Marketing to other businesses is a different matter entirely from marketing to individual consumers. Businesses will have different priorities, budgets, and methods of finding products and services they need. But even older B2B marketing strategies often need to be refined to catch up with the current trends.
In 2023, B2B customers are more likely to search for products and services on a search engine than by asking for a recommendation from a colleague. B2B marketing involves more SEO and digital marketing than ever before. Here are a few qualities your B2B strategy should have to reach customers today:
#1 – Quality Content
High quality content is a boon when it comes to SEO. Engaging written blogs or webpages can help boost your ranking on search engines, as well as draw in potential business customers by offering helpful, informative content.
Content should utilize relevant keywords, especially local keywords if you have a business with a physical location. But stuffing your content full of keywords can actually result in some keyword stuffing penalties that harm your website’s rankings. It’s better to naturally fit keywords into an otherwise engaging piece of content.
It also helps to break the formatting of your content up with headers and sub-headers, as well as bullet points for easier reading.
#2 – Social Media
It’s not enough to have just a website anymore. You should also have a presence on social media. When it comes to B2C marketing, Twitter and Instagram are often the most powerful tools. But B2B is a different ballgame. For B2B marketing, LinkedIn is likely to be your bread and butter. On LinkedIn, you can cross-post your blogs as well as build essentially a resume on your profile.
Twitter is also popular for B2B, followed by Facebook. Instagram doesn’t go amiss, but you should definitely prioritize your energy based on the social media platforms likely to yield the best results based on your research.
#3 – Clear Brand Positioning
Your brand positioning tells B2B customers who your brand is, what you do, and why. It should be clear and distinct on your market. For B2B marketing, your brand positioning should put you forward as reliable and able to efficiently meet the needs of the other business.
A brand positioning statement is a great way to strengthen your brand positioning. This statement clarifies what your product or services brings to businesses that no one else can offer in quite the same way.
#4 – A Defined Target Audience
B2B customers are often not necessarily looking for flashy or new. Their priorities come back to the return on investment. They want efficient, easy-to-implement products backed by logic and with either significant financial savings or a clear, worthwhile investment.
Do some market research to define your target audience. Exactly what types of businesses do you plan to do business with? What are their priorities? Once you know what they value, you can strategize to market your business to them.
#5 – An Emphasis on Efficiency and Implementation
B2B customers are busy. They’re often overwhelmed human resources managers, IT managers, or even business owners themselves. Choosing the right product or service for their business’s needs is just one of their many tasks, and it can be a bit daunting.
You can make their job easier for them by focusing your marketing on the efficiency and ease of implementation that comes with your product or service. Again, efficiency is a big priority for B2B customers. If your product or service can make their job easier for them, they will be that much more willing to invest.
One major concern for B2B customers is implementation. They may have a similar product or service that doesn’t quite meet their needs and they’re interested in an upgrade. But transferring files, training teams, and generally getting the office used to the new product or service can be a hassle and it can drive down productivity.
B2B customers perk up when they find a product that has an easy implementation process. If that fits your business, make sure you highlight that feature.
#6 – A Focus on Connection
In the B2B world, it’s less about selling products or services than it is about forming relationships. If you develop a good business relationship with one of your customers, that’s steady revenue that you’ll have for years. It may also open up other potential business connections through recommendations.
B2B customers want something reliable. They don’t want to have to continue switching their products or services if they don’t have to. Forming a human connection with your customers can help to build trust and solidify those important business partnerships.
