Marketing is a constantly evolving field. While it did not have a distinctive identity from the sales field in its primitive times, today, it has created its own sub-branches and become a comprehensive field.
The dynamics of marketing change according to the type of customer. Therefore, the primary goal of companies should be to determine what kind of customers they aim to sell their products or services to. Only then can they apply unique marketing strategies specific to the customer type.
In this guide, we will talk about what B2B (business-to-business) marketing is and how it is carried out.
B2B (business to business) marketing is the marketing of a product or service for the purpose of being sold to companies or organisations.
In B2B marketing, customers are not individuals but the decision-making units of an organisational structure. Customer journeys of organisations are pretty long and complex compared to individual consumers. For this reason, when approaching organisations, a different roadmap should be followed from approaching individual customers.
As marketing philosophy and methods change over the years, new norms for B2B marketing emerge. Therefore, mastering modern B2B marketing dynamics and keeping the team's marketing mindset up-to-date can be the main factors that enable a company to stand out from the competition within the industry.
What fundamentally separates these two concepts are the profound differences in the decision maker's needs, goals, budgets, challenges, and potential solutions.
Individual customers make their decisions only in line with their personal motivations. In B2C marketing, decision processes are often short, as the individual is solely responsible for incorrect customer decisions. They do not need to think about the long-term consequences of every step they take. Sometimes they can even buy with instant reactions.
B2B buyers, on the other hand, should make a comprehensive analysis of the organisation and make decisions in line with the long- and short-term goals of the company after a collective thinking process based on rationality.
Because of these differences, two types of customers should be communicated with differently, and different strategies should be followed throughout their purchasing journey.
A user who comes home tired after a long walk opens her web browser and tries to find a bike she can buy so that she will not be so tired on the road between work and home from now on. She sees an ad in the search engine and clicks it. After three days, we see the main character of our example on her bike.
Let's consider any client of this business software company. The process for these clients to decide that they need a solution begins with a joint request from many departments that the company needs improvement on a specific issue.
The relevant units evaluate this request in line with the performance reports and decide whether it is realistic or not. They start looking for solutions through various channels if they find the request suitable.
In this search journey, they receive an e-mail from the software company and add their product to their list of potential solutions. However, the process doesn’t complete here. Because evaluating a single product or service is often not enough for organisations.
After a long search, they add many more solutions to their list and begin the negotiation process. It can take months, or even years, to agree on the most appropriate solution in line with the company's needs, habits and goals.
The ultimate goal of the business software company is not to make an instant decision but to put a product among the alternatives that the client company will evaluate.
The difference in complexity and purchase decision time between the two processes can make it easier to understand why we need to approach B2B decision-makers differently in our marketing strategies.
Organisations that offer products and services suitable for B2B need to maintain marketing activities to gain industry visibility, gain new clients and build trust to retain existing B2B customers. Here are the basic steps to follow in modern B2B marketing.
Every organisation that wants to carry on marketing operations in the B2B field needs to create a brand identity. Brand identity allows you to express your company's goals, mission, vision, values and unique tone.
You should make sure that you choose this brand identity in a way that the whole team can adopt, considering all the elements of your company. Because your operations that do not match the brand identity may cause you to lose the trust of your customers. A properly constructed brand identity can help make your company look like an organic entity that’s connectable.
In modern B2B marketing, it is not enough to define broad target audiences. Since you will be competing with many different companies, targeting a large audience may mean not reaching anyone.
For this reason, you should create buyer personas where you can narrow the audience spectrum into a single entity. This way, you can identify your targets by knowing their responsibilities, routines, pain points and long- and short-term goals. Personas embody the potential customers or decision makers that you are likely to encounter in business. The more accurately you choose these personas, the more efficient you can shape marketing funnels.
Your customers' buyer’s journey changes depending on the structure of your company and the industry in which you are competing. By analysing your personas’ behaviours, identify stages where you can measure their data with the most efficient metrics and turn these stages into marketing funnels. Thus, you can determine at which stage your strategies are efficient and at which stage you need improvement.
The actions that other competition actors take may sometimes be more important for your position in the industry than your own operations. Start by analysing all the activities of your competitors, not just marketing-focused strategies.
You can identify their strengths and weaknesses and shape your own strategies accordingly. Thus, you can anticipate the opportunities you will get and the threats you will encounter. Since the dynamics of competition in the industry are constantly changing, the reports you create as a result of competitor analysis should be constantly updated.
It is important to be actively involved in all marketing channels where you can reach your industry and personas. That's why you should create a website and social media accounts that reflect your brand identity. You should ensure that each piece of content you publish on these channels is optimised under SEO principles and that you achieve maximum visibility.
In line with your industry, personas, identity you have created and positioning of your competitors, you should determine what targets you will set for which marketing channels and how much resources you will allocate.
Each channel has unique dynamics and lead acquisition methods. Therefore, when you create the right portfolio of marketing channels, it is possible to use these channels jointly to create more complex but efficient strategies.
Some of the marketing channels in which you can create strategies in B2B marketing are:
Compared to its importance in B2C marketing, email marketing has a unique position in B2B marketing. Most of the written communication processes of companies are carried out via email. That's why employees check their email boxes every day.
According to Demand Gen's 2021 report, 53% of marketers say email marketing is the most effective method for early B2B lead generation. That's why you should focus on adding your leads’ email addresses to your contact lists and getting permission to send messages through this channel.
Email marketing can be quickly combined with other marketing channels, and as a result, joint strategies can be created. One of the most frequently used email structures by companies is newsletters, where they suggest content produced by the company.
It is hard to believe the difference emails make when you segment them correctly and make them so interesting that they do not get lost among the dozens of emails your potential buyer gets every day.
If you see social media as a channel that can only be reached by B2C customers, you are wrong. Social media channels are just as effective in creating brand awareness and building trust in B2B marketing as they are in B2C. Because, like nearly every social person, decision makers of B2B companies spend a significant amount of time on social media. The awareness and trust you gain on social media can have a big impact on the customer journey that will start through other channels.
Your B2B personas seek resources to solve many of the problems they encounter in daily life. Only when your persona reaches your content and finds the solution to their challenges can you position yourself as a leader in the industry.
Reading success stories of companies using your services to solve a similar problem may also sway company decision-makers.
If you create content, such as blog posts, eBooks or case studies, your visibility and reputation will increase. B2B content marketing strategies may result in a radical increase in your long-term organic traffic if appropriately executed.
PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns are an effective way to increase your brand's visibility for specific keywords using various segmentation methods. Although it requires a certain budget, PPC campaigns are one of the shortcuts to increasing brand awareness and customer reach.
You can achieve effective results when you make sure that you advertise on the right advertising platforms with the proper segmentation and when you constantly monitor and optimise your campaigns.
If you think influencer marketing is only effective for B2C, you're missing out! According to the report of Influencer Marketing Hub, in 2022, 75% of brands will dedicate a budget to influencer marketing, and these brands also include B2B businesses.
Since one of the most essential elements of B2B marketing is trust, the fact that leaders and reliable people in the industry also position themselves as influencers makes them attractive to marketers. If your personas are within the target audience of an industry influencer, you can use influencer marketing as an important marketing strategy.
There is always a high probability that your existing customers will continue to do business with you. So you know that customer retention is even more important than acquiring new customers.
But there's something else you need to know. Your current customers can also be your most reliable marketing weapon. When you use the right referral marketing strategies and offer incentives to your existing customers through loyalty programs, they can become your brand advocates.
Especially in a competitive environment where networks can change the dynamics, having certain figures as your advocates will automatically attract many customers to your side.
When you create a solid marketing team and support it with the right tools, it is possible to create effective marketing strategies. But for your team to build an effective B2B growth mindset, you need to dedicate a significant amount of resources. It also takes a significant amount of time for a team to adapt to your company's brand identity and industry dynamics.
A marketing partner that combines modern marketing culture with a constantly evolving growth mindset like NBT Digital can help you run your B2B marketing processes efficiently, achieve your long and short-term goals sustainably, and get a significant return on investment.
If you want to kickstart your B2B growth transformation in line with a proven B2B marketing methodology, you can discover our growth services.
