Around 50% of all UK companies predominantly provide products or services to other businesses or organisations – business-to-business or B2B.
Despite this, many suffer the same pitfalls with their B2B marketing – often by over relying on B2C (business-to-consumer) tactics.
So, as a leading full service B2B marketing agency, we thought we’d take a look at some of the most frequent mistakes – and how to avoid them!
1. Marketing without clear positioning
A common mistake B2B businesses make with their marketing is failing to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Most sectors have become more competitive, particularly as businesses look further afield for suppliers and new entrants adopt more aggressive tactics. An all too frequent error is to ramp up your marketing efforts without ensuring you stand out.
The key is differentiated positioning – promoting your company as offering something slightly different to your competitors. It doesn’t need to be unique or even particularly impressive, just a little different and memorable.
Buyers don’t stick around to decipher vague messaging, so you need to make it clear throughout your marketing. Clarify who your ideal customers are, what problem you solve and how you do it just a little different or better than the alternatives.
This will create a concise brand and persuasive value proposition that results in more B2B sales.
2. Ignoring the longer buying cycle of B2B
Another common mistake is to employ marketing tactics aimed only at generating quick leads and sales.
Unlike consumers, businesses rarely buy what they need impulsively. They turn to brands and suppliers they trust and take time to select a new one. Compared to B2C relationships, the B2B buying process can be slow, complex and involve multiple stakeholders.
Despite this, many marketing teams still turn to B2C tactics and exclusively focus their efforts on the ‘bottom of the sales funnel’, hoping for immediate sales.
However, without suitable efforts to earn customers’ confidence, this is often fruitless. What’s required is a marketing strategy which respects the longer buying process and the journey that B2B customers take.
Successful tactics include building brand awareness in the places your business customers frequent (e.g. online, in the media, at trade events), slowly dripping simple and consistent marketing messages (making sure you differentiate yourselves) and using educational content to win respect.
In B2B marketing, the brands that remain top-of-mind win most when customers are finally ready to buy!
3. Creating content without aligning it to the sales funnel
Whilst content has been the biggest growth area of B2B marketing, many businesses continue to create content which simply ‘feeds their blog’.
Informing and educating potential customers – by giving them content of value without expecting an instant sale in return – has become a hugely successful tactic of B2B businesses.
However, for the best results, it is important to connect content to where customers are in their buying journey and support them at each stage.
For example, at the top of the sales funnel – where B2B customers gain initial awareness of what you do – content can raise your profile with topics like educational insights in your sector and exploring industry trends etc.
In the middle of the sales funnel – where B2B customers begin to see you as a viable option – content can begin to demonstrate your expertise and build trust, with case studies, comparisons and webinars etc.
Finally, at the bottom of the sales funnel – where B2B customers are ready to buy – content can encourage sales with demonstrations, pricing guides and free trials etc.
4. Weak alignment between marketing and sales
Sales and marketing are not always the best of friends. Internal politics and a fight for recognition can create friction!
Ask your sales manager – and then ask your marketing manager – to both describe what makes your products or services great. Their answers may be quite different. Likewise, their understanding of your customers, their needs and behaviour!
As a result, marketing may pull in one direction and sales in another.
For better B2B results, ensure sales and marketing work collaboratively to create an agreed understanding of your customers.
Marketing needs to listen to the first-hand customer experience of sales and provide them with the tools they need.
Sales needs to understand the behavioural and creative insights of marketing and the longer-term effectiveness of building your brand.
5. Underestimating the power of brand in B2B
That brings us to another common mistake – underestimating the value of a strong brand when appealing to other businesses and professionals.
The power of brands is often associated with B2C marketing and the things we desire – cars, clothes, luxury goods etc. In B2B marketing, rather than an emotional driver, business decision-makers choose products and services based on trust.
The stronger your brand, the stronger the perceived trust.
A strong brand sticks in buyers’ minds, communicates the right messages, shortens sales cycles, increases buying confidence and can make your product or service the default choice.
Whilst the temptation is to chase only immediate leads, given the longer sales-cycle discussed, it is increasingly the companies that invest in building brand awareness and strength that outperform those that don’t!
6. Underestimating your digital presence
Many companies who operate B2B have poorly designed websites.
Most modern marketing will lead potential customers to look up your website – either by design or simply as an unintended consequence. ‘Googling’ a company is the norm!
Whilst a better website may not necessarily win you more sales (especially if they are long established and have a strong reputation) a bad website can increasingly lose business.
Your website doesn’t have to be a work of digital art but it does need to support your messaging and communicate your values.
Take a fresh look at your website. Does it make the first impression you want?
7. Mismatch between timescales, budgets and aspirations
Sadly, one of the most common mistakes in B2B marketing is expecting too much, too soon, from too little.
Often the marketing tactics which B2B companies employ are the right ones but aren’t given sufficient time to deliver results given the longer buying cycle of B2B customers.
Equally, doubling the size of a business may be an achievable goal – but only with a financial investment in B2B marketing which can realistically achieve it.
The aim of good marketing is to deliver growth. However, it is an uncomfortable reality that, for some businesses, marketing is needed to simply stand still as competition rises and markets change.
The key to success is to work with an experienced marketing partner who can identify and provide the B2B marketing that will deliver the result you need…
Avoid mistakes and get more from B2B marketing
Though these mistakes are not unusual, they are also easy to avoid with the right skills and experience.
At Full Mix Marketing, we’re a full service B2B marketing agency, specialising in delivering the full mix of strategic, digital and creative marketing for companies and organisations who provide products or services business-to-business (B2B).
We make it easy for our clients – in sectors including manufacturing, engineering, technology, logistics, construction and business services – to benefit from B2B marketing which better understands their sector and delivers quicker results.
If you’d like to explore outsourcing your marketing, we’d like to help. More information can be found here