The best way to market B2B services involves an approach that is differentiated from a B2C program. Everything from your website to your social media to your email campaigns should communicate professionalism and due diligence with lead generation as the objective.
When selling to other businesses the tactics and strategies that we’re using will involve a lot of the same competencies and approach as the business to consumer marketing campaign, however in the business to business space there are a few key differences that should be stressed and optimized for. And the key word here is optimized, because we are optimizing for a different outcome than in the B2C marketing strategy.
In the business-to-business marketing strategy, in most instances the goal and objective is to create an opportunity for a relationship to begin. For instance through content development that answers questions that our potential clients may have, that creates an opportunity for them to reach out to us with more questions and that is the beginning of a relationship. Everything that we do in the business-to-business marketing strategy is focused on lead generation.
We are wanting to generate leads with prospects that are looking for our products and or services. And everything from content development, to the funnels that we implement, are directed towards that goal.
B2B Marketing is about lead generation
The best way to Market B2B Services is to have an approach that is addressed toward lead generation being the outcome. Because think about it like this, whereby in the B2C marketing strategy, the marketing campaigns can lead directly to a transaction, ie, a purchase. However in the business-to-business space, that’s not going to happen.
Generating that interest from our prospect which then converts them into a lead is the most important facet of any B2B marketing campaign.
A marketing campaign isn’t going to lead to a purchase immediately, there needs to first occur a conversation that takes place, contracts that go back and forth, and a number of procedural steps. Consequently generating that interest from our prospect which then converts them into a lead is the most important facet of any B2B marketing campaign.
The importance of funnels in marketing B2B services
Business-to-business marketing strategy will involve multiple funnels from which we acquire leads and create awareness for products and or services. For instance if you are dealing in multiple sectors, then you want to have different funnels for those different industries.
Imagine a company that offers trade consulting and compliance services, there are potentially numerous industries that that type of business can engage in, it can range anywhere from aircrafts to food items to consumer goods. So a company in that space will want to develop funnels for each of those sectors / industries that they want to actively pursue.
And what exactly do I mean by a funnel, a funnel is a marketing process that begins with awareness. That can start with a blog, and we can imagine a prospect reads the blog, then perhaps inquires into assistance for their particular need or issue which necessitates a phone call, and then a deal takes place. In this funnel, the blog led to a lead inquiring more into assistance with their particular issue.
Content as a way to market B2B services.
Information like blogs, white papers, informational brochures, are all helpful tools that helps your client make a decision. Because if you put yourself in your clients shoes when they are embarking on a particular project or on a particular business problem that they want to solve, the first step that anyone takes is research. And if you are answering the potential questions that they might have then your content is going to be valuable to them, and you will be seen as an authority.
This is specifically why blogs become an important facilitator of developing leads. Because again when you are writing about relevant content that is helpful to the audience you’re targeting, then they’re going to be visiting and revisiting that information which creates opportunities for the business relationship to occur and grow.
Content is multifaceted and multi-dimensional
Content is multifaceted and multi-dimensional. What that means is that content really consists of any communication that you put out there, that could include videos, written content, webinars, infographics that communicate complex processes, all of these are helpful. And as content they help to create awareness for your brand and it establishes authority and credibility.
The purpose of content is communication but more specifically communication that is relevant to your audience. So if the business you’re in works within different sectors, then you want to develop content that is relevant for each of those sectors in relation to the services and or products being offered in the marketplace
The various tactics and strategies in marketing B2B services.
There are various tactics and strategies we can utilize and marketing B2B services search engine optimization to email marketing to social media,. Essentially, anywhere there is a population of people (ie facebook, twitter, Linkedin… the internet), we want to develop a funnel from that point and extract our prospects.
Going back to the similarities between a B2C and a B2B marketing strategy, in both cases we are using the same platforms, and the same channels, however the outcome, and the specific objectives are different. Whereby in B2C we are aiming for a transaction to take place, in B2B we are creating an opportunity to engage a lead. Hence the core objective is lead generation.
