B2B Digital Marketing – How to Make it Work for your Business

B2B digital marketing refers to digital marketing strategies or content that is targeted specifically at businesses and organizations. This should be on the high priority list of companies who sell products and services to other businesses. 

Why is B2B Digital Marketing so important?

Marketing to consumers is completely different from marketing to businesses. There are different strategies and tools that you can use specifically for business development. All these B2B digital marketing strategies are geared towards earning maximum return on investments and business efficiency. 

For businesses, there is usually a group of decision-makers that should be consulted before purchasing products or services. There is a hierarchy of command that needs to be followed, as opposed to selling to individuals where only one person is involved. 

In getting digital marketing to businesses, you are not just selling your products or services; you are also letting them know more about your brand, philosophies, and company mission. By having an in-depth connection with businesses, your company can cultivate long-lasting relationships and bring in more revenue. 

Another main difference with selling to businesses is that they are making purchases as a part of their long-term solution which results in a long relationship and the possibility of renewing future contracts. This is the main reason why businesses should target other businesses for marketing their products and services.

Marketing to businesses is important because this can lead to longer relationships with your clients which can positively impact your bottom line. Here are the top 10 b2b digital marketing tools that you can use to grow your business:

1. Email marketing
2. Company Website
3. B2B Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Content Marketing
4. PPC Campaigns
5. Optimize your online and offline marketing
6. Social Media Marketing
7. Use Reviews, Feedback, and Testimonials
8. Customer Referral System
9. Influencer Marketing
10. Campaign report generation and tracking

Read along as we discuss the top 10 B2B digital marketing and how you can further utilize these tools to make your B2B marketing campaign strategic and successful.

1. B2B email marketing

A whopping 93% of B2B marketers use email which makes it an effective tool to include in your company’s B2B marketing campaign. Email marketing is a quick and easy way you can reach your target audience. The number one goal of email marketing is to turn your target audience into subscribers which enables them to receive emails regularly from your company. 

In creating emails targeted to businesses, you have to put yourself in the business owner’s shoes (which is not hard to imagine since you are a business owner yourself). The main question that concerns entrepreneurs when they see marketing emails is “How will this product or service help my business?”. 

With this in mind, you have to be wary of the main goals of business owners which is to make their business operations run efficiently and increase the bottom line figures. 

Email marketing can be a double-edged sword. The average email open rate across all industries is 21.33%. It means that you have to make your e-mail subject line stand out from the rest to not get lost in the mix. 

Another important part of an email marketing campaign is to always have a call-to-action link or section so that your audience will either buy the product right from the e-mail or click on a link to get more information. 

2. Company Website

Your company website is the best representation of your company on the World Wide Web. With this in mind, you have to make sure that your website is easy to navigate and can capture the attention of your audience. If your website design is too cluttered and hard to read, your prospective customers will give up on getting more information about your company and move on to the next one. 

With over 81% of buyers visiting a website before making a purchase, you have to make sure that your website is accessible and easy to find. Keep in mind that when marketing to businesses, you have to realize that the decision-making process involved multiple people and your website will be shared with all the key players.

3. B2B Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Content Marketing

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is vital to any marketing campaign and most especially in B2B. The first thing that your prospective business customers do when they hear about your brand or company is to search online. In this way, they can get to know more about what you are offering.

SEO goes hand-in-hand with content marketing because after searching your company through Google, your prospective customers will click on your website and this is where content marketing comes in. Content marketing can help position your company as being a trusted advisor in your chosen field and by placing education and information content in front of your viewers, you are helping them make informed decisions.

4. PPC Campaigns for B2B Digital Marketing

Pay-per-Click advertising enables your business to be strategically placed in front of your target business audience through search engine platforms or social media. These campaigns usually entail an investment up-front but it will pay off by increasing your visibility. 

Instead of highlighting your products or services, you can also use PPC Campaigns to promote your brand. By having a buyer persona in mind, you feature ads or content that they can relate to.

5. Optimize your online and offline marketing

The implementation of your B2B digital marketing strategy should go hand in hand with your offline B2B marketing strategy. It is not a matter of choosing one over the other but rather striking a great balance between the two which can lead your business to success.

Here are some ways that you can create a happy marriage between your offline and online marketing:

• Having your website, social media information, or a QR code on printed marketing materials
• Gathering e-mail addresses through in-person events and product launch parties –is a great way to generate leads
• Offer content that can only be retrieved or viewed online such as your blog or newsletter subscription
• Showcasing your social media presence through competitions or giveaways

6. Social Media Marketing

With 83% of B2B marketers using social media, your company will be amiss if you don’t capitalize and include social media marketing as the main focal point of your marketing strategy. Different social media sites have their purpose and social media subscribers can be individuals and businesses. Having a social media presence itself is key so that you can interact with your audience and customers. 

B2B marketing through social media has its drawbacks because business-to-business sales cycles are usually longer than business-to-consumer. But having a social media account comes in beneficial so that businesses can find you. And get to know what your brand is all about.

7. Use Reviews, Feedback, and Testimonials

Utilizing customer reviews, feedback and testimonials are all important tools that you can incorporate into your B2B digital marketing tools. All this feedback builds your company’s credibility and showcases a third-party non-affiliated view of your products and services. Reviews online can be leveraged by outranking your competitors and improving your organic search engine click-through rate. 

8. Customer Referral System

Referrals are a great way to grow your business and are one of the most overlooked B2B digital marketing tools. A satisfied customer will happily refer more customers your way. Actually, this is the highest form of compliment that they can give to your company.

Referrals can either be paid or organic. Paid referrals are done by extending an incentive for the business to refer your company over to another person or business. The incentive can either be in a form of a discount or a freebie. On the other hand, organic referrals are achieved by naturally asking a satisfied customer for referrals.

9. Influencer Marketing

With the boost in social media activity, there are a lot of influencers, that is individuals who can influence a person’s buying prowess. Tapping into influencer marketing will enable you to reach a wider audience because influencers can promote your business to their social media followers. 

To entice their followers into buying or getting to know your products, most influencers will put up an exclusive discount code to entice new customers. Over 71% of consumers are most likely to purchase a product after social media referrals; as a result, influencer marketing is a great tool that you can get the word out about your brand and company.

10. Campaign report generation and tracking

You can implement all the B2B digital marketing tools you want. But, in the end, how will you know which one is effective without measuring KPIs and tracking it? By effectively tracking the performance of different tools you can make changes to your marketing strategy implementation for the ones who are not performing as you would expect. 

The reporting that you have should cover conversion, rankings, and organic traffic brought about by the different tools that you are using. This will enable you to have an appropriate comparison. Also, you can see which ones are working versus the ones that need improvement.

Keep in mind that your digital marketing strategy should be fluid; you can always redefine your targets and change your strategies if it is not effective. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are a lot of B2B digital marketing tools that you can use for your company. Businesses usually employ the use of different tools together to reach a maximum impact on their target business audience. Like with any type of marketing, there is no shortcut to get to your results. 

With the tools listed above, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reaching your marketing strategy goal. Also, all these tools are available to everybody. As a result, the best way to stand out from the rest is to implement unique strategies that will highlight your brand. Are you unsure of where to start? Enlisting the help of a B2B marketing agency will help steer you in the right direction.