A B2B Marketing Strategy Your Team Can Use

Successful strategies for business to business (B2B) marketing have changed drastically in the last few years. “Interruption marketing” has been replaced with inbound marketing. Interruption marketing methods did just that – interrupted to get attention.

Think of the disruptive cold call, or the newspaper ad that screamed “Buy me!” Since everyone was using interruptive marketing, the competition became who could be the most disruptive; not really who had the best product or service. With so many people screaming for attention, the customers simply stopped listening to everyone.

Today, phone calls are screened, emails are filtered for spam, television shows are recorded so we can fast-forward through commercials, and everyone is on the national do-not-call list.

In response to this move toward eliminating interruptions, today’s B2B marketing has changed techniques, methods, and objectives. Inbound marketing has moved to the forefront and it is a strategy your entire sales and marketing team can use for amazing success.

Inbound marketing:

Position your business so when a customer first decides they need information, you are right there with exactly what they were looking for. Develop your know, like, and trust as outlined in the Marketing Hourglass^TM. The Internet and search engines provide today’s most common sources for information. When a customer finds what they are looking for quickly and concisely, the source of that information will be considered a trusted business partner. And by becoming a trusted partner, the customer will pay attention to what you have to say.
Through your inbound B2B marketing, you need to establish yourself as “the expert” in your field. Provide more than the minimum a customer asks for.
Focus your expert advice on the needs of your customers, not on what you are selling. By building trust and freely sharing information, the customer will come to their own conclusion that they need your product or service.
Interactive B2B marketing is a long-term process. The customer’s trust in you will build up over time; as you encourage that trust by continued supportive interactions.
Welcome questions and provide thorough answers. Create and participate in blogs, online communities, and discussion groups where you share your expertise and where satisfied customers sing your praises. Offer webinars or teleconferences with interaction from participants welcomed.
With interruptive marketing, the marketer had complete control regarding the message; with inbound marketing you have less control but the trust and feeling of partnership will go far toward a successful marketing campaign.

Tips for successful inbound B2B marketing:

Determine your target market; and learn to think like they do. Where would they look for information? How would they look? If they go to a search engine, what keywords would they search? What magazine might they subscribe to? Brainstorm with your team on these questions.
Utilizing this information, develop a B2B marketing strategy and long-term campaign. Write whitepapers and articles, create blog entries, and identify discussion groups to join. Develop a step-by-step procedure for sharing and distributing your interactive information. Assign responsibility for each step and implement a method for tracking progress.
Establish a company-wide protocol for lead management. Keep track of when and how each lead was identified – a whitepaper downloaded, a LinkedIn discussion, or a form from a tradeshow? Evaluate leads based on their interest level, their authority within their company, the type of company, etc. Distribute the lead to the appropriate sales representative. Schedule follow-ups and interactive exchanges. Record progress.
Periodically reevaluate your campaign and make any necessary changes.

So, right now go and round up all of your sales and marketing team. Interrupt whatever they are doing and sit down to create an interactive B2B marketing strategy. ILG Results can help. Get a free whitepaper, The 7 Steps to Business Marketing Success, by scrolling up to the top right of this page. You’ll be glad you did, so do it right now.