The five fundamentals of B2B marketing
B2B marketing to businesses can be challenging, but following five universal truths can illuminate the path to success.
In the highly competitive world of business, marketing products and services are critical, serving as the bridge between a company and its potential customers.
Unlike business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing, which appeals directly to individual consumers, business-to-business (B2B) marketing needs to target a range of stakeholders and decision makers. There’s also a significant amount of brand development and education that needs to occur before a purchase is made.
After all, there’s nothing impulsive about being the person to sign off on a five-, six- or seven-figure business purchase!
B2B marketing goes beyond mere transactions – it’s a platform to foster strong relationships with potential customers, define your brand and position yourself as an industry leader.
Prime Creative Media has nearly 30 years of experience in publishing and marketing to the infrastructure, resources, manufacturing, transport, logistics, automotive, agricultural, food, health, medical and education industries.
We’ve gathered some of our key insights from this experience, and we share them in our latest whitepaper, Five Fundamentals of B2B Marketing.
Marketing insights
It can be hard to know where to begin with an industry marketing campaign – but the Five Fundamentals whitepaper aims to simplify this process.
The five fundamentals businesses should always keep in mind when marketing to industry are:
- Products are complex, so education is paramount
- The sales cycle is long, with multiple decision makers
- Relationships with potential clients pave the path to sales
- Brand development and share of voice are critical
- The right communication channels are key
Below, we’ll provide more information on the first fundamental.
Education is the key
In B2B marketing, educating your audience about your products and services is crucial to the sales process. Your audience needs a comprehensive understanding of your product’s features, benefits, and applications and how these will affect their businesses before deciding whether your product is right for them.
This is due to the complexity of B2B products – which are often technical and tailored to the needs of a niche industry – and their price point.
When buyers consider products that cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, it’s critical that they have a comprehensive understanding of the product they intend to buy.
For example, if you are selling a complex software system, beyond merely knowing what your product is, your audience needs to understand how it works, whether it can be customised, how it will integrate with existing systems, information about ongoing technical support and more.
The good news is that there are plenty of channels through which customer education can occur. Content is one of the most effective; with a 2020 study finding that 79 per cent of respondents found success when using content to educate their audience.
Because so much education is needed, a B2B marketing strategy should be thought of as a journey – educating your audience won’t happen all in one sitting.
In the B2B space, most marketing campaigns last twelve months and include various education points, such as face-to-face meetings, seminar sessions, marketing brochures, content in print and digital media, and exhibitions.
Start now
When done right, B2B marketing helps you connect with decision-makers, educate prospects and boost sales.
If you want to get started on your own industry marketing campaign or sense check the work you already do against our insights, fill in the form below to download the report Five Fundamentals of B2B Marketing.