The concept of getting sales for your business often seems straightforward until it is time to actualize it. B2B (Business-to-Business) sales strategies can be quite confusing on one hand and on the other, engaging. B2B sales are simply business transactions carried out between business entities.
Generally, B2B sales deal with top executives and other people who have to approve business transactions in their organization. Since the target audience in B2B markets is urbane, sales usually boil down to whether as a brand you can offer the best value for product/service and meet the client’s needs.
Your business will need to give detailed information on the features and benefits of your product and show how it can help your target audience solve a specific problem. When it comes to B2B sales, there are several reasons for every purchase. Also, buyers are always on the lookout for the best deals possible.
Note that several interactions will have to be made before a purchasing decision can be reached. So, the salesperson will need to know a potential client on a deeper level to efficiently structure the sales pitch in a way that meets their expectations.
A B2B seller must understand how the product/service they’re selling is better than that of the competitors. The reason for this is that buyers tend to have some knowledge of the product before speaking to a sales rep. Next, we will discuss 20 B2B sales strategies that can give a positive result.
1. Establish a formal marketing plan
To stand out from the competition, a formal marketing plan needs to be established. This will include a more strategic and proactive approach to the marketplace. A strategic marketing plan should be combined with comprehensive market research. This will help with the situation analysis of your brand.
To set up a solid formal marketing plan, a SWOT analysis of your competitors needs to be carried out by your marketing agency or internal marketers. Then, you can reevaluate your strength and weakness. With the research, you can create a brand strategy and messaging that sells your brand positively and sets it apart from the rest.
2. Brand Identity
B2B companies that get higher revenue focus on creating and driving persistent brand identity content. To create a brand identity, B2B marketers must develop a firm brand positioning against their identified competitions. Then, communicate insights gathered to sales teams so they can regulate and improve their strategies where needed.
3. Partnership
Marketing and sales should collaborate to achieve their marketing objectives which are to generate sales and leads, influence and improve brand awareness and increase customer retention and loyalty.
4. Digital Marketing
Since consumer adoption of digital and mobile platforms will continue to grow, B2B marketers need to acquire digital marketing and technology skills to boost their chances of reaching a wider audience. With the right digital marketing tools, B2B marketers can get data on customer behavior and engagement allowing them to leverage on, and optimize existing marketing strategies and tactics.
5. Focus on the buyer
Your buyers are your top priority and much attention should be given to them. The buying process is way too complex to lose any buyer, hence B2B organizations need to be strategic in mapping out content to accelerate the buying process and engagement. In turn, nurturing and converting buyers all through the buying process.
6. Marketing Agencies
Marketing agencies are very important to any business. Many B2B marketers have reported using a marketing agency to handle a part or all of their marketing programs. Marketing agencies give businesses access to major marketing strength and capacity while utilizing their internal resources efficiently.
7. Retainer
Most B2B outsourced marketing efforts are carried out through retainers. Several companies are starting to fully maximize the advantage of retainers and acknowledging that the nature of most digital marketing programs is long-term and continual.
SEO is one of the prominent retainers that companies use. It is aimed at getting your brand visible on Google and other search engines by increasing its online presence. Note that ranking in the search result is not an immediate process. It requires a lot of technical work like website optimization, keyword strategy, local listing, etc.
Keyword research, link building, optimizing copy development among many others are part of a positive SEO program. All retainers require consistency, maintenance, attention to detail, and analytics.
8. Marketing Budget
It is advisable to have a marketing budget to guide your marketing expenses. 10% of your revenue should go into marketing. Your marketing budget can be channeled toward website development, digital marketing, tradeshows, and events.
9. Account-Based Marketing
This is modifying sales and marketing strategies to a particular account for the purpose of positively influencing the ROI. When it comes to Account-based marketing, closing the deal is the ultimate goal.
Account-based marketers pursue quality over quantity. They tailor their focus and personalize marketing towards accounts that have high prospects of converting.
10. Leverage on Mobile
It is safe to say that the average adult has a mobile device, and over half of the world’s web traffic is generated via mobile devices. Mobile devices contribute over 50% of your prospects.
With a good mobile marketing strategy, you can sell your brand to billions of users. To leverage this, ensure that your content is prompt and responsive across all mobile devices – website/mobile apps. Accessibility is very important, down from the smallest gadgets to the biggest screens.
11. Marketing Automation Tools
There are several tools available to ease marketing for marketers. These tools can be used to boost existing marketing campaigns. Marketing automation tools help you reach your potential customers and personalize communications with them.
12. Infographics
Create visual contents to aid your marketing. Add images and videos to make your content very rich. It will help promote your brand awareness and brand recall. Visual marketing is very important as it aids assimilations in viewers.
It builds trust and engagement with viewers. It is advisable to use fascinating images that are akin to your brand across all platforms. You can create graphs and charts to show data and statistics and watermark your images for branding. Ensure your visual content is suitable to the eyes but don’t overdo it.
13. Algorithms
Without the necessary data, it will be difficult to know who your leads are and how to reach them with personalized communications. Advanced data analytics makes it easier for marketers to deliver reliable customer experiences across all platforms and channels.
14. Creative Content
Create contents that are centered on your brand. B2B companies must create contents that are more about what potential buyers want to hear. Ensure that all your marketing content is educative and interactive.
15. Be versatile
Use different channels to reach your audience. B2B buyers usually utilize several channels to research and explore their purchase options. Hence, it is important to be on all channels, so you are always in their face. B2B organizations should know their buyer’s preferred content and ensure that these contents are accessible across channels.
16. Strategic Marketing Objectives
Draw out a strategic marketing objective rather than a sales plan. To get optimized performance, B2B should engage in developing marketing objectives to aid sales. A good marketing objective should inform the prospect of the company to help them differentiate your brand in the marketplace.
17. Marketing Advocate
Almost all B2B marketers agree that a marketing advocate is required to help facilitate marketing in the long-run. This advocate will represent and be the voice of customers at the executive table. Also, the advocate will stimulate work with other companies to push business strategy and sales via marketing, creating marketing as a competitive edge and revenue means for the company.
18. Marketing ROI Metrics
Once B2B organizations can measure the result and show that B2B marketing adds to the company’s revenue and aids business growth, it will help change the concept of marketing as a competitive edge rather than just a cost center for organizations.
The major strategy for removing any barriers and misconceptions is to create ROI metrics and invest in marketing strategies and technologies that will aid marketers to measure and show ROI.
19. Engage with and IT and Finance
It is believed that a good rapport with other organizations with the business-like Finance and IT is required to successfully drive good marketing strategies. It will aid in performance checks and managing the marketing budget.
20. Tell your Story
Create content that tells the story of your organization. Let potential customers know your journey thus far; your entry, biggest challenges, setbacks, wins, etc. Also, brands can use buyers’ personalities to create content that fits their needs.
Using customer’s insights gathered, a successful B2B marketer would develop detailed marketing strategies that fit into each buyer’s role. Thus, creating contents that are relevant and appreciated to customers. This strategy will help connect with customers effectively, engage, and convert them.
Generally, buyer conversion should be the key in every B2B sales strategy and this will require a more buyer-specific strategy. Remember, it is all about the buyers, so, there must be a realistic approach that will integrate your brand and the buyers.