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Tess Nakaishi
Tess may moonlight as an improv actor, but her strategies are anything but improvised. As a quick-witted Digital Strategist, she makes data-backed decisions to help clients grow through organic search. If you’re looking to win impactful market share in a competitive search term, give Tess the mic.
March 16, 2021 | Gain Knowledge
So, you’re part of a B2B company looking to implement or improve your digital marketing strategies. First off, welcome! Second, buckle in. B2B marketing can seem complex and overwhelming, but the number one thing to keep in mind during every step is your target audience. Who are they and what value are they seeking? Once you’re armed with that knowledge, you can dive into some B2B digital marketing strategies that will help you boost traffic, increase conversions, and bring in more revenue.
B2B means “business-to-business” and B2C means “business-to-consumer.” Simple, right? Just make sure you really think about what this difference means. A B2B model targets other businesses rather than individuals, so your audience is making decisions that will affect an entire organization. As a business, their purchases will be larger in scope and the sales cycle will typically take longer. After all, a business is much less likely to make an impulse purchase at 1am while eating a microwavable burrito (not that I’ve done that…obviously).
They also are weighing a lot of factors, so your marketing strategy needs to thoroughly provide all the data they need to feel comfortable pulling the trigger. And since they are a business, if their experience with your company goes well, they may return again and again to fulfill their ongoing needs. As such, B2B marketing may be a slower game, but it can be incredibly rewarding if you play your cards right.
Without further ado, let’s get right to those B2B marketing techniques I promised:
The marketing funnel is essentially a way of visualizing what stage of the buyer’s journey an audience member is in. It starts with awareness at the widest part of the funnel (where more people will fall) and ends with purchase at the most narrow part of the funnel (when all the casual window shoppers have lost interest). You’ll want to keep this funnel in mind and create marketing initiatives that target audience members in specific stages of the funnel. For example, if you had an app development company, an article called, “What is app development” will target a portion of your audience higher on the funnel than a product demo.
It behooves every business to have a smoothly running website, but especially if your audience may include CEOs in a time-crunch. Check factors such as site speed and mobile-friendliness to make sure readers won’t get frustrated and leave before they can connect further. You want a website that is engaging while also having a clear sitemap so that no important content is more than a couple clicks from the homepage. If you’re in the midst of raising capital as a startup, check out this article we wrote on getting your website ready for your next round of funding.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical in today’s landscape. There are various facets of SEO to consider, including technical SEO, local SEO, on-page SEO, and content marketing (more on that in a minute). At its core, SEO is a way to boost organic traffic to your site and help you appear higher in Google search results so that your audience is more likely to click on your website. If you’re a B2B SaaS company, we wrote an article on the best SEO content strategy for SaaS startups here that you may find valuable.
Content marketing can seem like a beast; who has time to consistently post on a blog or revamp all those old landing pages? But good content pays off. You want content that both follows SEO best practices by targeting conversion-oriented keywords and content that is just, well, good content. The fancy term for “good content” is thought leadership. That means you aren’t just sneaking a few keywords into fluff pieces. Rather, you are producing quality content that provides the best answer possible to your readers’ query. In doing so, your business can establish themselves as an authority in the field, which can have a lot of sway when another business is considering whether your product or service is worth the investment.
With Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC), advertisers bin on clicks and then pay a certain amount when someone clicks on an ad. It’s essentially a paid alternative to organic search initiatives. Paid ads can be a great way to get your business in front of more potential customers and boost ROI. To get the most bang for your buck, make sure your ads are carefully targeted to your specific target audience. Our favorite thing about PPC? It has high intent. Because these users are literally searching for a solution or a competitor, we can estimate where they are in the buying cycle and capture their attention.
Social media isn’t just for socializing anymore; it’s also prime real estate for B2B marketing. Think about your audience and what platforms they spend most of their time on. Social media marketing is most helpful for users towards the top of the marketing funnel, the awareness stage. So, lean into it by posting regularly, creating engaging and eye-catching posts, and sharing content on your business’ social media platforms. It can be very helpful to use an automation tool such as HubSpot or HootSuite so you can easily post on multiple platforms from one location.
Ah, yes, a classic. Email marketing may seem outdated, but it is still effective, particularly for B2B companies. Email newsletters can be an effective way of sharing quality content while also keeping your business fresh in the minds of your customers. However, keep in mind that we are all used to getting a barrage of emails every day, so make every email count. Businesses want to see clear evidence of the value your product/service can deliver. So, keep these emails targeted and focused, with a clear call-to-action.
All of these B2B digital marketing strategies may seem like a lot to juggle—and that’s because they are. Digital marketing is a dynamic, ever-changing effort that incorporates a lot of different elements. Your business may decide to tackle it entirely in-house or outsource some or all of these marketing initiatives to an agency. Whatever your business decides, remember that digital marketing takes constant work—but in the long run, that work can pay off in incredibly rewarding ways.
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