6 effective marketing strategies for B2B companies

The average customer makes 12 online searches and gets 57% of the way through the buying process before they typically speak to a seller. To create a better B2B customer experience and give yourself a greater chance of landing sales, you need to use effective marketing strategies to make sure you don’t lose your prospect before the sales conversation.

In this post, we’ll dig into:

• six successful marketing strategies all B2B companies should know

• the tactics and support to help you execute them

6 effective marketing strategies to drive sales

1. Bring organic traffic to your website through blogging

Boost your search rankings while establishing yourself as a go-to resource for your audience through your blogs. Using a variety of SEO tactics will help you rank higher in search results and encourage customers to visit your site, where you can make a strong first impression. Think about your reader’s search intent and use SEO best practices to elevate your content to the top of search engines.

Here are some ways you can do this:

• Use one main keyword. For example, for this blog post it’s “effective marketing strategies.” Include your keyword naturally throughout your post. 

• Write a 150-160 character meta description that entices readers to click on your content and explains what they’ll learn. Include your keyword.

• Optimize your images with alt text that explains what’s going on in each shot. This is especially important for accessibility.

• Create a short URL for the post that includes your keyword.

• Use internal links throughout the content where it makes sense.

2. Tempt your audience to join your email list with gated content

In the B2B marketing landscape, competition is often high and the sales funnel is fairly deep, so it’s no wonder that 61% of marketers say that generating traffic and leads is their biggest challenge. 

Persuade prospects to join your mailing list by offering free but valuable content, known as a lead magnet. Options for lead magnets you can create include checklists, ebooks, white papers and more that provide valuable takeaways for your readers in exchange for their email address. This is a win-win, which makes it one of the most effective marketing strategies you can implement.

When you create a lead magnet, always use a landing page to show your audience the benefits they’ll get when they give you their information and claim their download, with a brief form for them to fill out to receive your gated content.

3. Build a community by hosting virtual events

Everyone loves a party, especially when they can enjoy it from their couch. Host a virtual event and build your credibility and community at the same time. Plan your events strategically around product launches or other timely topics as they relate to your B2B company. Spotlight industry experts your customers are excited to hear from, and engage attendees further with interactive features like polling and Q&As throughout your event.

Depending on the event platform you use, every registration for your virtual event and every engagement during the event itself is recorded, providing you with data like email addresses and content preference information to help you create smarter event strategies in the future. 

Forget about hours of coordinating set up and tear down, and save yourself other business expenses like travel, hotel and meal costs. Not only do virtual events have a wider reach, normally hindered by geography and time constraints, they also offer the convenience of live viewing, or an on-demand recording. Don’t forget to budget for technology that will provide professional quality — no one wants to watch a grainy livestream with audio that cuts out.

4. Keep buyers engaged through the entire customer lifecycle

How you maintain relationships with your B2B buyers is more important than ever: 84% of customers feel that experiences are as important as the actual products and services you offer, and 67% say their standard for good experiences is higher than it’s ever been. Here are a few ways you can captivate and engage your audience from their first Google search to post-purchase:  

• Stay in contact. When you reach out, you keep your business ahead of the competition while deepening your customer relationships by being genuinely helpful instead of simply trying to make a sale.

• Personalize your marketing. Even if you just use a customer’s first name, leverage this marketing tactic and tailor your content for the individual when you can. 

• Ask for feedback. This shows you value your customer’s opinion and want to improve. Follow up with your team and put the information to use!

Remember when you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind. Nurturing ongoing relationships with your buyers leads to greater return on investment at less cost to you.

5. Establish partnerships with like-minded organizations

Find the Robin to your Batman! Team up and leverage the audience of another company by co-marketing. This might be through a package deal or collaboration that will allow you to have a wider marketing reach with consumers. 

Before you jump in, confirm that both businesses are clear on their goals, and determine key performance indicators for you to measure your success. Doing so will help ensure this is one of the most effective marketing strategies you try this year.

6. Humanize your brand

Keep it real and put a face to your brand. Your audience wants to trust you before they’ll support you, and you can gain that trust through being transparent about your B2B company’s purpose and values.

Research shows consumers like to communicate via online chat, a similar experience to texting with a friend that allows you to troubleshoot in the moment without follow-up contact. Humanizing your brand both showcases your authenticity and clearly communicates your message.

Your partner in strategic marketing

You now have six successful marketing strategies in your toolkit. Ready to implement these effective marketing strategies to drive sales? Scribe National’s B2B Content Brilliance package offers the content creation support you need to take the load off your shoulders and execute on your strategy.