The internet has drastically changed the way that B2B buyers and everyday consumers purchase products. It is the job of every marketing professional in the promotional products industry to strive to leave the pack and head for open waters. Using research done by Corporate Executive Board B2B buyers are at least 57% through their individual purchasing journey before they pick up the phone to contact their vendor.
With this statistic in mind, it is obvious that B2B marketing efforts need to be put at the front of the line. Fading quickly are the days of interruptive, forceful outbound marketing strategies such as cold calling and direct mail pieces that take days to complete.
With every passing day, week and month your prospects and even clients to some degree are tuning out these kinds of unsolicited and boring kinds of marketing messages. Why not try to be part of the 57%, mentioned above, of the B2B buyers’ efforts?
Here are five steps for promotional product companies to enhance their B2B marketing efforts and connect more frequently with buyers, customers and prospects. Ready. Set. Go.
Create/Develop multiple Buyer Personas: In the promotional products industry we service clients from hundreds of different industries. Each of these industries should have a unique buyer persona. The Buyer Person Institute created this definition for a buyer persona.
Create high performing B2B Content: This kind of content does not need to break your bank. Solving and answering questions for clients, email marketing, social media marketing and blogging are perfect ways to create content that these buyer personas can find. This content needs to be compelling and worth sharing.
Email Marketing: This strategy is still one that packs a huge punch. With the use of smart phones and the easy access we all have now to the internet people are checking emails more and more. If designed in the right ways, email marketing has a huge potential to share your brands story and create top of mind awareness with prospects and clients.
Implement video marketing: All of the top brands in the world use video to share their stories. These do not need to be long, they simply need to send a powerful message. Once created send the video to your network of clients, post it on social media and encourage people to share it. Video content marketing is certainly on the rise, don’t miss the boat.
Use data to drive marketing efforts: Data does not lie. Putting science behind demand generation is rising in popularity. By using and ultimately leveraging analytics, the best marketing professionals and organizations are rapidly determining what steps to continue taking and more importantly stop taking.
Being a promotional product company ourselves we know the power of B2B marketing and how important it is to achieve top of mind awareness with our clients and buyers. These are just five steps to enhance your B2B marketing efforts but there are literally dozens if not hundreds more to try. What steps have you taken to improve B2B marketing? Let us know in the comments below.
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