The Updated B2B Marketing Strategies Every Digital Marketer Needs to Know

B2B marketing strategies are different from B2C marketing strategies, especially in the digital era where online media now plays a major role. Businesses need to plan their strategies to align with the behaviour of the decision-makers in their customers’ organisations.

Our previous article explored the B2B (Business-to-Business) model, which involves trading between businesses. As B2B target customers are not small consumers like B2C (Business-to-Customer) customers are, B2B businesses need specific strategies that will appeal to high-potential corporate customers. How can you develop your B2B marketing strategies, and which channels are best to use? This article will tell you everything you need to know!

Why B2B Marketing Still Matters When You Already Have Your Customer Base.

At a glance, businesses focussing on corporate customers appear to be highly stable. Especially if they already have regular customers and strong sales and procurement teams. Nevertheless, keep in mind that there are always newly emerging competitors. B2B marketing, therefore, is just as challenging as B2C. If you can discover the right marketing strategy, it will benefit your business operation and help retain your existing customers and attract new potential ones. Here are some advantages of business-to-business marketing:

Reaches Wider Target Audience

Marketing enables you to reach out to a wider target audience and increases the chances of people buying your products or services. Don’t forget that decision-makers are not limited to the procurement team but also those who use the products and services. For example, if you are a factory equipment supplier, having a campaign targeting the engineers and the chief production officer is one way to gain the upper hand.

Boosts Business Credibility

B2B marketing allows you to showcase your expertise in the industry, build trust, and boost your credibility. Effective marketing reassures your customers that collaborating with your company will help them achieve their goals.

Expands Your Brand Awareness

This is an indirect advantage of B2B marketing; it attracts other manufacturers and distributors to your company. For example, an organic vegetable farm uses advertising to promote its farm. Then the restaurants buying ingredients from the farm use the farm’s name to promote their menus and boost customer confidence.

Keeps up with the Evolving Digital World

In this fast-evolving world, those in charge of approving the budget or using your products are always able to search for information and connections on new platforms. Therefore, consistent marketing via online platforms helps potential customers to get to know you better and build trust.

Supports B2B E-commerce

B2B e-Commerce refers to trading products and services between two online businesses. The marketing platforms you choose to use will benefit your e-commerce sales.

B2B Marketing Channels in the Digital Age

In addition to traditional marketing such as sending out brochures or emails or joining expos to present new products, most B2B businesses today also need to use online marketing. So, which channels should you use to best impress your corporate customers? Here are the answers:

Search Engine Marketing

In this day and age, the first channel that comes to any procurement team’s mind when searching for product information is likely to be Google. Therefore, you should customise your website to be both search engine and customer friendly. You can implement these strategies for your B2B business:

• Improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). You should write quality content, add keywords to your website’s main pages, and build backlinks to your target pages.
• Create valuable content. Blogging can help you reach your target audience who are likely to be interested in your specific content. This doesn’t just build your image as an expert but also helps improve your cross-selling by allowing you to promote products related to what your customers bought previously.
• Perform local SEO using Google My Business. This allows your business to appear on Google search results, which is greatly beneficial for targeting customers in a particular location. 

Social Media Marketing

While B2C marketing uses social media content to attract customers and promote the business, B2B marketing relies on it to build a brand image, nurture relationships with business partners and expand the customer base. Here are some strategies for your B2B social media marketing:

• Use social media platforms to increase engagement or promote activities.
• Build your business image and trust through branded content.
• Share knowledge or tips related to your products and services, as well as other topics that are related to your industry. 
• Drive sales and promote new products using various content formats like images or videos.
• Share customer success stories or reviews.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is still the most direct and effective channel to reach customers. However, your B2B marketing strategy in this age needs to be upgraded to go beyond marketing emails. Let’s see what you can do with your B2B email marketing:

• Keep the subject and the opening line concise and cover what you want to promote. Use an image or infographic that is comprehensive and appealing to read as people normally won’t spend much time reading marketing emails. 
• Personalise your marketing emails. If time permits, your emails should be tailored to the business you’re sending them to. From the subject line to the content, tailoring your emails will make your customers feel special and like the email is more relevant to them. 

B2B marketing strategies are simple, yet it can be hard when you have to shift your perspective from B2C marketing. If you want to drive business without spending precious money on marketing trial and error, consult our professional team who are experienced in B2B marketing.