February 9, 2024
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5 min read
The marketing landscape is ever-changing, and so is the lingo.
What is B2B?
What is B2C?
How am I supposed to sort through the noise and market my business in an increasingly competitive digital world?
At Spark & Pony, we’re here to provide you with experience, energy, and thoughtful B2B marketing tips for your business as well as some hot takes to help your team stand out online.
This blog will help you understand what exactly B2B marketing is. If you still have questions about getting your business in front of the right audience or need help with your B2B marketing, reach out to us today.
B2B (business-to-business) marketing refers to any marketing or content strategy aimed at other businesses and organizations.
It means creating opportunities for businesses to meet and experience your brand, build relationships with your team, and convert them into loyal customers. B2B marketing means connecting with businesses that need what you offer.
Spark & Pony Creative is an excellent example of a B2B business! We market ourselves to businesses as a remote web design agency, providing services in web design, graphic design, branding, content writing and social media management.
B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing refers to any marketing or content strategy aimed at individual consumers. It means creating opportunities for individuals to see your products and services, become convinced that your product would fill a current need in their life, and convert them into loyal customers.
Even better is when these two marketing types intersect in a single business. For example, Microsoft sells technology, software and computers to individual consumers, but ALSO offers software, cloud services and technology packages to businesses. You can be certain that their marketing campaigns are focused on both B2C and B2B strategies to achieve success in both target markets.
Now that you understand the differences between B2B marketing and B2C marketing, we can focus on marketing your products or services to other businesses.
You have a unique product and you know who your audience is.
So how do you take your B2B marketing strategy to the next level? Try our five proven and powerful B2B marketing tips!
Your business and brand are unique, but there are other businesses out there offering the same products and services you do. How are you going to set yourself apart? Why should they choose YOU? Focusing on differences in cost or turn-around times will only get you so far.
THINK: Mission, Brand Statement, Values, Personality and Strengths.
Are you a local business? Do you have exceptional service guarantees? Are you proud to have been in business for X amount of years? Are you female-led? Are you trusted by industry leaders for whatever reasons?
Take what makes you different and excellent and put it on your website. Communicate it to your clients. Post it on your socials. Tell your brand story in a way that inspires trust and partnership with your target audience.
Have you ever heard this before? “Business customers don’t want emotional marketing. They want logic and reason.” Yeah, it’s pretty common to hear advice like this.
But here’s the thing… we disagree. Your buyers are people, not faceless robots. It’s simply not possible for emotion to stay out of the equation.
B2B purchases take longer than B2C because of longer sales cycles. Your buyers want to ensure they make the right decision to keep their business afloat, meet tight deadlines, and avoid costly mistakes. How someone FEELS about your services and ability will affect their confidence in your business in the future.
B2B decision-makers need to feel understood and supported, and you can do so by personalizing your content to suit them. Tailor your content to inspire reassurance, trust, confidence, reliability, and excellence in your relationship.
Don’t stay in the dark ages. If you want to compete in today’s cut-throat industries, you need to be online.
Have you ever looked up a business but they didn’t have a website or Google My Business listing? Did that inspire trust in their brand, or were you less likely to use their services?
Millions of businesses are losing customers every day simply because their websites are outdated, not optimized, and insecure. It takes just 0.05 seconds for people to form an opinion about a website.
You NEED a website! A great website is one of the most important aspects of a successful business. Great websites can ensure that you:
Don’t have a website yet? Get in touch with us. We’re a remote website design agency, and we’d love to help you get started.
Reviews, testimonials and case studies sway purchasing decisions all the time, and B2B is no different.
Showcasing customer reviews and testimonials helps tell your business story, inspires positive emotional responses of trust and expectation, and puts your stamp on the digital landscape. It all works hand-in-hand.
How can you achieve this? Don’t be shy – share the good news about what you are doing right!
People love hearing what others have to say, and knowing that others trust you is good for B2C and B2B businesses alike. Great customers attract great customers!
So you have a great website and a Google My Business listing…
What's next?
Besides the traditional forms of marketing like print, radio, TV and word-of-mouth, there is a whole world of digital marketing at your fingertips.
Expand your content marketing strategy by using blog posts, social media channels, video marketing, podcasts, email marketing and more. An informed and engaged customer is more likely to be a repeat customer!
By creating quality content to educate or entertain your target audience, you are adding value to your brand and increasing sales. Inbound marketing generates 54% more leads than traditional marketing methods, and over 80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information from articles rather than ads.
As a B2B business… You need to be on LinkedIn.
It is still one of the best platforms for B2B lead generation.
With its targeted networking, paid ads, the ability to showcase content, connect with other business decision-makers, increase brand recognition, and find recruits and talent, LinkedIn might be one of the best B2B marketing tips we have.
Are you too busy to take on content marketing? Hey, we get it. Spark & Pony offers remote social media management and visual design services that can help you take a load off. Check out our services here.
We live in an age of convenience. If you can’t do it for a business, they will find someone who can. Research has shown that if customers find the purchasing process too difficult, 74% of them are likely to switch brands.
So, make it easier. How?
Yes, business decision-makers can be fickle, but you need to ensure that you make things as appealing and seamless as possible.
As a business looking to reach other businesses that are perfect for your products and services, you will want to take our advice to heart.
To be successful, you will need to tell your story, leverage emotion in your marketing, utilize the digital scape with a great website and Google+ MyBusiness listing, provide proof of excellence through reviews and testimonials, put your best foot forward with content marketing (like social media, blogging and email marketing), and “make it easy for them”.
Put our B2B marketing tips to the test to improve your odds of success in an ever-changing digital marketing landscape!
Do you need help with B2B marketing? We are here to help. Get in touch for a quote or a chat about the services we can offer you.
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