B2B DIGITAL MARKETING: Strategy and Tactics
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 6:12 am
If you've always thought that digital was almost exclusively intended for companies operating in a B2C market (aimed at the final consumer), and that companies search for their suppliers only through traditional offline channels, I have some bad news for you...
BECAUSE B2B BUYER BEHAVIOURAL DATA SAYS SOMETHING ELSE
Here is one of the many researches on the topic by Econsultancy:
93 % of B2B buyers start their purchasing process with a Google search.
84 % of B2B purchasing decision makers research online to find the offers that best suit their needs.
60 % of B2B buyers prefer to do their own online research to evaluate alternatives on their own before meeting with a salesperson.
In light of these data, the importance of being strategically and professionally present on digital channels is VERY CLEAR.
Those who make purchases in the B2B sector, therefore, nigeria whatsapp number data 5 millionmainly find new suppliers or evaluate the alternatives present on the market mainly on:
GOOGLE (World's #1 Search Engine)
LINKEDIN (1st Professional Social Network in the World)
I have some bad news though... Today it is no longer enough to be there...
We need to be present with a well-defined strategy and a solid execution plan , let's now see some ideas on how to set up our B2B DIGITAL MARKETING plan
Index:
How B2B purchasing behaviors have changed (with the advent of digital)
So what is a B2B (online) buyer looking for?
B2B Digital Marketing Operational Tactics
Google Marketing
LinkedIn Marketing
Website optimized for B2B companies
B2B Marketing Automation
The Real Purpose of B2B Digital Marketing
How B2B purchasing behaviors have changed (with the advent of digital)
[ back to index ]
Before the revolution brought by the Internet, all a B2B Buyer could do was meet with the “sellers” sometimes on pre-established days (those who are a few years older will remember signs similar to this one in the company..)
talk to them to find information, technical details of the products, prices, market news and last but not least evaluate alternatives (usually few).
Today everything has changed, we are in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT scenario
With the advent of DIGITAL, today, a B2B Buyer has all the information he wants at the click of a mouse, he no longer needs to physically meet the "gentlemen representatives" for this first phase of the purchasing process.
What parameters do these searches include?
In this regard, we are supported by the reports from Think with Google.
At the beginning of the research part with extremely generic keywords , which become more and more specific until they even include real brands.
Practical example, a B2B Buyer is looking for a new subcontractor for metal carpentry, the first thing he might do is search for “ metal working company”
Already from these first results a series of choices arise to request initial information, necessary to go to the next step, the one in which you get information on the characteristics of the company (machinery owned, type of customers served, work carried out etc...) and choose to purchase from the one you consider most functional to your reality.
In the B2B sector, it must be considered that the actual purchase generally takes place OFFLINE in a personal meeting between the buyer and our beloved “Mr. Representative”, but the real “battle” before the meeting (if we don't win that, there will never be a meeting) we have seen how it happens in the digital “field”.
To reinforce this concept, I provide you with data from another research carried out by HUBSPOT where it is estimated that out of 100 of the purchasing process of a B2B buyer, 60% of this process in the buyer's mind, occurs before there is a meeting with a seller.
So what is a B2B (online) buyer looking for?
[ back to index ]
Once all the online possibilities have been evaluated, what are the main levers that will push our B2B Buyer to contact one company rather than another?
To answer this question, we must first understand where the customer is in the purchasing process and then structure at least 2 MACRO types of content (hyper-simplifying the purchasing process):
INITIAL RESEARCH PHASE
INFORMATIONAL CONTENT : Example of a blog article where we interpret the mental dialogue of our typical B2B Buyer and answer his questions. (Returning to our example, an article indicating the elements to consider when looking for a new carpentry supplier could be useful to him)
ADVANCED RESEARCH STAGE
SALES CONTENT: Where instead I will have to make him clearly understand why I am the best solution for him and therefore why he should choose my company instead of someone else's.
For this reason, it is obviously essential to have a correct strategic positioning in the company that allows us to be as “unique” as possible compared to our competitors.
THE VALUE OF CONTENTS
They are FUNDAMENTAL in every phase of the purchasing process, the great revolution of DIGITAL (unlike traditional mass media channels) lies precisely in the possibility of personalising the message and the more our contents are personalised and relevant to our target audience, the more effective our B2B DIGITAL MARKETING strategy will be.
B2B Digital Marketing Operational Tactics
[ back to index ]
Google Marketing
[ back to index ]
I think it is superfluous to reiterate the importance of being in the top positions of Google searches for the "Keywords" (words searched by our potential customers) relevant to our Business.
In short, it is possible to do this through:
Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ). It includes all those techniques to be carried out inside the site – on site – and outside the site – off site – to be able to acquire natural – organic – visibility on search engines;
Search Engine Marketing ( SEM ). This is the practice of creating paid advertisements on search engines, in order to reach the top positions in the very short term;
Typically, the B2B buyer uses Google first and then searches for the brand on social networks to assess its credibility.
For this reason , those working in B2B should always combine a solid LINKEDIN MARKETING strategy with a GOOGLE MARKETING strategy .
BECAUSE B2B BUYER BEHAVIOURAL DATA SAYS SOMETHING ELSE
Here is one of the many researches on the topic by Econsultancy:
93 % of B2B buyers start their purchasing process with a Google search.
84 % of B2B purchasing decision makers research online to find the offers that best suit their needs.
60 % of B2B buyers prefer to do their own online research to evaluate alternatives on their own before meeting with a salesperson.
In light of these data, the importance of being strategically and professionally present on digital channels is VERY CLEAR.
Those who make purchases in the B2B sector, therefore, nigeria whatsapp number data 5 millionmainly find new suppliers or evaluate the alternatives present on the market mainly on:
GOOGLE (World's #1 Search Engine)
LINKEDIN (1st Professional Social Network in the World)
I have some bad news though... Today it is no longer enough to be there...
We need to be present with a well-defined strategy and a solid execution plan , let's now see some ideas on how to set up our B2B DIGITAL MARKETING plan
Index:
How B2B purchasing behaviors have changed (with the advent of digital)
So what is a B2B (online) buyer looking for?
B2B Digital Marketing Operational Tactics
Google Marketing
LinkedIn Marketing
Website optimized for B2B companies
B2B Marketing Automation
The Real Purpose of B2B Digital Marketing
How B2B purchasing behaviors have changed (with the advent of digital)
[ back to index ]
Before the revolution brought by the Internet, all a B2B Buyer could do was meet with the “sellers” sometimes on pre-established days (those who are a few years older will remember signs similar to this one in the company..)
talk to them to find information, technical details of the products, prices, market news and last but not least evaluate alternatives (usually few).
Today everything has changed, we are in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT scenario
With the advent of DIGITAL, today, a B2B Buyer has all the information he wants at the click of a mouse, he no longer needs to physically meet the "gentlemen representatives" for this first phase of the purchasing process.
What parameters do these searches include?
In this regard, we are supported by the reports from Think with Google.
At the beginning of the research part with extremely generic keywords , which become more and more specific until they even include real brands.
Practical example, a B2B Buyer is looking for a new subcontractor for metal carpentry, the first thing he might do is search for “ metal working company”
Already from these first results a series of choices arise to request initial information, necessary to go to the next step, the one in which you get information on the characteristics of the company (machinery owned, type of customers served, work carried out etc...) and choose to purchase from the one you consider most functional to your reality.
In the B2B sector, it must be considered that the actual purchase generally takes place OFFLINE in a personal meeting between the buyer and our beloved “Mr. Representative”, but the real “battle” before the meeting (if we don't win that, there will never be a meeting) we have seen how it happens in the digital “field”.
To reinforce this concept, I provide you with data from another research carried out by HUBSPOT where it is estimated that out of 100 of the purchasing process of a B2B buyer, 60% of this process in the buyer's mind, occurs before there is a meeting with a seller.
So what is a B2B (online) buyer looking for?
[ back to index ]
Once all the online possibilities have been evaluated, what are the main levers that will push our B2B Buyer to contact one company rather than another?
To answer this question, we must first understand where the customer is in the purchasing process and then structure at least 2 MACRO types of content (hyper-simplifying the purchasing process):
INITIAL RESEARCH PHASE
INFORMATIONAL CONTENT : Example of a blog article where we interpret the mental dialogue of our typical B2B Buyer and answer his questions. (Returning to our example, an article indicating the elements to consider when looking for a new carpentry supplier could be useful to him)
ADVANCED RESEARCH STAGE
SALES CONTENT: Where instead I will have to make him clearly understand why I am the best solution for him and therefore why he should choose my company instead of someone else's.
For this reason, it is obviously essential to have a correct strategic positioning in the company that allows us to be as “unique” as possible compared to our competitors.
THE VALUE OF CONTENTS
They are FUNDAMENTAL in every phase of the purchasing process, the great revolution of DIGITAL (unlike traditional mass media channels) lies precisely in the possibility of personalising the message and the more our contents are personalised and relevant to our target audience, the more effective our B2B DIGITAL MARKETING strategy will be.
B2B Digital Marketing Operational Tactics
[ back to index ]
Google Marketing
[ back to index ]
I think it is superfluous to reiterate the importance of being in the top positions of Google searches for the "Keywords" (words searched by our potential customers) relevant to our Business.
In short, it is possible to do this through:
Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ). It includes all those techniques to be carried out inside the site – on site – and outside the site – off site – to be able to acquire natural – organic – visibility on search engines;
Search Engine Marketing ( SEM ). This is the practice of creating paid advertisements on search engines, in order to reach the top positions in the very short term;
Typically, the B2B buyer uses Google first and then searches for the brand on social networks to assess its credibility.
For this reason , those working in B2B should always combine a solid LINKEDIN MARKETING strategy with a GOOGLE MARKETING strategy .