them directly. Survey your customers and gather data to ensure you’re meeting their expectations and areas that you can improve. This is an easy way to gather new customer information and grow your business.
There are many different strategies and things to consider when building out a marketing plan for a B2B business. It takes skill, expertise, and creativity to generate the results that many companies are hoping to achieve. If you’re considering Advertising agencies in Philadelphia to help you with your B2B marketing plan, we can help. We can work with you to develop a marketing plan that fits within your budget and focuses on your specific goals. Contact us at Padula Media to get started!