7 proven best practices for B2B Marketers to follow
In today’s overly saturated market, B2B marketers face stiff competition from several competitors. Companies need to establish an edge to stay ahead of the curve. Adopting the following practices may help them achieve so.
- Listen to your customers
Contrary to expectations, B2B customers prioritize their needs over their likes. They are more interested in the form of solutions that will ultimately support their business targets and help
them overcome challenges. This is why it is important for B2B marketers to listen to their customers and take time to understand their problems before they start pitching a particular product. Customers expect B2B marketers to provide them with tailored solutions. Companies should thus
focus on identifying the needs of their customers appropriately. - Know your customer
Attempting to be everything to everyone is a huge waste of resources. It is important that every marketing campaign starts with a clearly defined and well-researched target audience. A good approach is to develop personas of the potential buyers. These personas will represent your ideal customers. They must include all factors that can impact a customer’s decision such as demographic attributes, goals, priorities, and behavioural patterns. It is a good idea to create personas for each type of customer your product may attract. This helps since you can segment your audience and personalize your marketing campaigns accordingly. - Communicate regularly
In today’s overcrowded digital space, it is harder and harder to stand out and make your presence felt. When you’re going through extreme efforts of publishing insightful and educational content, the last thing you want is your voice drowned in the endless newsfeeds. The key to establishing an effective communication stream is by grabbing your potential customer’s attention. This is why it is important to find the right channels to focus your content on. Once you have their attention, it is necessary to be consistently available to answer their queries and regularly guide them through the buyer journey. Potential customers must be confident in your abilities to help them out when they encounter new challenges. - Be confident in your offer
B2B transactions tend to involve a lot more commitment than B2C ones and decision-makers are held accountable for their choices. They should feel confident that your product is the right
decision for their business. But this will only happen if you have faith in your product. They need to be brand ambassadors of the company they work for, having a strong sense of loyalty. - Challenge the norm
Not too long ago, B2B marketing was limited to trade fairs and product demonstrations happening in boardrooms, while content marketing largely meant publishing brochures and whitepapers. But today, certain sectors of B2B markets are becoming as competitive as B2C. Challenging the status quo is a great way to get noticed, even if it does involve a degree of risk. But it’s also necessary to establish a competitive advantage. So, take calculated risks to surprise your target audience from time to time. Redefine the conversation by satisfying your customers’ needs in a new way or reimagining products and services so they’re better and more sustainable. - Pay attention to the details
No longer does the responsibility of building a brand lie solely on the marketing teams. These days they must work in collaboration with sales teams and customer service to create seamless,
consistent customer experiences through every stage of the buyer contract. And that journey continues even after the customer signs a contract. There’s now a greater need for B2B marketers to pay attention to the smallest details. After all, they aren’t selling to a single customer, but crowds of them with their unique motivations, desires and priorities. Thus, many B2B purchases require the support of multiple parties before they can be signed off. So, it is necessary for marketers to give attention to the details of every customer interaction at every stage of the buying process. - Share your results
B2B customers generally aren’t interested in what’s fashionable, and neither are they likely to be swayed by lofty claims which don’t have the proof to back them up. They’re not nearly as
susceptible to fads as the consumer market typically is. Instead, B2B audiences want facts and results. They want hard evidence in the form of customer testimonials, case studies, and references. They want figures that will clearly demonstrate the capabilities of a product or service.
