The Essentials of Developing an Effective B2B Digital Marketing Plan
Many B2B marketers and business owners tend to stick with the traditional marketing funnel from the top-down, starting from Awareness, going through the Engagement, Discovery, Purchase processes, and ending up at Retention.
This marketing strategy is summarized as follows: Businesses must know their target audience, before they can draw in potential clients through cold calling or in-person sales pitches. Then, they evaluate what works and identify the factors that lead to the most conversions.
However, this model is outdated by today’s standards because most people prefer to do their own research online before they decide to buy from any brand.
Upgrading the B2B Customer Experience with a Revised Marketing Plan
That being said, it’s still important to create a digital marketing plan, so you can focus on the strategies, campaigns, and channels that will help you achieve your business goals. Since the modern B2B buyer’s journey adds an extra research and discovery stage, a different approach is necessary to incentivize B2B customers to purchase.
You have to guide your target audience through the buyer’s journey by adopting these elements into your marketing strategy:
- Demand generation-These are top-of-the-funnel techniques designed to raise awareness of your products and services.
- Lead generation-Mid-funnel marketing methods to turn a buyer’s active interest into a conceivable action such as by selecting a vendor.
- Retention and recovery-This is the part where a one-time buyer is converted into a long-term customer through loyalty programs.
In order to fulfill these objectives, you would need to build a website, produce engaging content, and find opportunities to promote your brand on social media. To delve into the specifics, you can also display contextual advertising or even partner with sponsors for additional brand exposure.
Consulting with B2B Marketing Experts about Demand Generation
If you want to establish a proper framework for digital marketing, there are many guides and custom templates worth looking into that discuss ways to raise buyer’s awareness. It’s usually a good idea to learn about the tested and tried methods of experienced B2B business owners first, so you won’t end up making the same mistakes they did.
They address various topics, namely landing pages that utilize a call-to-action checklist, potentially introducing a new approach to the B2B buyer’s journey during the post-purchase experience. Your marketing plan should direct customers past the lead-generation and retention process, towards a positive impression of your brand.
Another way to increase customer retention is through email marketing, where customers are encouraged to sign up for a subscription or newsletter, thus receiving exclusive discounts and free trials after choosing a service plan. Having quality content on your site will pull in B2B clients who want more information before they buy.
How to Create an Effective B2B Marketing Plan in 2019
What makes a digital marketing plan successful? It should have a solid foundation, made up of multiple channels from managing SEO to public relations. To grow one’s business, B2B owners must understand how supply and demand will determine what kind of content attracts customers from a particular niche.
Successful B2B companies utilize a combination of the following:
- Social media campaigns
- Automated marketing systems
- Video live streams and podcasts
- PPC search ads or SEO tools
- Blogging and affiliate marketing
- Hosted shows and events
Although B2B companies are seeing results from their automated response system, they seldom conduct a SWOT analysis of their inbound marketing strategies. According to an infograph by Smart Insights, only 42% of B2B content is available on mobile apps, whereas over 93% of B2B businesses have a social media account. The study suggests that 30-50% of advertisers are missing out on SEO research.
This can be fixed by designing websites that are more customer-centric. A B2B site needs the proper analytics tracking tools along with a lead generation device to in order identify prospects and move them down the funnel. If you are looking for assistance with your digital marketing analytics then, it may be time to find a professional marketing firm that understands ROI analysis, SEO, landing pages, and all your content needs.