Marketing is always evolving and changing.
The definition of Marketing has changed over the years as new technologies have come into play, changing how we do things and what we can accomplish.
One such change is B2B Marketing which is a relatively newer term that describes marketing efforts directed at business-to-business (B2B) customers rather than consumers
Although this might seem like an easy distinction to make, it’s not all that different from traditional marketing.
You still need to create interest in your product or service, whether you’re selling something directly to other businesses or indirectly through supply chains.
And once someone becomes interested in your offer, they’ll likely want more information before committing–which means there needs to be some form of sales process involved with any type of B2B marketing campaign.
How does B2B Marketing differ from Consumer Marketing?
One of the main distinctions between consumer and B2B marketing is that when you’re marketing to other companies, your ideal customer isn’t necessarily an individual but a group or department within another company.
Is there a Difference Between Account-based Marketing (ABM) and B2B Marketing?
Account-based marketing can be part of B2B marketing, but it’s also different.
Account-based marketing is really about identifying the decision-maker for a given buying requirement and then executing based on that list of decision-makers.
It focuses on personal connections and quantifying results from those relationships, so it often uses another term: Targeted Account-based Marketing.
B2B marketing, on the other hand, is usually focused more broadly on getting your material in front of as many prospects as possible and then using outreach to convert them into leads–some of whom will eventually become actual customers.
When Is B2B Marketing Right for You?
There are a few key reasons to consider using B2B marketing.
The first is if you’re selling to other companies, which means you have access to a defined list of potential customers that you can reach out to.
The second is if your price point makes it difficult or impossible for individual consumers to be interested in your product or service.
And the final is if you’re trying to gain access to a new customer segment that just doesn’t buy your product or service from any other source.
B2B Marketing Process Overview
If you’re familiar with the traditional marketing process, B2B marketing is fairly similar.
You’ll still have different types of Buyer Personas that represent the groups or departments within other companies that are your targets.
You’ll still need to create interest through whatever channels are available.
And you’ll still have a conversion process where visitors become leads and eventually customers.
But there’s more than just these basics when it comes to B2B marketing, so let’s take a look at the various pieces in some detail.
1. B2B Marketing is about building relationships with potential clients
When you’re marketing to other companies, your customer is a person who is part of a department or team within their company.
It’s not about the individual but rather about the group as a whole.
That means that to build relationships and influence these prospects, you need to be able to get this message out to them as an organization.
This means you’ll need to be able to target the group, not just that one person who makes the buying decision–and this is how account-based marketing comes into play.
2. B2B Marketing requires a multi-channel approach
With consumer marketing, you only ever need to worry about your message going out once since the consumer generally makes a single purchase.
But with B2B marketing, you have to reach your audience through multiple channels, which requires a multi-channel strategy or an omnichannel strategy.
This could mean things like using social media, email marketing, telemarketing, and more–all paid and organic.
3. You can’t use the same Marketing Mix for B2B marketing that you do for Consumer marketing
When you’re selling to other companies, there are some main differences between what they care about and what individual consumers are concerned with.
For example, when the leads are trying to influence other departments or companies, your message has to be very different than it would in consumer marketing.
Since B2B marketing is about reaching out to other businesses, your message has to be tailored in the right way.
You’ll need a clear value proposition that shows how much of an asset you can be instead of focusing as strongly on features and benefits.
4. You should focus on providing more content than using outreach efforts to convert customers
With B2B marketing, you should focus more on creating content than trying to contact prospects.
Through outreach or even through the channels themselves, your website and blog will need to be designed in a way that makes it easy for other companies to find information about how you can help them.
Instead of relying on “salesy” messages, your sales and marketing teams should focus on providing content that answers the questions they may have.
5. You can’t have success with lead generation if you don’t track your data
You’ll need to start tracking all of your marketing efforts as part of an overall marketing funnel where a visitor becomes a lead, and becomes a customer.
Lead management software is essential for B2B marketers since they’ll need to be able to see all of the information about each lead as it moves into different stages of the marketing process.
If your company doesn’t have a clear way to track data from leads and opportunities, you won’t be successful with B2B marketing.
Related Post: B2B Lead Generation: 40 Ideas to Drive Your Business Forward
6. You can’t use the content as an upsell
With B2B marketing you need to be offering content for free that is helpful and interesting to your audience.
The content will help build the relationship so that when leads progress into prospects they feel more trust in what you have to say and are open to moving forward with a purchase.
It’s important not to try and sell right away or upsell your products or services to leads that are still learning about you.
7. You must know your buyer persona
When it comes time to work on lead generation or account-based marketing campaigns, you need to have a clear understanding of who the buyers are in the organization along with any other important people that could impact whether they buy from you or not.
If you aren’t sure who is making the purchasing decision, how you market to them will be ineffective.
8. You should know your competitors and their customer journey
When it comes to the account-based marketing strategy, one of the most important parts is knowing what companies they are doing business with already.
Those other businesses have a greater chance of influence when it comes to buying decisions.
That means getting a list of your competitors is essential so you can know where they are successful and what types of outreach tactics work.
9. You should integrate your efforts with other marketing channels
Once you start working on lead generation for B2B, you’ll quickly realize that you can’t rely on just one channel to get results.
At the most basic level, you’ll need to be working on a site that is attractive and creates leads, but you also need a well-planned strategy for your initial outreach efforts.
You should have emails written for different types of prospects with appropriate subject lines and clear calls to action.
10. You should make it easy for leads to sharing your content
The more people that are sharing your content with others, the greater chances you have of turning leads into customers.
Social media sharing buttons on blog posts and other important pages will help you track how many times each B2B content is shared on social media.
By seeing which articles or blog posts are the most popular, you can continue to give your audience what they want and build more trust with leads.
11. B2B Marketing is about getting your message across clearly and concisely so that it resonates with your audience
Think about how you get information from other companies daily.
You don’t often read long articles that tell you everything the company is doing.
Instead, they use things like blog posts or white papers to deliver details piece by piece with clear calls to action so it’s easy for you to move forward.
When your message isn’t clear, leads don’t know what’s happening next.
12. You should have a clear offer and response
After your leads progress into prospects, you need to make sure that they can respond and get what they need from you.
If there is no easy way for them to give you the information you want or share their contact information, then they’ll become frustrated and won’t respond.
Bonus: You can’t expect immediate results from a B2B marketing campaign
Being successful with B2B means having a long-term strategy.
The best leads are the ones that you nurture over time and it’s important to remember that everything is building up to one moment—the point where they decide to buy from you.
To be successful as a marketer, you need to have patience and realize that the results you get now are worth it when you reach your ultimate goal.
You need to learn from your mistakes, think about what works in your content, and continually work on improving until you can create a B2B marketing strategy that is successful.
By following the steps above, you will be able to create a B2B marketing strategy that works and get your business the leads you need.
Want more B2B growth hacks? Check out my article on B2B marketing automation
Good luck!
Ali is a digital marketing blogger and author who uses the power of words to inspire and impact others. He has written for leading publications like Business2Community, Inc. Magazine, and Marketing Profs. When not writing, he enjoys spending time with his family.