When you think of top strategies of successful B2B marketing companies, you may think of direct, outbound tactics like traditional advertising or telemarketing. The purpose of outbound marketing efforts is to be compelling and engaging so your target audience reaches out to you.
While these strategies have a place in your marketing mix, B2B marketing strategies have expanded to meet buyers’ needs. Today’s B2B buyers are more likely to conduct online research before they ever consider getting in touch with a salesperson. This means you need to add inbound marketing tactics.
Here are 9 essentials strategies that the most successful B2B marketing companies use.
1. Research
Deep research into your marketplace and industry is the basis for any marketing campaign. A successful B2B marketing company will offer you an objective basis and valuable baselines for your marketing efforts. By conducting research, a B2B marketing company will be able to position you better in the marketplace. Research also uncovers insight into how your marketing efforts are performing.
In addition, marketing companies that perform systematic research on clients’ prospects and marketplace help their clients grow anywhere between 3 to 10 times faster than similar companies.
2. Niche
The most successful B2B marketing companies operate in a niche environment. They know their area of specialization and target those niches exceptionally well. A B2B marketing company’s niche is an area of industry that they understand thoroughly, where they are a clear thought leader and expert.
Niche specialization makes your marketing efforts easier and more thorough. A successful B2B marketing company can quickly and easily define exactly what you do and how to distinguish you from the competition. Niche specialization is a proven differentiator.
3. Website
Since your company’s website is one of your most crucial assets, it pays to work with a B2B marketing company with strong digital expertise. Your website is the hub of your online presence; your marketing agency should nurture it with information-dense content that shows your expertise in the marketplace.
The most successful B2B marketing companies will have award-winning website strategies to help build visibility so your ideal customers can find you. If you want a chance at winning their business, your website must show your expertise through robust educational content. You can drive leads to your website through targeted offers and nurture them through content.
Further, your website design will influence your target audiences’ perception of your brand. You need an engaging design that sets your brand apart from the competition and conveys your credibility. Part of a successful web design is one that is responsive and adapts to a user’s device.
4. SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the most effective online marketing technique to help your target audience find your website. A successful B2B marketing company understands the latest SEO techniques such as on-site keyword phrases and off-site SEO links to your website.
A variety of tactics help search engines produce relevant results. A successful B2B marketing company makes sure a potential buyer’s search leads to your website. External links increase your website’s authority and help situate your brand as a recognized leader and expert in your niche.
5. Social Media
Social media is one of the most commonly used source of information for referrals and recommendations. A savvy B2B marketing agency will take advantage of social media to help drive leads and referrals to your website. Social media widens your company’s reach, helps promote your reputation, and presents your expertise through valuable content.
Another reason social media is an important strategy is the valuable connections you make. You can connect with influencers who can magnify your reach, and you can watch your brand’s reputation by social listening.
6. Advertising
Besides traditional advertising avenues, a successful B2B marketing company will help you advertise on industry websites and in digital trade journals. Other online advertising tactics include social media advertising, search engine marketing (SEM) like Google AdWords, and retargeting relevant ads to your audience.
The most successful B2B marketing agencies use advertising to drive content downloads and to increase visibility and perception. LinkedIn, retargeting, and other industry-focused advertising leads to more conversions, higher click-through rates, and lower cost per click.
7. Technology
Smart B2B marketing companies help you create marketing campaigns that take advantage of technology. Marketing automation, for example, can help you replace the manual, repetitive process of high-touch marketing efforts. You can combine all your online marketing channels into one centralized system. This allows you to create, manage, and measure your programs and campaigns from a single dashboard.
Another tactic is targeted email marketing to drive and nurture leads. An analytics-driven email marketing campaign lets you deliver soft or hard offers to specific targets where they are in the buying process. A drip email campaign lets you target content to segments of your audience over a period to educate and build relationships.
8. Testing
Testing lets you optimize your efforts and make better decisions going forward based on hard data. Just as research should be the foundation of your marketing strategies, testing should be a continuous guide.
You can A/B test emails and landing pages to see what works best and continually tweak to increase conversions. Part of testing should include how emails will render on different devices and platforms because you want to make sure everything functions as it should.
9. Analytics
A successful B2B marketing company knows which metrics to analyze to best measure results. They will have the most advanced tools in place to collect data on your marketing campaigns, your website, SEO, and much more.
Google Analytics is essential for measuring and analyzing your website traffic, and other tools exist to track SEO and social media. Analytics help you understand what works and what does not, so you can tweak your marketing efforts for better ROI.
Look for these 9 top strategies of the most successful B2B marketing companies before selecting an agency with which to work. Make sure any firm you choose embraces them and uses them to help you turn your marketing efforts into successful campaigns that drive results.