Gone are the days when business to business marketing was a matter of holding a successful golf day or providing a lavish gift to secure a contract.
The playing field has changed and many companies are up skilling their procurement staff, ensuring they research and understand a market, before they approach potential suppliers.
Here are some tips for ensuring your B2B Marketing has traction.
Any company seeking a supplier will more than likely begin with an Internet search.
Think carefully about the so-called words or phrases which your potential customer will use to find your particular offering. These are keywords and you must include them in your website copy so that your site features on the search engine results page. This is part of search engine optimisation.
If you have a Marketing budget (no matter how small), consider Google Adwords. They feature first at the top of any search engine results page and should include an enticing call to action to drive prospects to your site.
Research indicates that only 2% of your would-be customers will purchase from your website on their first visit. A possible way of overcoming this is to use Re-Targeting.
This is a cookie-based technology whereby, once a prospect has visited your website, they are again presented with your online advertising when they re-visit the web. (See https://retargeter.com/what-is-retargeting-and-how-does-it-work )
Make a list of the companies with whom you would like to do business and use LinkedIn to connect.
Using this social media platform, I was recently able to identify the name of a key decision maker of a company that I’d like as a client. A mutual LinkedIn connection provided an online introduction and the outcome is that we have now spoken twice on the phone.
Many company personnel won’t consider meeting with you before they’ve viewed your LinkedIn profile. Make sure it provides the information that your prospect will be seeking. Include your services and the unique value you offer, testimonials, plus LinkedIn endorsements. Your profile strength should be rated by LinkedIn as All-Star.
For further advice: The NEW Entrepreneur at https://www.marbreak.com/book
If you want to connect with decision makers from a certain industry, search LinkedIn to determine the LinkedIn groups in which they “hang out”. Become a member of these groups and start to participate in the online conversations. Once you’ve established a presence in the group, your ability to cultivate an online relationship with its members one-on-one, will be far greater.
People want to do business with those who have an understanding of their industry and by inference, will be able to provide an excellent service.
Start writing a regular article in an industry publication. It’s free publicity and will give you credibility. Include the article press cuttings in your sales presentation kit.