The Time Is Now For B2B Businesses.
This is a general framework. I’m specifically making observations from my experience inside of a B2B chemical manufacturing company. I will be approaching B2B marketing from other angles throughout the year.
Now to the article and 5 types of B2B Marketing.
Naturally, It should come as no surprise that after the direct-to-consumer (DTC) bootstrapped and venture capital backed craze, that the same methods and techniques of digital marketing are creeping into the B2B marketing space.
America’s most famous capitalist Warren Buffett would say, “What the wise do in the beginning, the fool does in the end.”
I’m not saying B2B businesses or marketing directors are fools by any means. The dynamics in an industry where you aren’t controlling the end consumer are challenging. It’s the prisoner’s dilemma. Cooperation produces the best outcome for both parties unless one defects and the other stays silent…. that’s a dice roll.
One might be out of a big sales account and the other might be out of a product supplier… Eenie Meenie Miney Mo.
Anyway. Moving on. There has never been a higher premium on consumer data and being able to predict demand, trends, and what’s to come around the bend. B2B businesses are inherently reactive because they are pleasing customer demands from a customer who is reacting to another customer. Oh boy.. getting dicey.
Someone who has any familiarity with statistics knows multiplying two probabilities less than one together… the number only gets smaller.
Alright enough with fluff. Get to the types of B2B marketing strategies and how I can execute on them to generate eyeballs and revenue for my business.
5 Types of B2B Marketing
First, I must say, especially with working inside of a large B2B chemical manufacturing company for some time, this is a wide-open opportunity. Primarily because the contracts are big; aka the juice is worth the squeeze. Industries are regulated and physical capital is hard to organize on a timely basis: building factories, configuring machines, assembling strong teams, product development, regulatory hurdles, etc.
1. B2B Trade Shows & Conferences
Anyone who works in sales or marketing for a B2B business knows this is where it goes down on the marketing front. You get face time with industry players from all walks of the process.
One of my biggest pet peeves though… A company that spends $1,000,000 on a trade show booth but uses stock photography, videos, and design. C’mon man. Add some flavor to your booth with custom visual media. It’s a small take from your overall spend and creates a lasting impression that you can use digitally across your platforms and for physical handouts.
2. B2B Content Market
Content marketing is the biggie in my opinion, especially if you hire a strong videographer who can easily edit videos into reels, YouTube Shorts, and other splices of content.
Educational content goes a long way, not just with your customers for selling but you can use it internally for your sales team, new hires, and other employees.
Content marketing becomes an operating synergy and a sales tool. Very bullish – where is Wall Street Bets at?
Content is king. Context is queen.
What are you making and how is it positioned? Plan your work, work your plan.
3. B2B Email Marketing
Email marketing is my least favorite of the five listed for B2B Marketing. At least not in the traditional sense. I believe there is value-add but email marketing needs to be niche content around a specific subject to drive interest. Larger B2B companies will have direct personal relationships with their main accounts.
Don’t send spammy emails. You’re probably not nagging your customer to make another purchase or throwing out discount codes. Add support to their end consumer revolving around your product or service.
Rise above as a premier supplier and an invaluable partner.
4. B2B Social Media Marketing
Social media, you know the deal. It’s peer pressure. It’s easy to do, which makes it easy not to do and easy not to do well. That’s the premise here. High-quality visual content, high-quality written content. Follow pop culture with memes, movie scenes, music, and recent events.
Please do not just slap a photo on your accounts and call it a day. You’re already running a boring business (that probably prints money). Add some flare, just don’t give away trade secrets.
The newest released tools from platforms produce the highest engagement and LinkedIn is almost undefeated when it comes to B2B audience reach.
Connect with me here: R. Scott Williams.
Easy plug, my bad.
5. B2B Paid Advertising
Last, but not least, paid advertising. The longest standing and forever undefeated because the platforms with everyone’s attention need it to make money.
B2B companies can excel with paid advertising, especially with long tail or specialized service. It starts creating the feedback loop of people visiting your website and clicking through your pages. Also, B2B offerings probably won’t have a lot of competition for keywords and if you’re not the best at the first four points above. How will people know your business?
Trade magazines, educational resources for the market, Google, Facebook, Niche blogs, Key influencers, LinkedIn, etc. There are plenty of ways to find the right audience and for the right price.
That’s all I’ve got.
If you read this entire blog, I greatly thank you. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. I’ll be writing more and diving deeper into these subjects throughout the upcoming year.
RSW
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About Intelligent Arts
We are a Philadelphia branding, creative, and marketing agency producing adaptive identities and visual media for purpose driven businesses. B2B is our favorite niche to work with because of the long operating history we have in the space. Yet, we direct and produce a large volume of creative work for DTC and popular brands: Commercial Product Photography, Sales Videos, Company Overview Videos, Websites, etc.
