I’ve never met a business owner who didn’t want to grow their business. I have, however, met hundreds of B2B business owners on the verge of burnout from working tirelessly day after day, week after week, year after year, without seeing the results they want. The problem? More often than not, they’re lacking a solid B2B marketing strategy.
The good news is that it’s never too late to course-correct. At Wild Fig Marketing, we suggest integrating these helpful tips into your strategy to rock the socks off your brand and ignite your ROI.
Tip #1: Post on your blog regularly
Your blog is a powerful little bugger…and it’s often underutilized. Did you know that your blog has the power to drive organic traffic to your website, increase your SEO rankings, position you as a thought leader in your industry and supply practical information for your prospects and current customers?
Let’s take a closer look…
- Because your blogs address your target audience’s questions, concerns and pain points with practical information, you attract organic traffic to your website and grow your image as a thought leader.
- When you add internal links and high-quality outbound links to blog posts or other parts of your website, you increase your SEO rankings which means more exposure for your brand. Check out this post on leveraging your blog for more brand traction. (Dare you not to click!)
- Unlike social media posts, blog posts sit on your website so they’re not subject to changing search engine algorithms and they increase the time visitors spend on your website.
- Blog posts are an excellent way for visitors to get to know your story and your team members.
And this leads me to the next tip I want to highlight…
Tip #2: Humanize your brand
Gone are the days when companies do business with other companies simply because they’ve been in the family for four generations and they’re a household name. Today’s business owners want to work with businesses they can relate to or at minimum, that are human and approachable.
So how can your business ditch the Armani suit and don the Lululemon yoga pants?
- Tell your story. Why did you start your business? What were some of the challenges you faced getting your business off the ground? What lessons have you learned the hard way? The moment you close the curtain on authenticity, you alienate business owners who need your product or service but want to work with a relatable, down-to-earth brand.
- Share your customers’ stories. Build a “Testimonials” tab into your website and weave testimonials into your blog posts and other content. Publish story blogs and create YouTube videos (that link back to your webpage) where customers share how your company’s solutions drove their business’ success.
- Showcase your core values. What values is your company built on? How are these values woven into your company culture? How do these values affect your professional relationships? If your company gives back to the local community, what does that look like and how is that charitable contribution driven by your values? Many business owners seek out professional relationships with companies whose values and culture closely align with their own.
- Incorporate humor and outside-the-box thinking. Just because certain emails are routine doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Dare to break the mold by incorporating memes, GIFs or other forms of humor and creativity. Here are some fun ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
P.S. Postal scripts are another great way to humanize your message! (See how I did that?)
Tip #3: Utilize email marketing
Folks, this is a showstopper. If you think email is old school, think again.
Email marketing is the single most effective way to reach your prospects and convert leads.
- Send out targeted emails to stay top of mind with current customers.
- Create a lead nurture campaign to convert more prospects into customers by following them on their journey with your brand and providing valuable information that intersects each stage of that journey.
- Create and distribute monthly email newsletters that educate your prospects, customers and strategic partners to increase your referral traffic.
Tip #4: Automate your sales and marketing processes
Automation does the heavy lifting in many aspects of your business. It saves you time while actually enhancing that personal connection.
Engage in marketing automation with automation software (we adore HubSpot) and send out targeted communication to your prospects based on their interaction with your brand. This is much more targeted than email blasts to your entire contact list and it’s much more efficient than manually communicating with prospects in a way that is relevant to their engagement.
Engage in sales automation by scheduling routine emails that:
- Welcome new subscribers
- Demonstrate your product or service
- Remind prospects about upcoming meetings
- Follow up with leads that have gone dark
- Thank new customers
- Celebrate special occasions such as birthdays or brandaversaries
You can also categorize hot, warm and cold leads with predetermined criteria and send those leads into separate funnels for further, relevant lead nurturing.
Are you tired of manually scheduling meetings and all the back and forth communication that goes along with it? Calendly and the HubSpot meetings tool are scheduling software options that lighten the load for your sales reps while providing a simple, time-saving experience for your prospects and clients.
Tip #5: Create lead magnets
If your ultimate goal is to grow your base of brand ambassadors who will help you grow your company, you can’t lose sight of the first step. The most potent way to attract prospects to your brand is by creating lead magnets—valuable freebies prospects receive in exchange for their basic contact information.
Lead magnets can take many forms but guides, checklists and ebooks are three of the most common.
Tip #6: Leverage LinkedIn for effective lead generation
96% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing—the vast majority. If you don’t have a LinkedIn presence, you might as well be standing on the mainland waving to your Fiji-bound competitors. You’re missing the boat.
We know that companies posting at least once a week on LinkedIn see double the engagement rate than those who aren’t. But the lead generation potential extends far beyond this point.
At Wild Fig, LinkedIn is one of our biggest client generators, second only to referrals. Over time, we’ve developed a solid LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy.
We…
- Defined our target audience.
- Determined which types of content they find valuable.
- Post regularly with a good mix of content that speaks to our target audience.
- Pay close attention to who’s viewing our profile.
- Send these people personalized connection requests (without the creepy stalker factor, of course).
- Continue to provide valuable content and engage with our connections and our wider target audience.
Learn a little more about how the Figgy LinkedIn magic happens in our recent post!
When you adopt a LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy as part of your overall B2B marketing strategy, you set yourself up for a far greater return on your investment.
Now that your mind is bursting with fresh marketing ideas, it’s time to put some wheels on them! If you’re overwhelmed or want a better idea of how to integrate these tips into your existing marketing strategy, we’d love to help! Sign up with Jen for a complimentary 30-minute strategy session.