It is a fact that B2B and B2C businesses function rather differently. The tools used, strategies made and techniques implemented within the two spectra vary just as much the target market, product complexity and sales cycle differ.
B2B marketers find it extremely important to identify buyer personas, find out what their needs and concerns are and propose a unique value that can be leveraged to meet the requirements of the target audience.
The point is B2B buyers spend a considerable amount of time in researching their future purchase because – well – buying a B2B product or service for the business is not as easy as buying a pair of clothes or shoes! It is a fairly educational purchase which takes time – always.
Whether it is regards to content marketing executed or email campaigns conducted by B2B businesses, the main aim is to boost the company’s attention, acquisition, activation and retention power.
Keeping this goal in mind, here are four things that all successful B2B businesses want you to know about their marketing:
A Blogging Strategy Is Paramount
Plastic Printers (well, the name is pretty self explanatory) attributes 24% of its yearly revenue to just start a conversation with potential customers. And what does the team exactly do? Establish a proper blogging plan to create better conversion opportunities across the website such as offering free design templates.
Plastic Printers also uses a marketing automation software to conduct multiple email marketing campaigns to not just promote blogs but also consistently drive traffic back to their website! Even though it is a very simple exercise, the results are phenomenal.
The key is to promote whatever content your business is churning besides the usual marketing gimmicks.
This step should be taken to show the customer base that you are not just selling a product but are also quite fast-paced in generating user-friendly blogs.
Tweak Your Social Media Content
When one thinks of B2B businesses, all he or she can think about is a boring Facebook page with promotional content or promotional posts. However, this need not be the case for all. But how? We have an awesome example to share with you.
General Electric (GE) is often dubbed as the “most exciting boring brand”. Why? Because of its fabulous social media channels! Their social presence doesn’t focus on the range of products (such as refrigerators, microwaves, AirCons, etc.) they sell.
Instead, they have a unique social media proposition. If you visit their Pinterest page, you will notice how several boards are not directly related to the items they sell. In fact, the pinned images would appeal to a wider audience and not just their target market.
Focus on boards such “GE Around the World” or “Food for Thought”. You will be pleasantly surprised with the quality and freshness of the pinned images!
Don’t Engage With Disinterested Email Subscribers
In fact, it is best to delete them. This is precisely what HubSpot did in 2015 when it started disassociating from subscribes who had opened their emails but had not clicked on any of the links within the email for over six months.
The step was taken to give the subscriber’s inbox a breathing space. Imagine how easy it is to open just email a day to read the blogs or go through any promotional offers or updates, than clicking multiple emails carrying a different message!
That’s where HubSpot hit a jackpot!
Personalisation In Content Is Everything
Boring content won’t generate the amount of leads you desire. In fact, it never has for any business whatsoever.
Therefore, it is important for marketers to find some form of content that consistently performs well with their target audience. Personalise it and they can improve conversion rates by 10%, suggests a study by Aberdeen Group research.
Really – who wants to receive an email in their inbox that is not even relevant to them?! And it is not just about email marketing, it is also about how well a brand can attract them across all digital channels.
Therefore, to constantly generate an air of interest, marketers should also use marketing automation tools to keep a tab on what interests the consumers at the moment. When you sit to create content, ask yourself:
- Is my content responding to their interests?
- Is content relevant to them at this moment?
- How am I going to distribute my content?
75% of customers like it when brands personalise their messaging. And 90% of customers find custom content useful. Whether it is email, mobile, social media or blogs – the key is to make your content count.
[This post first appeared on Wigzo’s official blog and has been reproduced with permission.]
