It is important to understand if your campaign is functioning efficiently. B2B marketers sometimes don’t realize the presence of the leaky bucket effect. They keep on attracting more leads and pouring them into the bucket. However, if the bucket has holes in the bottom, they lose customers even though they add more. They are wasting time gaining leads, aka spending money, because they are just continuously losing them. It’s an unsustainable growth. It is important to patch up this problem before moving forward, or else your marketing efforts will go to waste. Here are some vital trends to follow:
Oldies but goodies, this method has been used by b2b marketers world for a while. Although other techniques have been more prevalent recently, i.e., Inbound Marketing, you should still value Content Marketing as much as you value Inbound Marketing. Content relevancy would always be important everywhere, not just in B2B marketing. When potential business clients want to know about you, they do their research – they go through your site, blog posts, and activities. This is why it is important to have relevant content on your website.
Another important aspect of content is its length; some people believe that the future of content marketing depends on more concise content. Nowadays, people prefer a lot of visuals, helping them understand what they’re looking at. It is often hard to stay focused reading a very long article, especially if there are no pictures. It is critical to incorporate only the important details and keep them straight to the point to keep your reader’s interest.
Almost everyone nowadays has a smartphone. The amount of time people spend browsing through their phones has tremendously increased throughout the years. You would think that businesses would browse through desktops when they need something; surprisingly, a good amount of them actually use mobile phones to browse! This gives them freedom, especially for the businesses on the go, allowing them to work while doing something else outside of the office.
A game-changer trend that marketers need to watch out for is Google’s separate mobile index. Google used to index sites the same way for mobile and desktop users. However, they are now planning to index them separately. This means that enhancing your mobile functionality and content would be very crucial to appear on the Search Engine Results Page on a mobile device. Mobile results would display more relevant results for mobile users, while desktop results would be more useful for desktop users, separating the two. In addition to this, a lot of B2B businesses also utilize mobile apps. Mobile apps give their customers easier access to their products and services, creating a deeper relationship between the two. If you own an eCommerce store, you can turn to one of the Mobile App Design Companies to get a perfect app promoting your business.
Despite all of your efforts to reach out to your potential clients, it is still impossible to connect with each and every one of them. This is where SEO comes in. This is a two-way street; while you’re looking for business partners, they are also doing the same thing. Businesses utilize search engines to look for goods & services. This is why optimizing your site for search results is important, so those potential clients you couldn’t reach out to could find you!
Building a strong brand is every business’ goal. Having an established and reputable name in the industry really does help generate business. Alongside the development of mobile smartphones and the Internet, it is a match made in heaven for businesses. It makes businesses very accessible to the public, putting them in the consumers’ pockets & one click away. This is why many B2B companies take advantage of social media; they can share their story and business with the world.
Social Media outlets don’t just build a brand image. It is also able to help businesses reach out to potential clients. The most used and effective platforms for B2B companies are LinkedIn and Twitter. These platforms can aid companies in getting across to interested audiences.
Automation is another technological advancement in the world of marketing. This enables marketers to target a specific audience that is actually interested in what they’re selling. Automated Marketing generates profitable leads and aid in its development. Techniques such as remarketing give marketers the chance to reach out to a specific audience that has already shown interest in their products & services. This provides efficiency and a high-quality relationship between B2B companies.
One video costs a thousand blogs. The sphere of b2b marketing is no exception to this. The growth of video format has been happening for a long time. For example, a study by Livestream showed that 80% of people prefer watching videos to watching blogs; and it was in 2015. Now, in 2021 90% of the US population prefer video content. COVID facilitated this growth a lot. It would be unwise to think that this doesn’t affect the b2b market and its target audience.
Videos are great for getting down to business as fast as possible, for communicating intentions and emotions. You can be more appealing to your audience, and people tend to trust you more if they see your face. Also, the information conveyed through visuals is easier to understand for the viewer.
But advantages don’t end there! Videos also usually have way higher engagement metrics. This is especially important if you want to grow your social media presence. Just look at the stats: 10x more engagement on Twitter, 20x on LinkedIn, and video also generates more engagement than any other type of content on Instagram.
Publishing video content is a great way for improving your b2b content marketing strategy, and any b2b marketer worth their salt will have a ton of ideas for this format.
Your reputation matters. A lot! Reviews absolutely can influence buying decisions. For example, 97% of people consider reviews when dealing with businesses, which is only the tip of the iceberg.
If you think this affects only b2c marketing, you’re sorely mistaken. Yes, in b2b marketing, you are the provider of goods and services for other businesses, but who stands behind those businesses? That’s right – people. And people will look at reviews, testimonials, case studies – everything they can get their hands on to make an opinion about your company before talking to you.
So, when you start looking to improve your b2b marketing strategy, ask yourself this question first: “does my website have testimonials and case studies? Do we get good reviews?” Because if your b2b buyers can’t know who they are getting involved with, they will pass you by.
Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective b2b marketing strategies. It can have up to 40:1 ROI, and 63% of b2b marketers cite email marketing specifically as offering one of the best ROI. And it’s even the best part! Email marketing helps you to build relations with your business partners. Yes, it is an age of social media, and most of digital marketing focuses on SEO, SMM, and other significant channels. Still, as a b2b company, you communicate with your partners most of the time through official correspondence.
But to be successful at it, you need to remember an important tip. Don’t use emails only to sell your products or services. Try to engage your customers. You can always offer them something of value besides your product. It can be a report, an educational video, a webinar, etc. Yes, the main goal of any b2b strategy is to sell your goods, but if you only spam your buyers with new offers on your website or different buying incentives, you will either train them to only engage with you when there is some sale or make them leave.
You can improve B2B marketing strategies in a myriad of different ways, such is the nature of digital marketing as a whole. Our b2b marketers at Comrade are always ready to help you improve your b2b strategy so you can reach your target audience and grow. Call us at 312-265-0580 or contact us online to receive a free consultation.
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