Many B2B marketers are asking themselves whether they should fund new approaches such as AI, VR and AR or even Tiktok.
My philosophy is to focus only on what works. Once you have the foundation in place, it's possible to experiment with new ideas. Let's take a look at 3 B2B marketing strategies you should focus on this year.
It is not easy to reach B2B decision-makers. They are not able to navigate the buyer journey in a linear fashion. They are unpredictable and there are no patterns in their behavior. This makes it nearly impossible for tech companies and B2B businesses to reach these audiences with relevant content.
Don't worry. This isn't another prediction piece highlighting the top content marketing trends for this year.
This blog post is all about getting back to basics. Marketers are constantly looking for the next big thing. But they don't know what is right in front them. They don't have to be complicated in order to see what is right in front.
Quick Takeaways:
- To support your marketing in authentic ways, tap into B2B influencers.
- It's cheaper and easier to keep existing customers happy than it is to gain new ones. Therefore, it's important to develop or refine strong customer advocacy programs.
- Employer advocacy is a way for businesses to increase their brand's reach on social media, increase employee engagement and generate leads.
Three B2B Marketing Strategies to Reinforce this Year
We often think we have to reinvent our strategies every quarter or year. But did you know that there are many answers right in front of us? You may have tried a few strategies in the past, but they failed to deliver immediate results.
There are many marketing strategies out there, but we aren't going to deny that not all are created equal. Take a step back and reinforce these three marketing strategies. They may seem a little stale, but they could work for you if the WD-40 is available.
1. B2B Influencers
B2B marketing isn't a shiny, bright object. It's not as exciting, fun, or cool as working with Jared Leto or Kim Kardashian. You won't see any TikTok videos about enterprise software or data centers anytime soon.
Influence is one of the most valuable assets that B2B companies can tap into. Understanding influence is more valuable than viral TikTok videos.
Influence is not just a verb or noun. When applied, influence can make a difference in the lives of brand leaders and those who follow them.
B2B influencer marketing is a way to start from zero. Programs like these can be managed in many different ways. Research and analysis are two of the most crucial steps in building an influential program. It's not common for influencers to appear overnight. They don't wake up one day with millions of followers. Even if they did, that wouldn't make them an influencer.
While influencer marketing may not be right for your brand right now, influential voices will always be important. This applies to multiple marketing channels and campaigns.
- In 2022, the influencer marketing industry was worth almost $17B.
- 82% of people trust social networking social networks to guide their purchasing decisions.
- 86% of women use social networking for buying advice.
- Social media marketing has a higher return than print marketing and it's not going away anytime soon.
To identify the most influential voices, an analysis is necessary. An analysis must be done to identify the themes and topics that influencers discuss and how they are spreading their content across the digital ecosystem.
Look at the buyer journey graph. Which point do you think influential voices would be most effective: awareness, consideration or interest?
All of them. If there is an industry opportunity, we can't measure exactly the back and forth behavior of each buyer. However, it can be beneficial to have influencers who can communicate with your audience's pain points.
These insights are useful for content marketing. This results in brand relevancy and search engine visibility. This is where B2B influencers can be of great value. They could provide a lasting benefit. Some quick ideas:
- For a piece on trends or predictions, reach out to analysts
- Highlight the most important stories and trends within your industry, and mention the people who are driving them
- Like we did with this one, create a report on Top Influencers in your industry.
- To co-create content with influencers, you should get together this year
- Participate in webinars with influencers and create articles about their words
These (mostly) free tips can help you make connections with B2B influencers while borrowing from their fame.
2. Brand Building for Familiar Faces
It's easy and proven. It is easier and more cost-effective to keep existing customers happy than it is to find new ones. This is a great marketing lesson, yet many brands neglect to prioritize current customers. They are too focused upon customer acquisition.
It seems like the days of building customer advocacy programs are gone. It wasn't always this way. All brands with a Twitter account and a Facebook page were able to build customer communities in the early days.
It was simpler back then as the networks were smaller and organic reach was 100%. Those were the days of good times.
Customer advocacy must be both a mindset as well as a program. It's important to have a mindset in order for the company to build products, services, processes, programs and campaigns that are customer-focused.
If you see from the customer journey map that emails and calls are most common within 1-2 weeks of a purchase decision, then you can start anticipating your customers' wants by providing exactly what they need. You'll beat them to the punch.
Customer advocacy is now a part and parcel of the culture DNA. This will make it much easier to launch, manage, and scale a customer advocacy program.
Building a program is all about the familiar people, processes and technology. This perspective sees people as the marketing team responsible for the management of the program.
The process is about more than the actual program. It is about creating a process that explains how the program will function, how it will integrate into other marketing initiatives, and how it will measure up to the overall strategic plan.
Technology refers to the tool or set that can be used for managing the customer community. There are many options available.
3. Empowering employees to tell brand stories
People trust others. It is a fundamental part of human nature. B2B buyers can trust their colleagues, peers, influencers, and "people like them" when they are looking for purchase recommendations.
Trust is why Yelp reviews are important before making a reservation at a restaurant or looking up Amazon reviews before buying headphones.
This point has been supported by hundreds of research reports and studies over the past decade. This trust paradigm can be applied to B2B marketing to influence purchasing behavior.
This is why a program to advocate for employees is smart and strategic, especially for tech and enterprise B2B companies. Many of these companies have employee programs in place, but there is not much innovation in the way of deployment. They created the program, tested it and then moved on.
This is what I call Employee Activation. It's similar to customer advocacy programs. You need to find ways for your staff members to share and write.
What will you do to adapt your strategy for the new year?
These 3 marketing strategies all share one thing in common: people.
Customers, employees, and influencers all have voices. All of them have audiences, though some are smaller than others. They all have influence.
It is crucial to acquire customers. Yes, 100%. Content is gold. Marketing communications are based on creativity and storytelling. It's the same marketing everyone ignores and calls spam without the human layer.
In 2023, activation is the next step. Brands need to prioritize these external and internal stakeholders and integrate them in existing marketing programs, campaigns, or initiatives.
Our Content Builder Service can help you get more visitors to your website by providing quality content that is consistently published. Contact me for a quick consultation and I will send you a PDF copy of my books. Get started today to generate more leads and traffic for your business.
Marketing Insider Group published the post Three B2B Marketing Strategies You Can Double Down on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are 3 examples of internet marketing?
Internet Marketing encompasses all activities online that are designed to promote products or services. Internet marketing includes email marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), and website design.
These terms don't necessarily mean that you have to spend money in order to make money. There are many other ways to earn income that don't require you to spend any money. The better the return on your investment in each method, however, is the greater the potential for income.
Email marketing is the most popular form of internet marketing. This involves sending email to potential customers with information about your business, and its latest offers.
Another popular way of advertising is through Social Media Marketing. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn enable users to share information and interact with friends and family. These sites are a great way for businesses to increase awareness of their products and services, as well as to establish relationships with their clients.
Search Engine Optimization is a technique for increasing the visibility and popularity of websites on major search engines. Webmasters have the ability to increase traffic to their sites by improving the quality or quantity of relevant backlinks.
Website Design is the art of designing a website that looks attractive and functions well. Website designers are responsible for creating the design and layout of websites. Website designers also make sure the website conforms to technical specifications and meets accessibility standards.
Advertising via Pay Per Click (PPC), where advertisers bid for keywords relevant to their products. Advertisers get paid when someone clicks on an ad. PPC ads typically appear at the bottom or top of search result pages.
What is an example of search engine marketing?
Search Engine Marketing is a key component of digital marketing. SEM covers paid search engine optimization (SEO), sponsored links, display advertisements, paid inclusion and social media marketing.
How to Make an Ecommerce Marketing Plan
The first step is to identify what you want to sell. These should include products and/or services relevant to your business, but also enough variety to keep customers engaged.
The second step is determining how much money you need to spend on advertising, promotions, and other marketing techniques. There may be multiple marketing methods you need, such direct mail and email blasts as well as social media sites and search engine optimization.
Once you determine how much money your business needs, you can develop a budget for each marketing method. If you're unsure which marketing method would be best for your business, you might consider asking a professional specializing in e-marketing. They will help determine the best method for you.
Once you have a plan, you can start implementing it. You can also hire someone to help you with the work.
There is no need to start from scratch and reinvent the wheel. You can use proven strategies that have worked for other online retailers. Before making any changes, make sure to test it all.
Your ultimate goal should always be to increase your sales and profits. Your eCommerce marketing strategy should consider both long-term and short-term goals.
Read our article about eCommerce Marketing Tips if you are looking to increase your sales. We hope they help you find success!
Statistics
- In 2017, 34% of marketers cited co-branding as the most effective way to increase the number of email subscribers. (influencermarketinghub.com)
- Many experts recommend you share 20% of your promotional content and 80% of other valuable content you find. (marketinginsidergroup.com)
- 81% of brands employ affiliate marketing, and eCommerce sites are particularly good candidates. (blog.hubspot.com)
- From 2020 to 2022, eMarketer predicts that digital marketing will grow by 36% and take up 54% of marketing budgets! (marketinginsidergroup.com)
- A poll earlier this year found that 14% of older Gen Z's had bought an item in the previous six months based on an influencer's recommendation. (influencermarketinghub.com)
External Links
neilpatel.com
- How to Use Search Engine Optimization to Build Your Brand
- Marketing Automation: Examples & Tools (2022)
influencermarketinghub.com
youtube.com
blog.hubspot.com
How To
Top 10 Affiliate Strategies for 2022
Affiliate marketing has become a very popular way for marketers to advertise online.
This allows companies to promote products without having to spend any upfront costs. Affiliates are paid a commission when users buy the advertised products.
There are two types main affiliate programs: cost-per sale or performance-based. Affiliates who are performance-based get paid when a certain amount of sales occur. Affiliates are paid a cost per sale, regardless of whether they sell any products.
In this article, we'll go over the top 10 affiliate marketing strategies for 2022. We will discuss each strategy and show examples of successful campaigns.
#1. #1.
E-commerce sites are increasingly adopting loyalty programs for brands. These loyalty programs enable customers to accumulate points for every visit to a website and each purchase.
These points can be later redeemed for special offers, discounts or rewards.
Amazon Prime is one example. It gives members access exclusive deals or perks.
Amazon also offers Associates, a referral system. Amazon Associates allows merchants to refer their customers to Amazon. They also receive a portion from the revenue generated by those referrals.
#2. 2. Use social media to promote products
Advertising products is easy on social media platforms such Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Instagram.
Companies can run ads to target potential buyers directly. For instance, Facebook allows advertisers to target specific groups of people based on interests and demographics.
They may also target those who live within walking distance to a store.
Twitter is another platform that allows companies to reach targeted audiences quickly. Companies can share content, ask questions and send tweets.
Instagram is similar as Twitter because it allows brands interaction with consumers. Instagram, however isn't able to allow businesses direct messages.
Instead, posts are automatically displayed on followers' feeds.
Pinterest is another social media platform that allows businesses connect with customers. These connections can include asking questions or sharing images.
#3. #3. Offer special discounts to influencers
Influencer marketing is an effective tool for increasing brand awareness. Brands have the option to partner with influencers and offer them incentives to post promotional material about products.
In many cases, this partnership involves giving influencers products to try out or review.
These partnerships go beyond product reviews. Brand ambassadors can also be made of influencers.
Brands can employ influencers for giveaways, opinions, answering questions, or to simply showcase their products.
#4. Create Video Ads
Video ads are growing in popularity. Online videos are becoming increasingly popular, particularly since tablets and smartphones have become mainstream.
Advertisers have the option to use video ads to grab attention and persuade viewers click on links to buy products or to advertise.
YouTube is the largest website where advertisers can place video ads. YouTube allows advertisers to upload up to 60 seconds of video.
Google AdWords allows you to place video ads. Google uses keywords to match ad placements to relevant searches.
#5. Run Mobile Campaigns
Mobile apps are growing in popularity. Many mobile apps enable users to download movies, books, music and games.
People spend hours reading books and listening to music on their phones. They also watch movies on the phone.
Mobile apps can be used by businesses to increase traffic to their sites.
Apps can be downloaded onto smart devices, such as iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and tablets.
App stores are available on Apple iOS, Google Play and Windows Phone.
#6. #6.
For selling physical goods, shopping carts can be a very effective way to do so.
Customers can add items to their cart, then checkout to complete purchases.
Online shopping carts are growing in popularity. Some online retailers like eBay allow customers to create accounts and browse product listings.
Amazon is one of the many online retailers that integrate shopping carts. Customers can order the items they desire and make payment right away.
#7. #7.
It is a great way of attracting new customers.
Companies often send out press releases when they launch a new line.
This release could include information about the new line's pricing and availability.
The company can market the new products once the launch has been completed.
#8. Develop Cross-Channel Marketing Programs
Cross-channel marketing is the term used to describe marketing efforts that span multiple channels.
Cross-channel marketing, for example, could include sending emails to subscribers via email list, promoting products through social networks and running banner ads on search engines.
Many companies combine multiple channels in order to increase exposure.
Some companies, for example, sell their products in brick-and-mortar stores. They also sell products online.
These companies often use both channels simultaneously to increase sales.
#9. #9.
Data analytics helps companies improve business operations and maximize profits. Data analytics involves the analysis of data collected from multiple sources in order to discover patterns and trends.
Analytics can help you identify problems, assess current practices, predict the future, and make suggestions for improvements.
Analytics tools can collect data from many sources, including web servers, databases, and applications.
These tools are useful for companies who want to understand and learn more about customers.
#10. #10.
For every business, customer satisfaction is key. Customers who are satisfied will be more inclined to return for additional services.
A satisfied customer will be more likely to recommend your products.
Satisfied customers are less likely to complain of poor service.
Therefore, increasing customer satisfaction is critical for all businesses.
This is possible by offering outstanding customer support.
Make sure employees respond to customer queries promptly and resolve issues effectively.
Customers can get their orders quickly by choosing expedited shipping options.
Also, ensure your website's navigation is straightforward.
Your site must load quickly and provide clear instructions.
Bear in mind, not all customers can be treated equally
Customers may require additional assistance, while some customers won't need much.
You must tailor your customer support policies to fit individual needs.
This ensures that everyone receives outstanding service.
Check out our guide here if you'd like to know how to start an affiliate marketing campaign.
We've covered everything you need to know about starting an affiliate marketing campaign.
Now that you're familiar with the basics of affiliate marketing campaigns, you can begin to establish relationships with other bloggers.
This will help you gain experience as well as build your credibility.
This knowledge can be then used to your advantage and earn
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By: Lauren Basiura
Title: 3 B2B Marketing Strategies to Double Down On
Sourced From: marketinginsidergroup.com/marketing-strategy/marketing-strategies-to-reinforce-this-year/
Published Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2023 14:00:40 +0000