Testing Multiple B2B Marketing Strategies is Necessary
In an ever-evolving marketplace, businesses must leverage multiple marketing strategies in order to remain prominent and relevant.
Thanks to marketing technologies maturing and the expectations of the new generation of buyers changing, the evolution of B2B marketing is occurring at lightning speed.
The only way to get the maximum benefits out of your marketing dollars is by tapping into the latest B2B marketing trends. This ensures you get the highest ROI for your business, which is the aim of any B2B marketing strategy.
Below are the top 6 best B2B marketing strategies that are still relevant in 2019 and the foreseeable future.
6 B2B Marketing Strategies To Experiment With
1. Direct Mail Marketing
Contrary to popular belief, direct mail marketing is not dead. We understand that it can feel boring, outdated and like something that doesn’t fit into today’s marketing world.
We get it, direct mail can make you feel like you are way back in the ’70s. However, you may be overlooking the benefits of this powerful, modernized marketing channel.
Actually, postcard advertising, in particular, is a tried and proven method of B2B marketing that continues to produce amazing results.
One of the main benefits of using direct mail marketing is the ROI.
In fact, direct mail marketing has the third highest ROI on the list of B2B marketing strategies, with email and social media marketing coming in first and second.
Added benefits of modern direct mail marketing include the ability to effectively hone in on your ideal target audience with individually personalized postcards.
Results from direct mail marketing are also easily tracked and measured by using a call tracking number. Moreover, when combined with a kick-ass digital marketing strategy, you are sure to increase your conversion rate.
A multi-channel marketing strategy is needed for any business to stay on top of the competition so, you should definitely consider adding direct mail marketing to your bag of tricks.
2. Email Marketing
To date, email marketing stands out as one of the few marketing channels to stand the test of time. Despite being 23 years old, email marketing still takes the top spot on many B2B marketer’s lists of B2B lead generation strategies.
One of email marketing’s major trends currently is marketing automation, which has produced some amazing results for B2B businesses.
What marketing automation does is replace repetitive, high touch manual processes with automated ones which are supported by technology solutions. Marketing automation brings together all of your online marketing channels into one centralized system for managing, measuring and creating campaigns and programs.
Selecting the right marketing automation tool for your business is critical. Ensure all aspect of this technological tool is a good match for your needs.
In addition to marketing automation, another necessary software for email marketing is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform.
Businesses use a CRM to organize and track customer information and opportunities.
Essentially, no matter how much or how complex your operations grow, a CRM will help you stay connected and organized.
3. Content Marketing
This B2B marketing strategy focuses on the creation, distribution, and publication of content to a target audience.
Content marketing is an amazing B2B marketing strategy for several reasons. Let’s start with one main and important reason; the ability to build trust with your audience.
The more valuable content you create and share with your target audience, the more likely people are to trust your brand. This is because the generation of content that provides meaningful value shows that you are an expert in your field.
Additional reasons such as building brand awareness and generating organic traffic make content marketing a great B2B marketing strategy.
There are a million and one reasons to use content marketing for your business. However, the one that really matters is that it works. In today’s marketing climate, content marketing is one of the best ways to build your brand and drive inbound leads.
Another good aspect of content marketing is that it allows freedom to experiment and discover what works for your business and what does not. In fact, content marketing requires experimentation and diversity to understand what is best for your business.
4. Search Engine Marketing
This method of B2B marketing is arguably one of the best channels to generate immediate traffic. Search Engine Marketing or commonly known as SEM compliments SEO and content marketing.
It aims to get your brand at the top of search engines (Google, Bing, etc.).
This marketing strategy benefits your business in more ways than one. For starters, SEM can generate more qualified leads.
SEM also provides a consistent traffic source and it generates immediate results. When compared to the SEO method of traffic generation, SEM produces more immediate results.
One of the greatest benefits of SEM is the flexibility it gives your ad campaigns. Your ads can be customized down to the smallest detail such as location and type of audience.
Your ad budgets can be small, large or just as needed to maximize results. You can even customize the search engine that your ads are displayed on to create the perfect marketing cross-publisher campaign.
5. Social Media Marketing
Ah, social media. There really is no existing in today’s world without using some form of social media. So, why not make it work for your business.
As a B2B marketing strategy, there is some controversy surrounding the effectiveness of social media. According to several reports, social media channels are seen as the least effective lead generation strategy.
However, it’s not necessarily the channel but how you are using it that determines its effectiveness and this is the case with social media marketing.
Social media marketing is not a poor channel for B2B lead generation, the issue is that most B2B companies have a poor social media strategy.
When created and implemented effectively, social media marketing has many benefits. Benefits such as increased brand awareness, instant feedback, increased reviews, and better customer service are just a few of the many benefits of having a successful social media marketing strategy.
It is these benefits of using social media marketing that will lead to the ultimate goal, which is lead generation for your business. So, essentially, the social media tool works, it just has to be used correctly in order to be effective.
6. Combine Them All!
This B2B marketing strategy is the ultimate goal achiever. Instead of trying just one marketing strategy at a time, why not combine them all and get the best results possible.
It is the determination and willingness to try various methods and combine various methods across several channels that will generate exceptional results.
Since what works for one business may not work for another, experimenting is necessary. It is only by experimenting can you determine what works for your business, from what doesn’t.
Once you determine what works for your business then you can have better time and money management with regards to your marketing campaigns.
This works well in your business’ favor ensuring a high return on investment and better lead generation results overall.
Conclusion
Starting and growing a business are not easy tasks. It requires research, planning and perfect execution in order to have a successful business. In order to be competitive, you must be willing to take a long hard look at the B2B marketing strategies your business is using.
You must find ways to improve constantly and be willing to take risks and try new methods of marketing in order to remain relevant and be successful.
Businesses that pay close attention, obtain and use the information on their performance, across all marketing efforts are setting themselves up to win.
