B2B marketing: what to consider when implementing a strategy
B2B marketing is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advances and changes in consumer behaviour. The dilemma is whether to stick with tried and tested methods or to innovate. The first step is to familiarise yourself with the effective promotion principles in the B2B sector. Following these principles will allow the company to remain flexible and successful in market changes.
Marketing activities work through two strategies:
- demand creation – involves attracting potential customers;
- demand capture – efforts to increase conversions for consumers who have shown interest in the product.
It is important to separate the efforts of the identified strategies. In the case of demand creation, it is necessary to focus on the volume of new traffic. You should also assess its quality and engagement rate.
The price-per-result and conversion rate of the sales funnel is the best way to analyse demand generation. The lifetime value of a customer should also be considered. Using the same metrics for two processes will distort results and increase the budget. It prevents you from seeing the big picture and quickly identifying problems in your strategy.
Why the sales funnel is outdated
The traditional sales funnel model is ineffective for today’s B2B environment. It would be more informative to visualise consumer movement in terms of investment zones. They reflect the characteristics of the transition from one stage to another and the diversity of customer categories. The most effective segments would be those that do not overlap:
- Intent-based customer categories;
- a segment that characterises the buyer’s journey.
It is possible to understand their incentives and incentivisation methods by assessing how groups move towards a purchase.
B2B is an area where a team, not just one person, makes the decisions. This means that marketing needs to consider the needs and pains of different stakeholders in the process. In this case, it is necessary to draw portraits of all stakeholders and identify their pain points. It is also vital to coordinate the work of different departments. To maximise results, sales and marketing teams should work together towards the same goal. Specialists should interact regularly to solve problems and improve overall productivity.
Importance of true ROI evaluation
When implementing different marketing activities, you should focus on specific milestones. It is also essential to measure their performance correctly. One of the most valuable indicators for B2B is the payback period. It allows the company to define the break-even point and optimise costs. In addition, defining a specific period of time will enable you to put things into perspective without creating unnecessary illusions. Thus, it is possible to assess the situation more soberly and make decisions taking into account the current data.
