With buying decisions in 2021 increasingly following a vendor’s online identity and footprint, B2B Marketing is finding itself defining a new persona.
Studies suggest that buyers conduct up to 10 online searches per potential vendor, for digital experiences that align with expectations.
Recent research by Bain & Company confirms that most buyers:
- Rely on online findings more than any other source to select their vendors
- Give more time to vendors whose brand information they have reviewed online first
- Already have a pre-selected vendor in mind based on online findings.
Source: Bain & Company
The research also confirms that the preference for virtual transactions will continue to be strong among buyers and vendors in the post-pandemic era as it has been during the past year.
This calls for vendors to revisit their marketing strategies in order to realize all the benefits that virtual engagement offers in time- and cost-effectiveness, achieve the widest customer reach possible, and increase sales closing and success.
While B2B and B2C marketing require different approaches, they are the same when it comes to identifying and planning campaign scope, size and budget. Most importantly, a balance must be found between a sustainable marketing structure and digital advertising. Large sums spent on digital ads do not guarantee the desired ROIs. It’s all about the right content in the right media at the right time.
So: how should you upgrade your company’s content marketing to meet your buyers’ new search habits? How can you better curate your company’s digital identity and footprint?
No need for sophisticated research. The answers you need can easily be found by exercising a little common sense and looking inwards.
Refresh Your Email Marketing Approach
By far the most economical engagement tool, yet a general mass mailing is seldom as results-effective as it is cost-.
Discerning buyers are more likely to respond to personalized messages than generic ones.
Corporations with large email databases are increasingly turning to AI to customize mass mailing, and these solutions are just as accessible to smaller companies.
Campaign Monitor, Mailchimp, Sharpspring, Hubspot … these email marketing platforms and others offer a range of tools and pricing. Time spent identifying which one best suits your B2B or B2C audience will be time well spent.
Consider Social Media Engagement
Love them or hate them, the chances are that either Facebook or Instagram (or both) absorb many hours of your customers every day.
It makes sense then to strengthen your brand presence and demonstrate relevance: to be seen.
B2B social media has proven to be very powerful if the right content strategy is applied. Plan and carry out campaigns with precision to be successful. Your engagement objective needs to be clear and part of your whole online engagement structure.
Content Marketing is Ever More Important
With absolute certainty, the future of content is video, virtual reality and augmented reality.
- Use video and graphics, animation, live footage and content to tell your brand or product story drive more traffic to your company. It is estimated that such technology will grow business and industry to the tune of $160 billion.
- Invest in how your share your information. If you are a real estate agent, for example, use augmented reality to show-tell your listings and conclude transactions swiftly.
- Incorporate reviews and reports into your videos for higher sales results. We know buyers make key decisions when watching videos that include reports from trade journals and online reviews.
Whatever the technological advances, customers still expect a few old-fashioned things. They value companies that provide timely and personalized communication to help them find products that meet their expectations and goals. They value companies that know their customers and pay attention to customer experience. They value companies that stand by the worthiness of their products.
How you reflect your customers’ values is the key to your success in B2B/B2C marketing.
