Marketing that Sucks: Part 5
Example #5: Businesses That Give in to the Chaos and Don’t Implement a B2B Marketing Strategy
If you’re in charge of your company’s B2B marketing strategy, you know how complicated it can be to get it right. After all, you’re not just trying to convince one guy to buy this one product. You have to prove the worth of your company’s service or product to multiple people on different teams within your target market (or markets!). Many companies find it difficult to nail it all down, so they just end up making marketing mistakes and wasting money. This is why you need a B2B marketing strategy that takes into account the many factors that go into a sale or new contract.
A successful B2B marketing plan should start with basics and build from there. So what are those basics? Here are four building blocks that should be part of every B2B company’s marketing strategy:
1. Know your audience.
What’s the point of trying to sell your business if you don’t know the buyer? B2C companies can often identify their target easily, but like I mentioned above, in the B2B world you’re selling to various decision makers in multiple industries. So think it through, and write it down. Pay attention to everyone in the decision chain, and note what makes each one different. What’s important to the procurement department may not matter to the CEO or the end user of your product or service.
2. Provide value to that audience.
Once you’ve fine-tuned your list of audience members, think about what they want or need to hear. Some members of the audience may care about cost savings while another just wants a product that’s easy to use. Your marketing messages should reflect these various perspectives.
3. Explain how your offerings are unique.
Match your company’s strengths and differentiators to those value messages. You’re not just telling your audience what they want to hear – you’re explaining why your company is the one that can deliver.
4. Convert that message into new leads…and new business.
Your message resonated with your target audience – congrats! But now what? You need a solid platform in place to convert that into concrete leads. That could be a) a well-designed responsive website, b) a sales team supported by stellar marketing materials, c) a social media presence that makes it easy to get in touch, or d) all of the above (and more)!
That sounds like quite a lot of balls to keep up in the air at once, doesn’t it? Add to that brand positioning, content marketing, event marketing, and all of the other pieces that go into a comprehensive B2B marketing strategy, and it’s beyond overwhelming. Don’t be that company that ends up in marketing chaos. Get started on your strategy, and reach out to the experts (I’m raising my hand!) if you need help.
