The Differences Between B2B Marketing Strategy And Tactic
B2B marketing strategies are often confused with tactics. While they may be interconnected, seasoned B2B marketers know that a strategy is the master plan, while tactics are the specific tools utilized to achieve that plan. The strategy encompasses your goals, the methodology to measure success rates, your target audience, and how you'll appeal to them.
For instance, if you need to increase signups, you might implement the tactics of email marketing, paid ads, and social media campaigns. The SaaS marketing tactics list is pretty long, which can be a double-edged sword. Sure, you have plenty of options to choose from, but you also need to be able to assess your business's and target audience's needs to choose the ones that deliver maximum ROI.
Among the most popular and successful tactics are account-based marketing (ABM), gamification, content marketing, retargeting, micro-moment marketing, and direct mail. Your allocated B2B marketing resources play a crucial role, too, so you must ensure you do your best with what you have.
The 4 Types Of B2B Marketing
1. Email Marketing
Does your B2B marketer use email to attract customers and increase sales? Chances are that they do. B2B audiences are interested in seeing evidence-based arguments and increased ROI. That's why your company must know their interests, needs, and requirements. Ensure your emails are informative and detailed so that they grab people's attention. Give extra attention to your subject line and include only one CTA in every email. You may also need to segment your email to attract customers at different stages.
2. Digital Marketing
This should be a big part of your B2B marketing strategy, as a dominant online presence is vital. Paid ads, SEO, websites, and social media accounts are powerful tools for your B2B digital strategy to attract customers. The first step is to define your target audience and create buyer personas. Create a catchy and engaging website, and pay attention to on-site SEO. Your marketer knows exactly what your visitors should see upon entering your domain. Moreover, running PPC campaigns is a great B2B brand awareness tactic that provides visibility for your products and personality. Lastly, partnering with product development companies will ensure your offerings meet market demands and maintain a competitive edge.
3. Content Marketing
What else can be said about customers in the B2B market? Content marketing is key in B2B lead generation efforts, distinguishing itself from traditional PR marketing campaigns. Investing in Search Engine Optimization helps you cater to your audience's preferences and brings you closer to sales. Content marketing for small businesses should start by creating a blog section within your website and discussing common matters. This B2B marketing strategy helps companies understand their issues and how to approach them.
4. Social Media Marketing
A successful marketing strategy for the B2B market should also focus on social media promotion. The latter appeals not only to individual buyers but also to businesses. The sales cycle may be longer, but brand awareness and visibility are achieved quickly. Apart from promoting your product or service, you can connect with your B2B audiences on a more personal level and present your brand in a human light.
Top 7 Strategy Ideas For B2B Lead Generation
1. Identify Your Target Audience
For effective SaaS B2B marketing, you must understand your audience, their needs, and the problems they face. It's all about asking the right questions. How big is a company, and how many people do they employ? Where are they located, and in which industry do they belong? Gathering infographics is the first step to creating your B2B marketing strategy and crafting buyer personas. Age, gender, location, education level, job position, and habits are some of the data you want to include.
2. Define The 4 Pillars
Now it's time to start crafting your B2B lead generation strategies based on the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. Here, you combine the information you gathered about your audience with your product's key characteristics. What is the product you sell? How much do you sell it for? Where can customers buy and find information about it? Touching upon these basics helps you craft an effective B2B marketing strategy and spread your message.
3. Utilize Case Studies
Among the less frequently used B2B marketing ideas are case studies. In fact, they rank third in top-used content behind email newsletters and blog posts. B2B customers prefer hard facts over promises and dream scenarios. That's why using case studies from the beginning is a powerful tool in your arsenal. Don't wait until someone reaches the middle or bottom of your sales funnel to present cold evidence to them.
4. Build A High-Performing Website
An undoubtedly useful B2B marketing tip is building a website regardless of the industry. Some companies may benefit more from maintaining active social media, while others need a website to promote their products and services. Content marketing agencies can help you segment your material effectively and generate leads using SEO. They may also code your website so you can pinpoint each lead's location. This way, you will be able to create content that caters to different demographics and establish a successful B2B sales technique.
5. Gather Customer Reviews
One of the best B2B marketing ideas is to add buyer reviews to your landing page or website. 95% of people say that they read reviews before purchasing products and services and avoid companies that have many critical comments. It doesn't matter how honest you are with your B2B audiences. Lead generation relies heavily on hearing other customers' opinions. So, you must include testimonials and honest feedback on the main page of your website. After each purchase, ask your buyers to offer their reviews. Long-term clients are more than happy to express their satisfaction with your business.
6. Ask For Referrals
There is no shame in asking satisfied customers for referrals. It is one of the best sales techniques in B2B marketing and provides easy visibility and credibility. Like with reviews, customers are more likely to purchase your offerings when their peers spread the good word. Following this marketing strategy, the quality and frequency of your B2B lead generation improves. When you ask for referrals, send a few supplemental materials for the referred potential suitors. Be specific on what you need from them and how they should approach possible buyers.
7. Run A/B Tests
Digital marketing for B2B companies is complex, and you shouldn't expect to get it right from the start. Try different things on your website, including colors, fonts, placement, and inspiring messages, to see which one generates higher interest. You'd be amazed at what difference the change of a button can make. For example, Barrack Obama increased his campaign's donations by changing the "Sign Up Now" button to "Learn More". However, you can keep the registration button as is and offer incentives. Maybe you can add a countdown timer offering an exclusive discount for those who sign up.
The 4 Cs Of B2B Marketing
1. Content
Whatever B2B marketing strategy you choose to attract customers, you must carefully and continuously curate engaging content. Whether you have an in-house team that takes care of all the content or a commissioned collaborator, your material should be informative. B2B customers must read it and understand how they can apply it to their businesses and enjoy positive results. You may also need to recreate old content that is scattered throughout your website by merging all the same-themed articles or case studies into one place. For example, you can gather content from five articles and turn them into a lead generation eBook that focuses on a hot industry topic.
2. Connection
It is important that you understand what your audience needs and looks for in their online searches. It's much easier to modify your content and cater it to people's specific requirements. Then, you may proceed to connect with your potential buyers. Email marketing is one of the best ways to connect with your B2B audiences and promote your services. You may also organize a webinar to further establish your expertise. Don't forget about social media, though, and the power they hold, so why not drop a DM to those interested in your services?
3. Convenience
This aspect goes hand-in-hand with cost, as you'll need both to convert B2B audiences. Cost doesn't equal price. It's not only how much clients pay to purchase your offering but also how much you spend on your overall B2B product marketing. How long did it take to convert them? Did it take long for them to learn how to use your service? How long until they need to make a follow-up purchase? After you've defined these factors, you must make it easy for them to buy. For physical products, offer online ordering, in-store pickup, and home delivery. For online downloads, make the service available immediately and don't let anyone wait for too long.
4. Communication
Maintaining clear and effective marketing communication is key to attracting and preserving professional relationships. Dropping messages and emails is the first step, as you must foster open channels to build loyalty and trust. Spend time conversing with every customer and explain in detail what your B2B product offers and how they benefit from it. Don't lie to them or exaggerate your service's importance. Honesty is a strict barrier you should not break if you wish to build long-lasting relationships.
Which Strategy Frameworks Are Popular In 2024?
What exactly is a B2B marketing framework? Simply put, it is the outline of the implementation of your marketing plan and the distribution of your promotional content. Based on research, you can understand the market and your target audience's requirements. Also, you can craft engaging messages to attract clients and strengthen your online presence to increase conversions.
Buyer's Journey Framework
You need to understand the different stages customers go through until they make a purchase. The B2B sales funnel consists of three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. Awareness refers to customers realizing they have an issue, while consideration means they are actively seeking solutions. Finally, they reach a decision and make a purchase. Knowing this process offers you a detailed description of how people behave at every step of the way. Consequently, you can improve your B2B marketing strategy, acquire more quality leads, and maximize conversions.
Account-Based Marketing Framework
Instead of focusing on individual needs, ABM concentrates on numerous high-value accounts in a specific industry. By aligning marketing and sales, this framework creates personalized experiences and ultra-targeted B2B marketing strategies. Thus, vendors acquire customers easily, build strong and lasting relationships, and foster business growth. Not only that, but they also enjoy higher ROI and brand loyalty.
Content Marketing Framework
Content marketing is essential for attracting and informing leads about your offerings. While you might think it's easy to create content yourself, you may need to utilize the help of a B2B marketer. They are experts in their field and help you quickly identify your target audience and their needs. They understand which B2B marketing strategy and framework works better for you and your goals. Keeping your objectives in mind, they experiment and help you craft your tactics and boost your results.
Inspirational B2B Marketing Strategy Examples
We've already mentioned the 4 types of B2B marketing and 7 ideas you can utilize. How about a few examples of successful implementation? Let's take Slack, for example. The communication platform utilizes social media in a fun and informative way. They provide valuable insights while educating users on their product's features. All that while maintaining playful and intriguing language. Another great example is Dropbox and its digital "care package" that was offered during the pandemic. The company offered printable coloring books, meditation guides, and other materials people could use while working from home and not being able to socialize. Even Google utilized the B2B marketing strategy of referrals to increase signups to their Workspace platform. For every referred signup, they provided a reward.
Resources To Strengthen Your B2B Marketing Strategy Knowledge
In the marketing landscape, education and training play crucial roles in maintaining your competitive edge. Up until now, companies have focused mainly on pre-sale courses and workshops, so their employees have become experts at attracting and converting leads. Today, businesses are equally interested in post-sale workshops, as it's vital to maintain long-lasting and loyal relationships with buyers. So, allowing extra space in your budget for employee training and online courses is just as important as utilizing other resources, including B2B marketing eBooks. They are easily accessible and offer comprehensible knowledge to marketers and salespeople. eLearning Industry's eBook on B2B lead generation breaks down complex matters and helps overwhelmed professionals navigate the crowded market. You may also want to check out this webinar on how to market an eBook for B2B lead gen.
Key Takeaway
After you've built a competitive and powerful B2B marketing strategy, you will start seeing inbound traffic and conversions. But how do you track down those who visited your website but left without making a purchase? You'll need to identify what brought them in and why they didn't convert so that you can fine-tune and expand your marketing tactics list to improve conversion rates. Remember—you've already crafted buyer personas, so you need to attract specific audiences. If you get visits from companies who don't fit your personas, you may need to adjust your tactics accordingly to bring the right ones in.
