B2B marketing has changed dramatically over the last few years and in order to succeed, B2B brands must go digital.
The rise of digital technologies and platforms has had a dramatic impact on marketing strategies. Not only has the B2B buyer changed, but the B2B buying process has changed significantly too. When researching new products and services today’s B2B buyer plays a more active role in the early stages of the sales process…and makes an average of 12 searches online before reaching out to a potential supplier. They now expect to find the same level of digital experience they’d encounter during a B2C sales cycle. They’re no longer waiting to be found but are actively looking, searching for solutions to their pain points.
The role of digital marketing is to address this change in the sales process by reaching the right prospects at the right time. Companies have, therefore, modified their B2B digital marketing strategy to provide an online experience that not only captures the attention of all those involved in the B2B buying process, but also nudges them along the sales funnel and converts them into sales.
Here are some of the benefits of implementing a B2B digital marketing strategy:
Increase your sales – A good digital marketing strategy is designed to accompany the client throughout the whole purchase process, from awareness through consideration and then the decision. As B2B buyers are active throughout the whole journey online, you need to make sure that your brand is there when they’re looking for information. Even if you’re only gathering potential leads from your digital marketing strategies, you can nurture those leads further down the line and convert them into customers.
Brand awareness – With strong branding and consistent messaging you can create awareness of your brand and services/products within your target audience. And when they are ready to buy, it’ll be far easier for them to make a decision.
Read how you can measure your brand awareness ROI.
Brand loyalty – Having satisfied customers builds more lasting relationships. Additionally, customers who have experienced great service from you will be more inclined to recommend you when an opportunity arises.
Clear and measurable objectives – When your company has a clear B2B marketing strategy you and your team can define realistic and measurable objectives in the short, medium and long-term in a more effective way. Digital marketing facilitates the process thanks to the many analytical tools that are available.
Insightful data – The data and insights you gain from your digital marketing campaigns is extremely valuable. By being able to see exactly how many businesses engaged with your strategies and in what ways, you can learn from each campaign and use that information to improve performance going forward.
There are plenty of digital marketing strategies that can be utilised for B2B businesses. Both for the acquisition of new business and the retention of it. Let’s look at some of them:
Set goals and KPIs – every strategy and campaign should have set goals and main KPIs to monitor. Goals should be realistic, stretching, tangible and specific.
Target audience – Who is your customer and what is the nature of their business? Taking the time to understand who these customers are, what it is they expect from you and what their pain points are will help you craft meaningful marketing strategies that align with their needs.
Content – determine what digital marketing strategies and content types will best fit your business. Focus on your target audience and their pain points, then address those points with quality content. Use insights from your current customer base to better identify the pain points. Attract new customers who are searching for solutions to the same problems.
Content type – Videos, live videos, podcasts, infographics and creative graphical content. All have a place in your B2B digital marketing campaigns. We all live on the run these days. So making content easier to digest via video or podcasts can only prove beneficial.
Plan – develop a solid plan for the next few months. Be clear on who you’re going to target with your marketing efforts and when. Create content, information and resources that you know your customers want and that answers their questions. Doing this builds trust, grows the relationship, makes you the “go to” resource. Also, it keeps your business in the front of your audience’s mind for when they’re looking for a supplier.
Check out Top 7 Digital Marketing Strategies for B2B Brands
Be consistent –Don’t forget that you need to be consistent with your content creation and its distribution. Creating 1 blog post every 6 months won’t bring you the desired results.
Multichannel approach – Relying on one single channel to get your audience’s attention simply isn’t enough. You must connect with them wherever they are, whenever they’re searching for information. Everyone is consuming information through a variety of channels, both digital (website, social media, blogs, webinars) and traditional channels (events, seminars, direct mail, etc.). Therefore, incorporating a multichannel marketing campaign can significantly enhance your chances of success.
Resources – It’s imperative that each strategy is implemented properly, managed effectively and optimised consistently to achieve optimal results. So, make sure that you have dedicated resources, either in-house or outsourced, to manage your digital marketing strategy.
Monitor your progress – Competition for B2B brands is big. So you have to constantly monitor and adapt your digital marketing activities according to what your data dictates. Use proper analysis of your marketing campaigns to see what’s working. And what’s not and where you can optimise further to get better results.
Implementing digital marketing into your B2B marketing does not need to be a tiresome and unrewarding exercise. Know your audience, create engaging content, set clear, realistic (but stretching) goals and give your organisation clearly defined KPIs and business goals. Once you have these in place, it’s vital to monitor, test and learn from your activity. If you can do the above effectively, then digital marketing will have a direct impact on the commercial success of your business. Contact us if you need any assistance!
