In 2020 – The pandemic made the digital transformation at the forefront of many traditional B2B companies. On the other hand, it is noticeable that many startups or scale ups, which were born into the digital spectrum, have had an advantage as they have already established a solid foundation and understand how to work agile in a fast-moving climate. It is also common for these types of companies to already have built a strong in-house team with many different roles in both IT and marketing, which applies shorter lead times for development.
What we take with us from 2020 is a wake up call – to survive as a company, you need to be digitally fast-moving and innovative in your business. Working remotely has become part of our everyday life. Pleasant lunch meetings or workshops have been physically impossible, which has made it challenging to build intimate customer relationships. Traditional marketing activities such as trade fairs and events have been phased out in 2020 and new digital activities need to be found so that the business does not stop. Well, there is a lot that needs to be taken to new creative heights and some given activities that have trended during the year are of course webinars and livestream events.
So what do you need to think about when it comes to your digital marketing to secure your future growth and continued profitability as a B2B company? We will dive deep into that now.
5 key factors of success in digital marketing as a B2B company 2021
Digitize the sale
When you no longer physically can build relationships with your customers, you need a new way of thinking about how you can reach your potential clients in a digital way and how you can generate more leads.
Analyze your customer journey for increased growth
Review your resources to identify how you can attract new customers and how you can retain existing customers. What platforms are your target groups on and what systems are needed, for example, for a friction-free customer journey once the user has been converted to a lead? Your choice of media mix and how you choose to work tactically with these is vital to increase the chances of both reaching and convincing new decision makers. Running website traffic through digital marketing is a relatively simple match, but the final destination must of course also have the right conditions in place, such as forms, to complete the customer journey and to be able to demonstrate actual business results. Thereafter, the processing of these leads takes effect. Is there a working CRM system and are your integrations with the marketing activities in place?
Review your media mix and maximize your digital presence
We need to be in the everyday life of our target groups. Today, your target group consumes more platforms than one – where the usage always depends on life situation, timing and mood. To accurately reach your target audience, you need to see your media mix and social channels as a game plan. A football team where all players have their individual mission and contribute to scoring goals. On Twitter, for example, you can use demographic parameters in B2B forums such as finance, IT, sports, etc. In this way, you can reach many decision-makers and professionals who are looking for niche topics. Twitter is also a great channel when it comes to retargeting and remarketing to the target groups who have already shown interest in your company.
On Linkedin, you can be extremely sure of specific roles and reach both decision makers and specific roles around them, in other words an extremely strong channel for qualitative prospecting and website traffic. Only when you have prospected the target groups correctly and collected valuable data can you start scaling your target groups, by creating target groups that are similar to those that are committed to your brand – so-called Lookalike target groups. But of course also work more cost-effectively on, less accurate platforms in B2B, such as Facebook and Instagram via retargeting towards your now qualified target groups. And finally, you must have a well-thought-out strategy for SEO and SEM that reflects the needs the target group organically demands. In other works, see Google as the “goal scorer” and the player who picks up the lowest hanging fruits. So how do you make sure to provide Google with the best “football shoes” as possible?
Value-based content
In B2B, a lot is about giving value to your target group. In pandemic times, it is important to find new ways that replace, for example, events and inspiration days. Put on the customer’s shoes: What are my challenges and needs as a CMO / CTO / CFO / COO? What information am I looking for? Then look at what material your marketing department can produce that meets these needs or issues and that positions the expertise your company has. This can be newsletters, webinars, blog posts or reports. A success factor is not only turning sales material into flat images but focusing on creating interactive, informative and engaging material for your social channels. And do not forget mobile first and above all – video, video, video.
Measure, analyze, execute
More marketing activities lead to more valuable data. Your data is extremely useful and thus it is of utmost importance that you analyze, evaluate and act on it for continued growth. Do not leave it in the trash of your ad tools or an excel sheet in a folder that no one can find.
A recommendation is to divide your analysis into brands, target groups and sales / leads and to specify which metrics you analyze in both the short and long term on each platform. Do you have the right resources and tools in place to be able to evaluate and act on your data? Or do you need to bring in external expert support?
Key takeaways
Try yourself
The media mix differs from company to company. Traditional companies have been careful and used the same tactics year after year. By exploring more platforms, you increase the chances of improving your results and affecting your growth.
Be creative in your creation of content
Review how you can make a report more attractive by, for example, summarizing in video format to arouse curiosity. Where you can highlight quotes or numbers that can engage the target audience to want to read the report.
Review your resources
Digital change may require you to educate your more in different areas or bring in expert help from elsewhere. Do a self-examination – Do I or my team have the knowledge that we need?
Summary
Review what your business looks like today and where you want to go. Do not get caught up in the fact that 2020 was a worse year, but instead turn it into an opportunity to move forward, find new growth opportunities and to develop along the way is useful. But to do that, we need to dare and test ourselves.
Good luck and don’t forget to stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter!
