There are many types of digital marketing strategies that B2B companies can utilize to increase lead generation and acquire more sales. The major reason most companies fail to make more sales is lack of planning and failing to put enough effort into strategies that have been proven to work. Failure to document and execute strategies is another reason both large and small companies fail to increase their sales significantly.
Another reason that can lead to loss of customers or even slow growth of lead base is price changes, mergers or acquisitions. The customers may lose confidence in a company that has just been acquired or merged–especially on short notice. Companies that have managed to retain their identities and in the past fostered great relationships with their customers are barely affected by such major changes. One good example is Paypal, which was acquired by eBay in 2002. Paypal did did not lose its identity as a company and has instead increased their customer base globally. Companies have the potential to surpass such risks and grow their customer bases.
Below are some of the most effective and popular strategies that most successful B2B companies, merged or acquired, are investing in to increase leads and drive sales.
1. Content marketing
Content is a key digital marketing strategy for any B2B company that wants to provide customers with quality, relevant and insightful information that helps improve their businesses. Once a company is able to achieve this, they become an authority that other businesses can rely upon for success. Companies that have been able to achieve this have invested time in generating regular, quality and credible content for their customers. Trust becomes the first step toward the first transaction. This further enables the company to engage their customers and build relationships that last.
Blogging about different topics affecting other businesses and providing relevant solutions is one technique that B2B marketers use to engage their audiences. The content marketers then share their blogs with subscribers via email and social media platforms to create readership, following and engagement. These efforts usually results in lead generation and sales. It important that companies share any upcoming price changes with their customers. This creates trust, because the customers can engage the company to understand why the prices are changing and how paying more will benefit their businesses.
2. Marketing automation
Most marketers rely on campaign automation tools to reach as many businesses as possible. Tools such as CRM, email marketing, lead generation, content management, search engine optimization and data analytics are now consolidated into one platform for effective sales and customer management. B2B marketers usually start with tools they really need and then integrate apps that would support other marketing tasks. The idea is to integrate tools that are important and avoid redundant add-ons. Some common automation tools used by B2B companies include Hubspot, Customer.io and Marketo. These tools help marketers create detailed customer profiles and easily follow up on their prospects. B2B marketers are therefore able to build and maintain better customer relationships.
Email automation is another key aspect of marketing. Email tools are important for marketers who need to create and send campaigns to subscribers and other customer groups. These tools enables marketers to create and manage email groups, campaign templates, schedule and automatically send out emails. MailChimp and Unbounce are examples of such tools. Most email automation tools have features that give data analytics such as number of emails opened, total clicks, total social shares, bounced emails and SEO analytics. This data helps B2B marketers know the ROI and what actions they need to take to improve conversion.
3. Mobile optimization
Most B2B marketers often overlook the power of mobile devices. Even though these companies are dealing with other small or large businesses, it is important to consider the end-user of the product. Companies should optimize their websites and content for mobile devices. The content should load fast and the pages should be legible and easy to navigate on most mobile devices. Successful B2B companies are creating mobile apps to meet the needs of their target audience. Shopify and Stripe are great examples of companies that have created user-friendly mobile apps for their customers. The idea is to create apps and tools that serve the ever growing needs of customers.
Conclusion
There is a lot of opportunity for companies and marketers that are willing to adapt and test current and emerging marketing channels. The key to a sustainable and successful B2B company is in identifying target audience, creating and sharing relevant content and engaging this audience to foster relationships that last beyond a sale. B2B companies should invest their resources by focusing on channels that generate the best ROI.