B2B Marketing: The Complete Guide to Winning New Clients in Your Strategy

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Many stages must be completed before a product reaches the final consumer. A clothing factory, for example, must rely on reliable suppliers to acquire the materials needed for production. Therefore, there are many agents involved in the operational process.

Because of the more consistent and specific demand, it is overseas chinese in australia data natural that various brands compete to become suppliers to other businesses. This is not only related to the raw materials for the production of products, but also to the services necessary to make the company's operations viable .

It is in this scenario that we apply B2B marketing. In this text, we will explain the concept and make clear its difference to the B2C model . In addition, we will show you its benefits and give you tips to apply it in practice.

So, join us!

What is B2B marketing?
The acronym B2B is an acronym for Business to Business which, translated into Spanish, can be understood as business for business.

Thus, we conclude that this type of activity refers to marketing efforts related to transactions involving two companies : one that sells something and the other that buys.

B2B marketing techniques are not completely opposite to those used in conventional marketing, aimed directly at the consumer. However, there is one significant difference.

While individuals make their decisions based on characteristics such as product popularity, status, brand identification and other emotional factors, B2B buyers are more objective. What matters to them is primarily return on investment and cost-benefit .

Throughout the text, we will explore in more depth the differences between these two modalities. Now, it is worth mentioning that maintaining a good relationship with the consumer is important in B2C, but this becomes even more essential in B2B.

This is because, as it relates to the activities of other companies, it is common for negotiations to be more intense, which requires a high level of trust on the part of the comparators.

Furthermore, this type of sale occurs cyclically , which makes customer satisfaction an essential element for their return.

To better understand the characteristics of B2B, let's look at the main formats of this modality:

Transformation : One industry sells to another industry.
Distribution : An industry sells to a distributor.
Resale : A distributor sells for resale.
What are its benefits?
Using B2B marketing in your business is a practice that can bring benefits to your organization. Among the main advantages that can be achieved with investment in this type of business is the possibility of establishing long-term relationships .

This happens because, as we mentioned above, transactions are carried out cyclically. That is, if you offer a quality service or product, that will boost the performance of the purchasing company.

As a reflection of this, you will think twice before switching your services to another company.

Additionally, by dealing with well-defined accounts, it is easier to control the churn rate , which measures the number of customers who stopped doing business with your company in a given period.

Another point is pricing . The B2B model typically works with higher value transactions. Thus, a low volume of completed business can represent a large potential profit .

To better understand the reason for these benefits, let's look at the differences between this model and the B2C model.

How do B2B and B2C companies differ in marketing?
Generally speaking, businesses can be divided into two large groups: B2B or business to business (companies that sell to other companies) and B2C or business to consumer (companies that sell to consumers).

Selling to businesses is very different than selling to consumers. As a result, optimizing a website that sells to businesses is different than optimizing a website that sells to consumers .

Therefore, marketing strategies must be designed for each type of business.

To think about marketing strategies, an article from Drift proposes a crossroads regarding the business model that subdivides these two large groups of companies:

companies focused on product inventory, which can be marketplaces or websites based on user-generated content ( UGC );
companies focused on content (Company Generated Content or CGC).
In the following table, you can see examples of companies that are grouped according to their target market (B2B vs. B2C) and their business model (marketplaces or UGC vs. CGC).

types of company, second to drift
The peculiarities of B2B Marketing
B2B companies tend to have a longer buying cycle. This process usually involves more than one person and different levels of hierarchy within the client: analysts, managers and directors.

In addition, the sales price is generally higher and the commitment to the product or service is longer lasting , which makes decision-making more complex; you have to hit the nail on the head when making a choice.

That's why B2B companies work carefully on each stage of the sales funnel, with the intention of making the lead move forward as their decision matures. This process, however, must be worked on in the medium to long term.

Therefore, the strategic objectives of B2B companies focus on the acquisition and nurturing of leads in the sales funnel , processes in which content production plays a fundamental role.

In the image above, you can see that the second quadrant encompasses marketplaces and UGC companies that operate in the B2B market. Trello, for example, is a project management software that relies on user-generated content (by creating boards to organize their projects).

However, according to Drift, few B2B companies fit into the marketplace and UGC model. Most of them have to produce content themselves, and for that reason, they fit into the last quadrant.

This is where we find companies like HubSpot and MailChimp , which focus on producing content to educate the market and help potential customers mature their decisions.

Here in Latin America, we can also fit Rock Content into that quadrant, since it is a B2B company focused on Content Marketing.

How to apply B2B marketing in practice?
Now that you understand what B2B marketing is, what its advantages are and how it differs from B2C, let's move on to its practical application.

Just like in the end-consumer market, business-to-business transactions depend a lot on the approach used to make them efficient. To do so, check out some of our tips!

Create a relationship of trust
At the beginning of the text we mentioned that establishing relationships of trust is crucial for the survival of a company in this segment. To reach that level, much more is needed than just offering quality .

That is why it is essential to generate excellent experiences for potential customers , in order to establish a positive image for your brand .

To this end, many companies invest in corporate events as an opportunity to create a rapprochement with consumers.

A famous example is that of General Electric Brazil, which, during the 2016 Olympics, decided to use social media to generate engagement with its buyer personas , which were made up of various types of managers from a variety of companies. In this case, the platform they chose to carry out the campaign was LinkedIn.

By publishing content on its blog and sending emails, the brand attracted its targets and generated engagement with the material. In the end, the 10 most engaged managers were invited to an in-person event at the company's headquarters in São Paulo.

Invest in Content Marketing
The technique of attracting customers through content arises from an increasingly used type of approach: Content Marketing . And contrary to the traditional model, this practice seeks to create qualified content to attract, nurture and convert the buyer persona .

In the case of B2B, the idea is to transform your brand into an authority on the subject. This way, whenever services related to yours are needed, the client will have your brand top of mind .

When combined with SEO techniques , Content Marketing allows your blog or website to appear among the first results of related searches on Google . This increases your page traffic and opens the way for leads.

Once obtained, these contacts go through a nurturing process, which may include email marketing practices . With the high level of segmentation it allows, it is much easier to produce campaigns that have a positive impact on the buyer persona.


Keep an eye on your competition
Benchmarking your competition is essential to ensure that your business is on the right track. After all, although it does not usually have the same level of competitiveness as B2C, the B2B model is made up of several companies competing in the same niche as you .

So, identify your main competitors and keep an eye on their activities . If they are getting better results than you, try to find out what they are doing to achieve this.

An encouraged practice is to compare the keywords used in the Digital Marketing strategy .

If your competitor's business gets more engagement and has more followers on Instagram , for example, it may be that they are using more precise terms than your communications team.

Take advantage of Big Data
As we already mentioned, segmenting consumers is crucial to creating an efficient link with each one of them. However, how can we carry out this categorization? To start, it is important to create the buyer persona, which represents your company's ideal client.

To create this semi-fictional profile, it is necessary to combine demographic data with information about the wants and needs of your consumer. And this is precisely where Big Data comes in .

Using this technology, it is possible to gather, analyze and use customer information to better understand their behavior.

With this, you receive valuable insights to improve your strategy or to develop approaches that reach your consumer with greater impact.


Videos: Great Resources on B2B Marketing
It's not about the technology that's in fashion. The point is that companies are always on the lookout for impressive data and numbers about Video Marketing .

But knowing that a strategy works and making it work in your specific case are two very different things, aren't they? With that in mind, we're going to help you.

We'll show you how to produce videos for B2B marketing effectively, as quickly as possible!

5 types of video that can bring you good results
Have you already convinced yourself of the value of the strategy, do you already have a budget to invest in it, but you still have no idea where to start or what types of video to use in your content planning?

On the one hand, there is no shortage of options. On the other hand, it can be easy to get confused and even paralyzed by so many alternatives, even more so when you see that other companies are betting on the most different formats of video content.

To keep things simple, but still give you plenty of options, we've separated out 5 types of videos you can make that will yield great results.

1. Quick tips and market news
One of the quickest, easiest and most affordable ways to produce video content is by providing quick tips and important news about the market in which your company operates.

Because it is a short and easy-to-consume format, it does not require much planning or editing. You or any other member of the company can even record it with a cell phone and post it on the brand's social networks.

But that doesn't mean you can neglect video quality. You need to make sure the image isn't distorted and that ambient noise doesn't interfere with your voice.

2. Interviews and regular programs
Another option is to create a talk show with references from your segment and specialists on the subject of interest to the person.

Several companies invest in this type of program, which can be conducted in a studio — like a television program — or in the form of a video conference with the interviewees.

This type of content gives more freedom in terms of choosing the length. Most content producers prefer to make longer shows to get the most out of the interviews and offer great value to the audience.

3. Webinars and courses
Webinars , or online conferences, are amazing tools for generating leads. Investing in creating such an event can be very good for your marketing and sales strategy .

You can do webinars on a one-off or recurring basis. What matters most is the quality of the content delivered to the audience.

And if you want to do something even more comprehensive, how about turning those lectures into full video courses? The demand for online education is growing, so this could be an interesting alternative.

4. Institutional videos
Institutional videos have more to do with branding than with sales, directly, but they should not be disregarded or seen as something less important.

This is because building a strong brand has a lot of value in the decision-making process of companies and can weigh in your favor in your strategy if you have well-produced institutional videos.

In some cases, it is even worthwhile to create a series of short videos that are related to each other, in order to create a unique narrative that communicates the main values ​​and strengths of the brand.

5. Explanation of products