Mastering the art of B2B marketing is no mean feat! There are many skills and techniques that are essential to apply relevant strategies and activities to build brand awareness and enquiries. Whilst all B2B brands vary greatly across industries, there are proven approaches that work and don’t work!
None of us like to waste our marketing budgets, and this article has some tips on what you can do to apply the B2B approaches that work and to stay clear of the ones that don’t!
What works?
Targeted content marketing
Creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses the pain points and challenges of your target audience can be very successful. By understanding your audience’s specific behaviours and demographics, your marketing campaigns are likely to thrive. Targeting a specific audience means they will relate to your content, and it’ll also help to narrow down what to post, for example, blog posts, whitepapers, webinars, or videos. Try distributing your content on platforms where your target audience already consumes information to help you reach your audience quicker!
Crack down on your SEO
Your website SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is key to driving your conversation rates and lead generation. Unlike B2C, your search engine shouldn’t concentrate on mass amounts of traffic, but instead should have a focused strategy on bringing the right traffic to convert them into paying clients.
It’s essential to understand the keywords your potential customers are using, create high-quality content and have a comprehensive approach to SEO that includes both on-page and off-page optimisation. It’s key to continuously evaluate your SEO performance and to understand where the opportunities are to rival and outrank your competitors.
Regular email marketing
Personalised email campaigns can be highly productive for B2B marketing. Sending targeted and valuable content to your contact list, maintains customer relationships, builds brand awareness and contributes to new enquiries. Sending marketing emails is also a great way to track which customers and prospects are most engaged with different email subjects and content.
You can quickly see open and click rates and what’s most resonating with different audience segments. We find that emailers need to be sent at least once per month to build up strong open rates and a relationship with your audience.
Building your LinkedIn presence
This is a big one in this day and age! If you don’t have a strong LinkedIn presence and strategy for your B2B audience – you need to establish one fast! There are over 930 million members on LinkedIn (as of June 2023) across 200+ countries and territories worldwide.
LinkedIn is an integral part of successful B2B marketing strategies in today’s world because it is designed for professional networking and it’s incredibly targeted. There are many advantages to using LinkedIn, particularly because it increases your targeted connections and followers, brand awareness and audience engagement which can lead to direct LinkedIn enquiries and increased website traffic.
Account-based marketing for higher value sales
Account based marketing (ABM) combines B2B sales and marketing strategies to engage with specific high-value accounts that are considered a great fit for your brand. It’s a personalised approach that can gain great results, streamline your sales cycle and delivers higher ROI (Return on Investment).
What doesn’t work?
Generic ‘salesy’ content
Red flag, red flag, red flag! This is a big no, as it can be hugely off-putting to potential prospects. B2B clients are often well-informed and are looking for valuable information which is useful and benefits them. By pushing sales pitches in your content and sending cold, transactional emails, you’re only going to be sending them in the opposite direction. People expect personalisation in their interactions with brands, so generic messages just won’t cut it.
Don’t ignore mobile optimisation
If you’re not optimising your content and website for mobile devices, you’re setting yourself apart from your competitors, and not in a good way. Over 55% of website traffic comes from mobile devices and 9 in 10 internet users access the internet using their mobile phone – so if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you are very likely missing out on key leads. Check if your website design is responsive, easy to navigate and its performance and content is optimised.
Neglecting analytics
Failing to track and analyse the performance of your marketing efforts means you won’t know what’s working and what isn’t. If you know what isn’t working, you can adjust and improve your results and see which campaigns are giving the highest return on investment. Have confidence, that you know what you’re getting for the budget you’re spending!
Failing to evidence your success
A great way to build trust with your target audience and increase your credibility is by sharing case studies, testimonials, and reviews from satisfied clients. It’s a great way to help prospects make a decision, feel confident about their choice and will enhance your brand’s reputation in the long run.
Inconsistent branding
Your messaging and branding should be consistent across all channels and touchpoints. If there are differences within that, it can lead to confusion and a lack of trust. Not only that, but your core messaging won’t be clear. It’s vital that you are using brand guidelines, values, messaging, and collateral so that everyone in your team understands and is aligned. That’s not to say it should be boring! Understand your guidelines but keep your messaging and design creative and make sure all your materials don’t look exactly the same.
Final thought…
It’s important to remember that B2B marketing is an ongoing process that requires continuous evaluation and adaptation. What works for one business may not work for another, so it’s key to track your results and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Are you looking to outsource your marketing efforts, or wondering whether it’s the right choice for your business? Embrace Marketing is a specialist outsourced marketing agency. We’re a unique hybrid, as our team combines both in-house and agency skills and expertise. It makes our outsourced client relationships seamless, as we deeply understand the best way to integrate our team with your team.
Email hello@weareembrace.com for an initial chat or visit our Outsourced Marketing page for more on our approach.
This latest thinking article was written by:
Katie Hargreaves
Senior Content Excecutive
