How to achieve 365 days of client engagement

An “always on” approach to marketing is essential in the world of B2B sales.

Unlike B2C sales, which are often made impulsively, sometimes even within a matter of minutes, sales in the B2B sector have a much longer lead time.

In fact, for 25 per cent of new B2B customers, the sales cycle takes ten to twelve months to complete.

The reality is, it takes time for buyers to understand the product you’re offering and how it could benefit their business. There’s nothing impulsive about being the person to sign off on a five, six or seven figure business purchase!

Because of the long sales cycle, it is integral that your marketing is “always on”, meaning your marketing efforts are consistent and engaging for an extended period of time – or ideally, indefinitely.

This can be done in several ways, such as with regular website posts, newsletters and social media engagement; or by amplifying your brand and products through other channels such as digital and print trade media.

Three steps to success

At Prime Creative Media, we work with thousands of companies across more than 50 titles every year. In doing this, we’ve been able to see the systems and processes that consistently work to give businesses quality engagement with their target audience 365 days a year.

Below is a tried and tested three-step approach our most successful clients use.

Create awareness

With such long lead times for B2B sales, ongoing branding and product awareness is the best place to start. People need to know you exist and what you have to offer, even if they are not ready to buy right now.

Simplicity is the key to great brand awareness. The most effective businesses continue to use brand-focused advertising, putting their company logo and tag line front and centre across multiple platforms – web, print, newsletters social media – all year round.

Deliver education

Mike Schultz and John Doerr, authors of Insight Selling, found that over a period of five decades, building trust continues to be a top factor that leads to a sale.

The challenge is: how do you build trust without personal contact?

The answer is in education. By using your marketing efforts to create educational resources and content available to prospective buyers, customers learn to trust your brand.

You are demonstrating your commitment to customers’ success, even before they make a purchase or speak with a single person at your company.

Education is best delivered through well-crafted content. Blogs, professional articles, whitepapers, features and contributions in trade magazines, case studies, infographics and video are all great examples of educational marketing activities that help build customer trust.

They can be distributed through your own communications platforms – for instance your website or social media channels – or via a reputable third-party channel, such as a trade publication or news outlet.

Build your pipeline

In most cases, your content and marketing campaigns will be seen and read by people not yet in “buying mode”. The purpose of your content here is not to create a direct sale, but make them aware of a problem that your product could eventually solve.

A strategic campaign could include whitepapers or case studies to capture the readers’ attention. This gives your company the opportunity to build a credible relationship over time.

When that reader then hits “buying mode”, your company will have a major competitive advantage in getting the sale.

At this point, you need to ensure your campaign also includes content targeting buyers ready to purchase, such as direct product information.

To effectively build a pipeline for customers not yet in “buying mode”, you can use forms to capture buyers’ contact details and create concrete leads.

You should also ensure you have specific product landing pages, with all the necessary contact details to make it as easy as possible for the reader/buyer to purchase your product.

The keys to success

By crafting your marketing strategy around buying habits, you will create a campaign that does more than sell a product – it sells your brand and establishes you as a trusted supplier.

When the buyer does hit “buying mode”, your business will be in the box seat to get the sale.

The PCM Engine Room has 27 years of experience in B2B marketing and publishing, and every day we work with companies like yours to develop strategies that educate the market and influence outcomes.

If you’d like assistance with developing a tailored program to suit your needs, get in touch today – we’d love to help you!