We often get asked how to reach potential business-to-business (B2B) customers. It seems pretty straightforward to reach consumers, but B2B buyers are another story. How do you connect with this group of people that is typically difficult to reach?
For over 15 years, we’ve been working with B2B businesses. There’s been a lot of trial and error. However, we’ve found a handful of practical ways to connect with this elusive group of people. Here’s what we’ve learned:
Identify, Understand, and Target Your Potential Customers
First and foremost, you must understand who you are trying to reach. Creating a persona is a great way to understand who your target is. Once you know your target market, you can break down how to reach them.
Next, you will want to ensure that you understand the problem you solve for this group. You probably offer a few different solutions but don’t make the mistake of trying to share all of your solutions in one communication. Your target market needs to hear about the best solution for them. This solution is what they will consider when they think of you.
If you share too many solutions simultaneously, your potential customers will not understand what you do and offer. Using the StoryBrand Framework by Donald Miller helps clarify your message and reduces confusion.
Connect, Engage, and Convert Potential Customers
Now that we know who we are talking to and what they need, we can establish the best way for you to communicate with your potential customers. We’ve found that there are 10 ways to connect with your target market most effectively; content marketing, email marketing, social ad targeting, targeted ad campaigns and placement, video series or podcasts, trade shows, webinars, listing/review sites, direct/personalized mail, and demos or 1-1 workshops. Taking a closer look at these will help you understand how to connect and convert B2B buyers:
1. Content Marketing
Content marketing is creating and sharing relevant and valuable content to engage your audience and increase your customers. It’s a great way to attract, engage, and create value for your audience, delivering a positive perception of your brand and generating more customers.
Content marketing is a staple of what we provide for our clients. This has a multitude of benefits. When you write about your customers' concerns, questions, and tips for improving their job, you are more likely to be found by them. Search engines also like this because you continuously update your site with helpful content. In turn, your site will show up more often in search results. It's a win-win snowball effect with your site growing traffic with relevant potential customers.
If you’re thinking that you deal with B2B customers and they’re not searching online for your solution, think again. B2B customers are just like those non-B2B customers who search for answers to their problems. The challenge is that they are searching for more specific things, which we need to accommodate.
2. Email Marketing
Email is still one of the most effective ways to connect with potential customers. 77% of B2B businesses use an email marketing newsletter as part of their content marketing strategy, and 79% of B2B marketers find email the most successful channel for content distribution.
Email marketing is a great way to nurture leads that haven’t purchased yet. It helps you stay in front of them, so when they are ready to purchase, your business is the first one they think of.
3. Social Media Ads
Targeting is the name of the game when it comes to B2B marketing, and social is no exception. By targeting job titles, geography, interests, specific topics, and more, you can get your ads in front of the right audience and build awareness for your product or service.
Targeted advertising on social media pushes the right information to the right people and ensures it gets to them at the right time. A typical Facebook user will click on 8 Facebook ads that pertain to them per month.
Each platform has several different types of ads, so your ad can be customized and branded. From carousel ads to slideshow ads, each type has specific benefits that you can utilize to get your brand into the social conversation.
4. Paid Digital and Remarketing
Paid digital is one of the best ways to leverage conversion-focused ad targeting because you can target the keywords your audience is looking up and interests that help you show ads to people currently in-market and train the system to optimize around conversions. These campaigns can be utilized on one or more channels, such as Google Ads, to appear on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs), display ad retargeting for the web, and can appear on social media platforms.
Paid digital ad targeting and retargeting extends to social media channels. After creating your customer persona, you should know where your customers spend their time. You’ll want to advertise on these sites. Doing so puts you in front of your audience to build awareness in those with high intent and remind them of your brand after they engage with your content.
A few ways you can benefit from these strategies are:
- Target specific audiences
- Build brand awareness
- Encourage customer engagement
- Capture more leads that are interested in buying your product
5. Video Series or Podcasts
Video in business-to-business marketing can be powerful, provided it is done well. To start this process, you could create videos or podcasts to help educate your customers.
Create videos and podcasts around your customers' specific issues or challenges. This is a great way to attract your target market and show off your expertise and experiences. Doing so helps you build thought leadership with your audience and allows you to show them that you know your stuff.
6. Trade Shows
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research states that "trade shows contribute more than $80 billion annually to the U.S. gross domestic product." That's a ton of opportunity — an opportunity that can be yours to take advantage of by being at relevant trade shows in your industry.
Tried and true trade shows are important to connect with potential customers. They help you get face time with your target market so that you can explore your products and that you have a solution for them. Trade shows are also a great place to talk with your target audience and see if they have any different challenges you may need to learn about and see their solutions.
7. Webinars
Like video series, webinars are a great way to show expertise and demonstrate your products. This helps you showcase your value and make a name for yourself as an expert in your industry. 76% of marketers say that webinars help them reach more leads, 75% say it extends brand reach, 69% say it helps scale marketing efforts, and 49% say it helps them reach targeted accounts. Helping your clients understand what you do and how your business can help theirs will give them an almost hands-on feeling of your business. This will him them gain a better understanding and ultimately gain business.
8. Listing/Review Sites
People want to know they can count on you. They want to know that others have worked with you and find your solutions valuable. Demonstrating authority with reviews and listing sites helps others see that they can trust your business. They're more likely to choose you when they see that others had a great experience.
9. Personalized Direct Mail
Connecting with people through mail can be effective if you have the right message. Contact your customers with relevant content and show them what you offer.
Implementing direct mail could be an easy step to locate new customers. You can provide your consumers with information that you want to promote, as well as be able to track the submissions for data collection. This makes it easier to get the needed information to make decisions in the long run. Hitting on the right message and showing them you know who they are is a great way to set up for long-term success.
10. Demos or 1-on-1 Workshops
You can't personally demonstrate your product to each interested individual, but you can create an informative and helpful video showing how all your products work. By working with demos and workshops, you can highlight everything you want people to know about your products, including the benefits, features, and value. From 1-on-1 workshops to product demos, you can show how your products work, solve problems, and help other businesses gain your trust and business.
Get New Potential B2B Customers by Expanding Your Target Market
It is possible to connect with B2B customers. While there is more of a learning curve, you can effectively connect with potential customers by following a handful of tips. Get to know your audience, create relevant content, and put it out there. Together we can boost your clientele in no time with some dedicated, intentional work.
Learn More:
- Is an Inbound Marketing Strategy right for your B2B Business?
- B2B Marketing: How Your B2B Website Can Convert More Visitors Into Leads
- How To Convert More B2B Website Visitors Into Customers
- 4 Inbound Marketing Tips That Will Grow Your Business
- How To Create An Effective Inbound Marketing Campaign [Checklist]
