How B2B should market their business digitally in 2018
The rise of digital marketing over the last decade has been phenomenal. Many B2B companies are already successfully getting great results using digital marketing strategies, but don't get left behind! Here are three core things to focus on this year.
The rise of digital marketing over the last decade has been phenomenal. Many B2B companies are already successfully getting great results using digital marketing strategies such as SEO, PPC, landing page creation, social media and email marketing.
However, as with the digital world, the B2B environment is also evolving timely, and here we look at strategies B2B marketers should focus on in 2018.
Mobile
Mobile friendly websites has over the last few years been a key trend and if you haven’t already reviewed this, now is really the time to do so!
According to CWS, businesses that do not provide a solid mobile experience encounter the following:
- A drop in organic ranking
- A loss in mobile site traffic
- An increase in bounce rate
Although mobile internet usage has now exceeded desktop usage, many B2B still assume that they do not need a mobile-friendly site. Just because a business may not see as many orders come in from a mobile device, does not mean that buyers are not visiting the site from their mobile for the initial research.
More and more B2B buyers are researching their purchases on mobile devices -- 48% of consumers start mobile research with a search engine inquiry and up to 75% B2B buyers rely on mobile search and ads when making purchasing decisions.
Although it is true that in certain industries desktop does exceed mobile traffic, but for how much longer? The best way to start is by analysing buyer personas to get a better idea of how the audience browses the web – looking at google analytics is a great way to assess mobile vs desktop traffic and adapt strategies accordingly.
Reviews
Too often B2B organisations neglect their websites, relegating them to online billboards with little or no content to help the buyer make an informed decision. Websites are a powerful marketing and sales tool and coupled with online reviews, this makes a great conversion tool.
Although there is less data available about how B2B companies are affected by online reviews in comparison to B2C companies. Buyers are still people and while buying decisions in B2B are often more complex, it’s still people making those decisions – a positive review is far more powerful than an ad. The online review taps into this same psychology: we’re much more confident and comfortable in our choices if we can see other people have made a similar choice and had a positive experience.
Furthermore a recent survey by Podium reveals that 93% of online reviews impact upon consumers’ purchasing decision, while two-thirds of consumers (68%) are willing to pay up to 15% more for the same product or service if they are assured they will have a better experience. This means that by not having online reviews, you are denying 93% of your potential customers the information they consider important for making a purchase!
Platforms such as Trust Pilot, Google Reviews and Yelp can serve as a great addition.
Don’t forget there are ways you can be creative with reviews to make this stand out more. For example, Nexon Hygiene creates video testimonials to build trust and credibility in a short space of time.
Inbound marketing
Inbound marketing is all about attracting customers through relevant and helpful content and adding value at every stage in your customer's buying journey. Inbound marketing is quickly taking the lead when it comes to effective B2B marketing strategies. 68% of those whose business use inbound marketing think that their strategy is effective.
To effectively capture data while creating content, add a download form on the website in exchange for giving you their email address. According to Twoodo, the forms of content that generate most B2B leads are ebooks and webinars. In this way, once someone has downloaded the tool and given you their details, you have already a qualified lead in your database that is ready to be chased up. For instance, if you are a CRM company, write a guide on how CRM could help with developing customer’s relationship or simply tips on what factors to consider when purchasing a CRM system etc. By genuinely helping out a prospect rather than hard selling, relationships are easier to build.
Inbound marketing has proven to be more successful at generating leads compared to outbound, because it focuses specifically on ideal customers. All content and marketing strategies are designed with the buyer’s journey in mind.