Over the past decade, B2B marketing has come into its own. Historically perceived as lagging behind its more exciting, edgy, and innovative B2C sibling, B2B marketing has emerged as a distinct discipline, resulting in an explosion of new marketing technologies, tools, and strategies.
In this article, we will examine cutting-edge B2B marketing strategies and reveal how you can apply them to your marketing operations.
What is a B2B marketing strategy?
B2B marketing involves advertising products to other businesses for use in manufacturing, retail, or general business operations. It is the act of publicizing your brand, products, and services to B2B buyers, attracting new customers, and retaining existing ones.
In turn, a B2B marketing strategy is the plan we use to achieve our goals and maximize the success of our marketing efforts.
How do B2C and B2B marketing strategies differ?
B2B and B2C marketing strategies are very different beasts. It’s helpful to understand where the strategies differ, for example, in:
- A number of stakeholders—In B2B, buying teams typically consist of anywhere between five to 20 decision-makers. In B2C, there is generally just one: the end consumer.
- A number of customers—The B2C customer pool is significantly larger than the B2B customer pool. Though the B2B market is sizable, customers exist in smaller niches, restricting the number of businesses you can sell to.
- Customer journey—While the B2C customer journey is relatively simple, the B2B is long and complex.
- Purchasing motivation—It is widely accepted that B2C consumers are more impulse-driven and make decisions based on emotion. B2B customers are perceived as more rational and data-driven.
- Product complexity—B2C products are simple and available in limited variations. B2B product ranges can be enormous, with significant variations. Flexible pricing and logistics add further complexity.
- Purchase value—B2B transactions are usually of a much higher value than in B2C.
B2B and B2C strategies diverge because they attempt to resolve distinct customer needs. B2B strategies must accommodate multiple decision makers, data-driven purchasing, and far more complex product catalogs.
Perhaps most importantly, B2B strategies are tied to a more complicated customer journey. B2B marketing materials cannot simply push the customer down a linear sales funnel. They have to appeal to and attract customers who do their research, take their time to come to a decision, and expect considerable support and a close relationship with the B2B supplier.
The key aspects of B2B Marketing
To create an effective B2B marketing strategy, you need to cover every base. Though businesses in different industries will have different focuses, there are five principal areas you need to consider:
- Digital—This includes all your digital marketing efforts, from email outreach to targeted ads and your website.
- Content—The marketing materials you create that communicate your thought leadership, raise brand awareness, and build your reputation. Content can refer to any marketing material, but is regularly used to refer to soft-sell materials that attempt to provide the customer with some kind of value.
- Brand—Those materials you design to enhance your brand, increase brand reach, and communicate your values, experience, and expertise.
- Offline—Any marketing materials you create outside of the digital sphere. These include ads in industry publications, TV spots, etc.
- Product—Marketing content that focuses on individual products. This is particularly important in B2B, where customers crave information and will not make purchasing decisions without it.
7 tips for more effective B2B marketing in 2023
1. Make the most of marketing automation
B2B buying journeys are becoming longer, more complex, and more digitally driven. One of the main effects of this is that B2B marketing costs are rising. Companies must engage customers and potential customers over a much longer period and through a wider range of channels. For many organizations, the associated cost increases are troubling.
However, marketing automation is emerging as a key strategic solution to this problem. It enables companies to engage with buyers, nurture leads, and direct customers down the sales funnel more affordably and efficiently. Rather than expending valuable human resources on time-consuming manual outreach, marketing automation facilitates smooth, simple, and targeted marketing campaigns.
You can apply marketing automation strategies in several ways. These include:
- Automating email responses to lead generation marketing materials. When an individual downloads one of your case studies or white papers, you can send automated follow-up emails to develop that lead.
- Implementing triggers in the customer journey. When a buyer demonstrates interest in a particular product, send out automated messaging containing relevant marketing materials.
- Developing customer re-engagement tools. Your digital systems can monitor customer behavior and recognize when they do not engage with your business for an extended period. This can trigger an automated response that seeks to reengage the customer.
2. Niche targeting
Whereas B2C companies typically try to increase their market spread and diversify their product range as they grow, B2B organizations thrive in the niches. You want to be a specialist in your chosen field. That means narrowing your focus and marketing yourself as the go-to expert in your sector. This is a challenge, but one that guarantees significant rewards if you get it right.
Existing in a B2B niche tends to mean you sell to an extremely knowledgeable and well-informed audience. B2B buyers also tend to be skeptical. They know what they are looking for and are less receptive to general sales messages and marketing tricks. They want information.
A niche-targeting strategy takes advantage of this thirst for information. It achieves this by educating customers about products and services in detail. Consider doing the following:
- Establish a digital sales room where B2B buyers can ask technical questions, research detailed product information, and engage your sales/marketing reps.
- Use product demos and tutorials to showcase valuable product features, particularly those that distinguish your offering from the competition.
- Concentrate on developing marketing materials that enhance your reputation as a thought leader and industry expert.
3. Focus on the changing needs of decision-makers
Currently, the B2B sector is undergoing a generational shift. Millennials are rising to positions of power within B2B organizations and becoming influential decision-makers within the company. Nearly 75% of millennials working in B2B are involved in making buying decisions for their company; one-third are the sole decision-makers.
This generational shift means B2B buyers’ expectations and demands are changing, too. As the first, fully digitally-native generation to rise to positions of influence, millennials were conditioned by the B2C digital revolution. Now, they expect the convenience of the B2C digital experience in the B2B sector.
From a strategic perspective, B2B companies can benefit from appealing to their needs and meeting their expectations. For instance:
- Emphasize speed of response and instant inquiry resolution.
- Offer intuitive and streamlined mobile experiences.
- Engage B2B buyers via a range of social media platforms.
4. Leverage search engine optimization techniques
No one in the B2B or B2C sectors should be surprised that search engine optimization techniques have a significant role to play in modern marketing. When so much of a company’s success comes down to brand awareness and visibility, ensuring that you are near the top of the Google rankings is essential.
However, not all B2B organizations exploit SEO’s full potential. Many businesses reduce SEO to keyword stuffing and leave it at that. While that will help you establish some visibility, it typically results in substandard copy and inferior ranking results. With this in mind, consider the following:
- Personalize your SEO output—Most companies are not selling to a single type of customer. Your marketing team probably targets multiple buyer personas. Reflect on this in your SEO efforts. Target content at specific personas and personalize the keywords for those personas. It may require a little more research, but it is certainly worth the effort.
- Utilize technical keywords—One of the most common SEO mistakes is to compete for high-value, over-general keywords. Not only are these hard to rank for, but they’re also not necessarily what detail-driven B2B buyers search for. Don’t be afraid to use technical keywords if your research shows it may bear fruit.
- Focus on link-building—Back linking and link-building are the SEO equivalent of word-of-mouth advertising. Essentially, link building is businesses demonstrating respect for each other’s content and expertise. Create content that authoritative and trusted websites will link to, and you’re on the road to a higher ranking and SEO success.
- Create compelling content—Often, businesses view content as a mere vessel for keywords. The keywords are king and the content is just packaging. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, keywords are essential. But the quality of the content matters more. Repeatedly publishing poor quality content that prioritizes keywords over-delivering value to the customer, and your reputation will suffer.
5. Demonstrate your success with case studies and testimonials
We like to think B2B buyers are uber-rational actors who base all their decisions on data. To some extent, that is true. B2B buyers are far more data-driven and detail-oriented than their equivalents in the B2C sector. That said, emotion and personal feelings still play a role.
Case studies are a marketing medium that blurs the line between rational decision-making and emotional impulse, and capitalizes on both these customer responses. They fulfill the rational needs of B2B buyers by providing a clear and comprehensive account of how your product has benefitted other customers. At the same time, a buyer can’t help but be impressed when they see a high-profile business name attached to a product—e.g., Microsoft uses this product? It must be good.
Case studies and success stories are an effective means of associating your products and your business with successful brands. They encourage buyers to trust your product, even if they have no first-hand experience interacting with your business or the subject of the case study. That is powerful marketing.
6. Prioritize personalized customer experiences
Greater demand for personalized digital experiences is another side effect of the growing influence of B2C norms on the B2B sector. Partly driven by the prevalence of millennials in positions of power and partly by the digitalization of the buying process, the trend towards personalization is present in every aspect of B2B operations, and particularly marketing.
Personalized marketing is a broad topic. It can include:
- Website personalization—This involves creating a personalized website experience for customer segments based on factors like their location, industry, and historic behavior. It works, too.
- Targeted ads—Show different ads and marketing materials to buyers, depending on the customer data you have accrued for them.
- Personalized communications—All buyers have their preferences. Some prefer you contact them via email; others via social media. Some want regular notifications; others want none. Personalizing interactions goes beyond putting a customer’s name in an email. It includes understanding how, when, and why a customer wants to be contacted, and acting accordingly.
- Content personalization—Buying teams are made up of people with diverse interests and responsibilities. They don’t all want to see the same content. Personalizing content distribution ensures different buying team members see content that is relevant to them, maximizing its value.
7. Invest in social media marketing
In the past, the B2B sector has neglected social media. These platforms were places to network and discuss work or industry trends in an informal capacity, but they were not seen as valuable B2B marketing channels. That’s all changing. Gartner research suggests that 46% of B2B buyers utilize social media at the beginning of their buying journey.
The trend is now so established that the Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA) has even coined a name for this type of individual: the social buyer. Social buyers are having a measurable impact on how a B2B company markets its products, services, and brand. For instance:
- Social media marketing is proving instrumental in building industry-specific B2B online communities and networks that share information and advice.
- Social networks are one of the best forums for thought leadership and content that can position your brand as an expert.
- Social media platforms are segmented. Different types of users prioritize different platforms, enabling you to target the most effective channel. Within those channels, the abundance of user data allows you to further segment customers and target them with valuable product-focused marketing materials.
B2B marketing is key to business success
A comprehensive and well-considered B2B marketing strategy is essential to business success. The B2B sector is undergoing significant changes: buyers are displaying new behaviors and expectations, digital channels are becoming important, and the customer journey is growing increasingly complex.
At the heart of this change is a subtle shift in the dynamic between suppliers and buyers. The customer journey and B2B marketing are no longer about selling, but facilitating buying. B2B customers do not want you to push products at them. They want you to remove obstacles that prevent them from purchasing. They want streamlined and seamless customer experiences and easy access to information.
All the B2B strategies brought up in this article aim to facilitate this new approach. Integrating them into your marketing efforts allows you to create the world-class digital experiences your customers expect.
