B2B marketing is not as simple as B2C marketing, and it can be hard keeping a solid plan in motion. Your plan needs to be flexible enough to account for chaotic sales cycles and the ever-expanding marketplace. Here are 7 underrated methods businesses need to use to develop an effective marketing strategy: 

1. Live Videos 

Videos are great at communicating emotions and demonstrating a skill.  A study by Livestream found that 80% of people prefer watching live videos more than reading blog posts from brands. The same study also found that 82% of people prefer live videos more than social media posts. When you convey information through visual demonstration, they can be better received and retained. Viewers can pause or fast forward at their discretion. Collaborate with similar or complementary businesses to discuss industry news, opinions, and other information that could be useful to your audience. 

2. Brand Storytelling 

Telling the story about the history of your brand may be difficult if the original owner is no longer the face of the company or if you are just starting out. That doesn’t mean you can’t tell small micro stories about your business and its employees. To sell to people, your product or services must be relatable to people. Talk about challenges and how your employees came to together to solve it. If you partner up with another local business, highlight similar or complementary company goals or beliefs benefit the community you are trying to serve. 

3. Employee Advocacy 

Your employees are also brand ambassadors. Let your employees have the spotlight on social media. Also give them the option to share industry posts on their business profiles on LinkedIn or on other business forums. If an employee does an exceptional job, acknowledge it, maybe have a certificate, or award system. Remember to form a budget for raises or if you have none for a meeting to discuss how much increase in sales to need for everyone to receive a raise. If you are in the US have robust healthcare options for your employees. 

4. Influencer Marketing 

Influencers are not just young Youtubers or acting celebrities. Think: can your product or service be useful to entrepreneur, small businesses, or large corporate entities? Are well known successful businessperson or salesperson willing to recommend you to others? Form a relationship with employees at other companies. See if there are any kinks in their process or workflow your product or service could help improve. Working on internal improvements leave the companies to focus on their clients which in turn will help them profit. This will make you an asset in their eyes and will recommend you to other businesses that may need you. 

5. Mobile-Friendly Content 

 Over 50.3% of global web traffic was generated from mobile devices. Most of your target audiences (decision makers of businesses) are always on the go. Mobile is the medium through which they consume content. This includes your website, social media, video, and advertising content. Make sure fonts are easy to read and button or links are prominent enough for people with different hand sizes to touch. You can use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check whether your website’s pages are mobile-friendly or not. If not, work with your developers or a web agency to make sure that you’re able to deliver a pleasant experience to your mobile users.

6. Customer Testimonials & Case Studies 

A study by Koyne according to a study of B2B brands, word-of-mouth is known to influence purchase decisions of 91% of buyers. The same study found that 62% of B2B marketers use customer testimonials as their main marketing strategy. Video testimonials are extremely credible and more trustworthy in consumer eye. Not every testimonial has to be a video, but if you can get 1 or 2 of your best customers to make one, you highlight it on your website and digital marketing avenues. In addition to testimonials, do in-depth case studies of how your company solved a complex problem. Case studies help with product or services that don’t have fast tangible results.  

7. Analytics & Automation 

Use Google analytics to view what type of content on your website gets the most views. You can also keep track of your target demographic or location. Analyze the buyer personas of people who have visited your website using. Then ask, “is there any administrative task that can be automated?” Simple confirmation emails or frequently ask question chat bots can help cut down on wasted time asked by viewers that are just window-shopping.  Send thank you notes after events or trade shows with automated email features or email campaign services. WordPress has a lot of free options when it comes to plugin for this task. Gather feedback using survey automations during the testing phase.

Update your B2B marketing plan by calling 248.528.360.