Business customers might show an interest in your brand via social media, but that does not guarantee they will buy your product and/or service. Social media marketing does not fit neatly into a strategy, so expecting a tweet to close a million dollar sale is fairly unrealistic.
The same can be said for offline channels that are often overshadowed by online efforts. However, building a relationship once you are on customers’ radar may help to boost sales. Here are seven B2B marketing strategies to include in your next marketing plan.
1. Raise Customer Awareness and Interest
The primary focus of any B2B social media marketing strategy is to raise customer awareness and interest. Nearly 80% of customers use a search engine to start the process of buying a product or service. Once you spark their interest, it is your job to convince them to consider how your brand and solution matches their need.
Getting the attention of decision-makers positions you to win their business. Deliver content via social media to hold the interest of potential business customers until you get them to a “yes.”
2. Ask for Feedback
Would you ever fly an airplane while wearing a blindfold? If the answer is “no”, consider the fact that is exactly what you do when attempting to reach business customers without surveying your target market. Getting feedback is a necessity for survival because at the end of the day, marketing is really about creating customer relationships.
You will never know what business customers need from the relationship without communication. B2B marketing is data-driven, which only occurs by truly understanding your audience. Otherwise, you might as well put on the blindfold and guess in which direction you are flying.
3. Create B2B Customer Loyalty Programs
A pivotal part of marketing with the intent to boost sales is a customer loyalty program. This is one way to retain customers and usually guarantees frequent purchases. Invariably, your business will make higher margins at a lower cost when you retain customers than constantly spending money to acquire new ones.
Instead, the satisfaction of loyal customers will spread the word to potential new business customers. Therefore, do not develop a quick initiative. This program should be well-researched to have a profound, measurable impact on increased sales. Begin with clear objectives and you will see a positive return on investment.
4. Use Printed Vinyl Banners
The rise of social media has put some offline marketing tools like advertising banners on the back burner. Yet, vinyl banners can have a tremendous impact on visibility for your business when placed in the right spots such as high-traffic intersections and places frequented by your target business customer.
High-traffic intersections are perfect promotion spots since most people often drive the same route. Placing your printed banners in or near places frequented by the decision-makers in your target audience ensures more qualified leads will come your way.
5. Use Real-time Marketing
With real-time marketing, your company responds to situations quickly. Whether it is a company crisis, dealing with customer complaints or critics, this B2B tool is an opportunity to further your brand in a meaningful way.
Stay alert to the immediate environment or else risk an opportunity to remain relevant and top-of-mind. A real-time marketing campaign becomes a success when the customer and the relevancy of your business connects. This requires going beyond what is trending on social media. It is about connecting in a meaningful way to cultivate relationships that close sales.
6. Keep Fresh Content on Website
A website is the norm, but keeping fresh content is particularly challenging for businesses that do not have staff dedicated to this task. Yet, this is the most important aspect of having a business website. If you cannot recall the last time relevant content was posted or the website was updated, it is time to begin doing more for the online face of your business.
Returning to your website just to see the same content will not hold the attention of potential customers. Your business website is the living, breathing marketing machine that introduces your business. Most likely, multichannel advertising would be unnecessary to reaching business customers with a strong website.
7. Blend Different Marketing Strategies
A B2B strategy might include good tools, yet still lack in driving in more sales. Usually, this is because the marketing strategies do not complement one another. Step back and analyse your current marketing blend. Relying too heavily on offline marketing channels and very little digital marketing could be the problem.
Although competing in a digital economy can be overwhelming, online marketing helps to level the playing field. Connecting with business customers makes it possible to succeed, grow and become visible to more target customers.