What the Most Successful B2B Marketers Have in Common

/in , /by

What the Most Successful B2B Marketers Have in Common

How do you know when customers are ready to buy a product or service you are selling? In the B2B marketing world, there are a variety of ways to measure customer interest.

Successful B2B marketers have a lot in common. One thing they have in common is that they employ many of the same tools to gauge customer interest in their products or services. If you are a B2B marketer, you might want to consider using these tools, as well.

What follows is a list of what the most successful B2B marketers consider to be the gold standard when it comes to B2B marketing tools and trends:

    • Lead Generation. Content marketing is considered by B2B marketers as the cornerstone of any successful marketing strategy. Content marketing has long been considered an extremely reliable method of increasing interest in a product or service and shows no signs of slowing.
    • Analytics and Data Visualization. The popularity of marketing dashboards is on the rise as B2B marketers lean toward the use of tools that give them at-a-glance views of key performance indicators for their CRM and campaign data.
    • QR Codes. Despite a surge in new mobile technology, cross-channel QR codes are still important because, among other things, these codes allow for digital tracking of non-digital marketing channels.
    • Telemarketing. Time and time again, telemarketing has proven to be an exceptional marketing tool. Telemarketing is especially effective when developing intent-targeted marketing campaigns. It also helps to drive conversion rates.
    • Brand Awareness. When B2B marketers focus on increasing awareness of their brand and improving customer experiences with their brand, profits increase—substantially.
    • Social Media Monitoring. B2B marketers who closely monitor their social media sites are able to determine with more accuracy what their customers are looking for in a product or service. Such monitoring also helps them to be more proactive if they detect customer dissatisfaction.
    • Email Service Provider (ESP) Technology. Many of the most profitable B2B companies use ESPs to manage and distribute software-based services and solutions to their customers across a wide area network from a central data center.

Marketing to other businesses can be a particularly difficult task. In order to get it right, there will likely be a great deal of trial-and-error. If there are lessons to be learned from the most successful B2B marketers, it is wise to pay attention to these lessons to improve your own B2B marketing efforts.

B2B vs. B2C Lead Generation

/in , /by

B2B vs. B2C Lead Generation

When it comes to lead generation, many companies fail to make the important distinction between B2B and B2C clients. While it’s common mistake, it’s also a costly one.

Even though both are technically customers, forging relationships with individuals and companies involve different approaches. In order to ensure that you are connecting with your B2B and B2C prospects in the right way, it is vital that you understand the differences between the two. What follows are some of most significant differences between B2B and B2C customers and how that effects your lead generation efforts:

Length of the sales cycle: The B2B sales cycle is usually much longer than the B2C cycle. Therefore, more time and effort will need to be devoted to B2B lead generation efforts. B2C purchases tend to be quicker and do not usually involve long-term contracts.

Audience: B2C lead generation is directed at a broad audience because of the volume of people you are targeting. B2B lead generation efforts, on the other hand, are focused on a smaller pool of decision makers so need a more personal and targeted approach.

Purchase habits: B2C customers will do a great deal of research before making a major purchase so they will want to read lots of content and have access to product information and reviews. B2B customers respond better to promotions or offers that hit them when their contract with a competitor ends or during specific purchasing phases.

Decision factors: B2C lead generation works to build personal relationships so that when a customer decides to make a purchase, they know who they can trust. They also are more focused on price since they are spending their own money. When it comes to prices, B2B customers and prospects will take for granted you are giving them the best possible deal.

Response to telemarketing: Sales calls are expected in the world of B2B lead generation. B2C clients are less responsive to sales calls so it is important to tread carefully. Asking for permission via social media, for example, can help B2C customers and prospects be more responsive to sales calls.

Product knowledge: B2B lead generation efforts often involve answering very specific product questions so it is vital that B2B marketers know their product inside and out. B2C marketers also need to answer questions but these questions are usually less in-depth.

When it comes to lead generation, your marketing approach must be tailored to your particular prospect. Understanding the subtle differences between B2B and B2C customers will go a long way toward making your lead generation efforts successful.

Uniting B2B Sales and Marketing Teams

/in /by

Uniting B2B Sales and Marketing Teams

One of the latest trends in B2B marketing is account-based marketing (ABM). The goal of ABM is to align a company’s marketing and sales teams.

While everyone talks about the need to make sure marketing and sales departments work together to capture sales leads, this goal is not often realized. Many in the industry believe that ABM may finally accomplish that goal.

ABM is being touted as the newest and best way to bring sales and marketing teams together. The fact is, however, ABM isn’t new at all. In fact, the theory behind ABM is to bring back an emphasis on outbound marketing. Once successful, an impressive list of accounts will be built and the focus can turn to delivering targeted messages to those accounts.

ABM allows marketers to increase sales with the aid of software programs. These software programs enable marketers to capitalize on a variety of factors including ad serving and retargeting, content personalization, lead generation and management, and sales intelligence.

While ABM software is still in its infancy, experts believe that it in the next few years it will explode in popularity among B2B marketers. This stems from the fact that ABM technology will do something that has yet to be done: allow marketers and sales teams to execute at scale through technology-based solutions.

Experts also say that ABM will break through all that has divided marketing and sales departments up until now. ABM is predicated on the belief that most B2B buying decisions are made by groups rather than individuals. ABM, therefore, allows B2B marketers to identify the most suitable accounts and then pinpoint their target audience within those accounts. More importantly, ABM will allow for the engagement of prospects on their terms, ultimately turning prospects into customers who will then become advocates for the brand.

While ABM can do wonders to bring your marketing and sales teams together, it is not something that can be implemented overnight or without the correct people and processes in place. Customer data and insight is crucial to its success which means the proper technology must be in place. Further, only marketing and sales teams that are committed to its success will allow ABM to do its job.

Sales and Lead Generation are Just Two of the Ways Telemarketing Can Benefit Businesses

/in , , /by

Sales and Lead Generation are Just Two of the Ways Telemarketing Can Benefit Businesses

Telemarketing is an excellent way to grow your business while making it more efficient and profitable. After all, while digital marketing seems to get most of the attention these days, nothing can replace the importance of talking with customers and prospects and establishing a relationships built on personal interaction.

If you are looking to integrate more telemarketing into your business development strategy so that it goes beyond selling and lead generation, we have some suggestions for how to do just that:

  • Appointment setting is one of the best ways that companies can generate new business. There is no better way to sit down, in person, with a client to close a sale. Appointments are the way to make sure that these sit-downs happen.
  • Connecting with previous customers who have not purchased from you lately increases the chances of reactivating these customers. What’s best, information on these customers is already in your database so you don’t have to start cold.
  • Following up with leads is critical to making sales. Once a customer or prospect has had the opportunity to learn about your product or services through a direct mail piece, for example, a follow up call can help seal the deal.
  • Market research does more than just gather customer feedbacks and reviews. It allows you to gather the type of data that can be used for a number of important tasks, including how to best target prospects for your next marketing campaign. Further, marketing research conducted over the phone saves a great deal of money because you are able to gather information from people all over the country from a central location.
  • Seminar booking assures that seats at the seminars you hold are filled. Telemarketing offers an excellent way to make sure that your seminars are booked with the type of people that will respond to what you have to say. This task is particularly important because when your seminars are not well-attended, it doesn’t look good for your business or brand.

Telemarketing offers endless possibilities for businesses looking to grow. While selling and lead generation are two outstanding and proven ways telemarketing can work for your business, there are countless other ways to use this resource, as well.