If you type “How to Market My Business” in Google, you’ll get a wealth of search results with information about how to reach public consumers. However, as a business that supports, supplies, or provides products to other businesses, that information won’t be particularly helpful. B2B companies that sell office supplies, products, services, or marketing tools can find it tricky to reach their target audience. Here are some tips to help your company connect with other firms.
Network, Network, Network
When it comes to B2B success, intense networking is essential. Name recognition is key – the more often potential clients are exposed to your brand, the more likely your name will be on their mind when they need the services or products you offer. Attend relevant industry conferences and follow up with every contact. Build your presence locally by participating in community events, sponsorships, and partnerships. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile to manage how your company appears in Search and Maps. Keep your name, address, and phone consistent across listings, and use trade association member directories to aid vendor discovery. Consider publicly supporting your local animal shelter or participate in charity fundraising events like fun-runs. Set up your Linked-In profile and create content that appeals to both potential customers and your local community.
Be a Thought Leader
As a BTB organization, it’s natural to want to support other business owners, and when they’re looking for a partner in a specific field they’ll typically gravitate toward the best service or product provider. One of the best ways to draw attention from other businesses who are looking for excellence is to be a thought leader in your field of expertise. Conduct regular workshops and invite potential customers. Establish yourself as the authority by not only offering quality content on your own website – write insightful posts for other authoritative industry leader sites, too. Publish long-form Articles or a newsletter on LinkedIn to reach decision-makers who follow your profile or Company Page. Repurpose workshop material into these formats to extend visibility and reinforce your expertise.
Tell Your Brand Story
The most successful B2B marketers have an engaging brand story. Customers react positively to stories that resonate on a personal level. Provide testimonials and case studies on your site, and provide ways for site visitors to connect with fellow customers who are familiar with your products or services. Engage visitors by posting brand stories on your blog and interact with visitors who comment. Likewise, show your specific brand personality on social media and engage with readers in the comments to further your story.
Utilize Paid Advertisements
Many B2B companies assume that advertising is designed for direct B2C purposes, and therefore don’t give ads much thought. That is a big mistake – ads are a great way to specifically target your intended audience because they allow you to focus on a narrow demographic. For a B2B organization, that means you can tweak your marketing to reach specific businesses and even people within a particular industry. LinkedIn is a useful advertising outlet, as it allows you to target an audience by industry, company, and job title. Use LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to capture contact details without sending prospects off platform, with fields prefilled from LinkedIn profiles. Install the LinkedIn Insight Tag on your site to enable conversion tracking and retarget visitors by job function, seniority, or company size.
Use Email Integration
B2B businesses tend to frequently interact with professionals through an entire industry. Conducting research on specific individuals before initiating a new email contact or continuing with an existing interaction can bolster your connections. By utilizing the right plugin, you’ll be able to see an individual’s social media information, identify a possible connection you may have in common, and capture details that might be relevant to your conversation – all without leaving your email client. Connect your email to a CRM so messages and meetings log automatically, giving you account context during outreach. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC on your domain to support deliverability and reduce spoofing.
While B2B marketing presents unique challenges, when you have the right tools in place, you’ll find it’s easier to build lasting connections with people in industries that are essential to your own business success. The more connections you foster, the more referrals and leads you’ll create, which will help your business grow.
