Business-to-business advertising is a type of advertising that targets other businesses or organizations.
A few decades ago, a business collaboration used to start over a “pint.” However, in the modern era, a considerably larger group of employees handles decisions on significant investments. As a result, advertising to businesses requires more emphasis on direct communication with those decision-makers.
How do you start advertising in B2B? What strategy should you follow, and what should you pay special attention to? Find the answers in the lines below.
The first step is always research in order to determine the characteristics of a potential customer in a particular company or industry. From the first contact with your potential client to the final purchase, advertising strategy must always include some personalization that suits the client.
Interesting fact: On average, It takes four months for a potential client to complete the buying journey in the B2B sector. It is essential to acknowledge that the B2B market is smaller and varies from industry to industry.
Contrary to B2C, a B2B sale usually isn’t completed in one day. Instead, the shopping and decision-making process can take up to several months. How you go about your strategy depends on the product you offer and its price.
For example, a company that offers expensive services or products has a more complex advertising journey than a company with inexpensive services or products.
When developing the advertising strategy, suitable digital communication channels and advertising platforms should be taken into account. The main goal is to spread the word about your brand, products, or services.
As with B2C campaigns, the basic rule of “warming up the audience” applies in the B2B world as well. Determining contact points (social media, ads, landing pages, e-mail) is essential. These will contribute to a faster decision-making process.
Each step in the strategy opens the door to a lower part of the marketing funnel.
In the B2B industry, terms like buyer and decision-maker are usually related to a group of employees. However, to determine advertising funnel stages more easily, advertisers need to focus on someone. The target persona should have the qualities of the one who handles the final decisions.
Pro tip: As there are several decision-makers in a company, I advise you to consider the characteristics of two or three key personas when designing your advertising strategy.
The B2B funnel consists of four levels. Each level has its unique objectives and user touchpoints with your company. These vary depending on the product or service you offer and the number of steps to conversion.
The first interaction can be through blog posts, e-books, reports, and infographics. Your target group are companies with a specific problem that only your services or product can solve. Keep in mind that these companies may or may not be aware of the problem, and it should be your mission to emphasize it.
In this crucial phase, you are compared with your competitors. Here, the mission is to cast away all doubts about your products or services. The goal of this phase is to become the best option your potential clients can choose. You can enhance the connection with potential clients with webinars, research, video content, and so on.
This is the decision-making phase. Live demos, additional research, and customer reviews can boost this process and help you win the client’s ultimate trust.
Transparent communication and trust are crucial for a partnership to work. Loyalty and Advocacy can be built up through follow-up calls, special offers, bonus services, “how to” webinars, or informational videos (product demonstration, operation, etc.)
How many touchpoints are needed before a conversion happens?
68% of B2B companies do not have a defined purchasing funnel (Small Biz Trends)
Purchasing channels in B2B segments vary from company to company.
Mapping out the purchase path for each potential B2B customer and defining the objectives as well as critical touch points will produce positive results.
The purpose of each key point is to ignite a spark of interest in the stakeholder in an interactive way. Many tools suit this task, from social networks to email campaigns, paid advertisement, landing pages, etc. Product reviews and personal advocacy can also have a large impact.
Before advertising starts, a website, landing pages, and blog posts should be SEO-optimized. This gives the company a competitive advantage and higher positions in organic search results.
The tone of the message should be consistent as it represents your brand, product, or service. It should be tailored to the target audience, the industry, and the advertising platform. You can adopt a formal, serious tone or choose a more informal, humorous route.
Interesting fact: Fairs are still one of the most effective B2B advertising channels.
Google Ads ads are great for all stages of the buyer’s journey: launching a new product, increasing website traffic, or remarketing. In addition, search Ads are significant as they attract users actively searching for products or services like yours.
Successful Meta Ads require your constant presence on social networks. Linking, sharing, and publishing content is vital. Depending on the industry, Meta Ads are suitable for lead generation campaigns, branding, remarketing, and conversion campaigns.
Marketers consider LinkedIn as the social platform most suited for B2B advertising. However, it requires a similar approach for success as Meta and Instagram. What is more, social proof is even more critical on LinkedIn than on other platforms.
Before spending on LinkedIn campaigns, it is advisable to publish good content and expand the network of contacts. You must spend a minimum of 10 euros daily on this platform for a campaign.
Email marketing and automation are essential touch points at the bottom of the B2B funnel. By offering more services and help, you enable the user to switch to your service or start using your product more quickly while building a bridge of trust.
Remember: Only If the users agree with the terms and conditions can you use the obtained data for remarketing.
Let’s face it. B2B advertising strategy requires a thoughtful approach. The B2B advertising landscape is varied and the chosen strategies always depend on the industry. However, admirable results are obtainable if you approach advertising with a thorough plan and enough persistence.
If you have a product or service to offer to businesses but don’t know how to go about advertising, Optiweb’s advertising team is always ready to help.
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