There are, as you may know, many different kinds of marketing but the easiest way to define the styles is in to two distinct categories; B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (business to business). And depending on whether you’re selling to a business or a consumer, you have to approach the two very differently. If you fall on the B2B side of the coin, here’s how to create a strategy.
Set objectives
The first part of any strategy, marketing or otherwise, is to set what you’re trying to achieve. Your objectives should be 3 things; specific, achievable and linked to time. So there’s no point setting an object of ‘growth’. A more efficient example would be a 5% increase in web traffic within the next month. This way, you can measure its success and keep adapting and reviewing as needed.
Obviously the company will have its overriding goals, such as to be the number 1 most popular in its sector, but in terms of the marketing strategy, you need to set things that can be directly influenced. Aim for sales conversions, web traffic, or e-mail signups.
Set actions and KPIs
Once you know what you want to achieve, you need to work out how to get there. This means setting actions and KPIs that reflect your knowledge of the audience you’re trying to reach.
If your goal is 15% more sales conversions and you know that the persona of who you’re trying to reach responds well to face-to-face interactions, then an action could be to attend industry events and your KPI would be once you hit a 10% increase on those travelling along the sales pipeline from target to prospect or prospect to hot prospect.
Opt for an integrated campaign
Although there are plenty of people shouting about digital marketing, it’s an integrated marketing campaign that incorporates both online and offline tactics that will prove to be the most successful.
You should consider the various channels (social media, print advertising, video) and their strengths and weaknesses, as well as how they are suited to your target audience (which mediums do they actually look at?). Then once you’ve decided which will be the most effective, you need to work hard to ensure that they marry up with each other and present a unified brand identity.
Align your sales and marketing
There is no point in setting a well-thought-out B2B marketing strategy if the sales side of things are on a completely different page. In order for leads to be converted to sales, the goals, objectives and target audiences of sales and marketing need to be aligned.