The B2B digital marketing dilemma
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 11:28 am
It is clear to everyone that digital marketing is a function that has gradually become more important in B2B companies.
As this is a relatively new and constantly evolving area, it is normal for doubts to arise about what its mission, focus and main functions should be. We will call these 3 questions “The B2B digital marketing dilemma”.
In this article we will discuss the following points:
1.- What is the mission of B2B digital marketing?
2.- What should be the focus of B2B marketing?
3.- The 4 main functions of digital marketing in a B2B company
What is the mission of B2B digital marketing?
Marketing for Sales Success
From our perspective: “The mission of digital whatsapp new zealand marketing in a B2B company is to help the sales team succeed.”
The best way to start fulfilling this mission is to view digital marketing as an essential element within your sales process.
We are faced with a buyer who goes from digital to analogue and vice versa.
According to Gartner data , B2B buyers like to use information both digitally and analogically. They usually start their journey in digital media, then contact the sales team, return to digital media, and finally reconnect with the sales department.
It also happens the other way around: Your sales team connects with a prospect, they use information digitally, and then they look for your salesperson again.
According to Google data, it is estimated that 56% of the purchasing process is digital.
In the case of a B2B environment, this percentage tends to increase or decrease depending on the type of product or service in question.
1.- If your product or service is very transactional
If you sell products that do not require customization, equipment, spare parts, courses or software, it is normal for the buyer to independently go through a large part of the sales process on digital media and connect with your seller until the last part of the process.
2.- If your product or service is a solution that requires a specialized consulting or engineering process to quote
You'd expect the digital journey a prospect takes on their own to be a smaller percentage of the interactions they'll have with your sales and engineering teams.
In either scenario, it is clear that companies that are leaders in providing information to potential customers, both digitally and analogically, will be the ones that achieve the highest level of success.
What is the ideal approach to digital marketing in a B2B company?
Tell me what you sell and I'll tell you where to focus your digital marketing efforts
For transactional product sales, the marketing team must focus on aspects such as:
Coordinate the generation of new prospects.
Promote digital self-service information.
Implement a digital process to receive orders and/or purchases.
Empower sellers with processes, technology and content that allow them to answer questions, send quotes and provide fast and efficient follow-up to close the sale.
Help customers use our products efficiently.
Facilitate recurring purchases.
For sales of complex solutions we must focus our digital marketing on activities such as:
Collaborate in the generation of new prospects.
Promote digital self-service information.
Collaborate with the sales leader to establish processes that foster a smooth and efficient connection between prospects and the sales team.
Nurture prospects and opportunities with educational and sales material that allows them to learn more about your solutions.
Provide sellers with information related to return on investment, success stories, comparisons and any material that helps increase the level of trust and reduce closing time.
Empower your sales team with the technology they need to be more efficient in tracking opportunities.
What are the main functions of B2B digital marketing?
Digital marketing in a B2B company has 4 main functions:
1.- Strategy
2.- Branding
3.- Sales activations
4.- Sales Enablement
1.- Strategy
It is essential that your sales and marketing teams work together to design and execute your sales strategy.
You must migrate from a marketing function focused only on tactics such as Google Ads or social media, to fostering an environment in which your digital marketing department is able to design strategies that help the sales team connect with the new B2B consumer.
2.- Branding
Whenever we talk about digital marketing in B2B companies, we tend to refer to actions that generate sales results only in the short term.
While these actions that we know as “sales activations” are an essential resource, we often neglect the impact that our brand’s branding can have.
According to Linkedin, investing in a branding topic vs. sales activations generates a greater result in the long term.
Main benefits of branding for your company:
Get more customers to find you.
Differentiate yourself not only by price.
Your salespeople can make initial connections more easily.
Reduce the level of risk perceived by the buyer regarding your brand.
Increase word-of-mouth referrals.
A great way to create powerful branding for a B2B brand is to have a B2B content strategy . These materials will allow you to convey your vision, experience and position yourself in the mind of your target customer.
3.- Sales activations
Every B2B company requires 3 types of strategies to grow:
Strategy 1.-Sell new products and services to current customers.
Strategy 2.-Prospecting new high-value accounts.
Strategy 3.-Attract prospects from digital sources.
It is essential that the digital marketing team is involved in all three strategies. Let us avoid the mistake of thinking that digital marketing should only be involved in issues related to attracting contacts from the Internet.
4.- Sales Enablement
It involves empowering sales teams with the content, processes and technology they need to close sales faster.
Some sales enablement activities that marketing should be involved in are:
Analysis and implementation of improvements in the sales process.
Produce content in collaboration with the sales department that allows them to answer the buyer's most important questions during the sales process.
Ensure that the sales team uses the content during the sales process.
Implement formal Social Selling strategies.
Train salespeople in using CRM or other software.
Generation of commercial statistics.
As this is a relatively new and constantly evolving area, it is normal for doubts to arise about what its mission, focus and main functions should be. We will call these 3 questions “The B2B digital marketing dilemma”.
In this article we will discuss the following points:
1.- What is the mission of B2B digital marketing?
2.- What should be the focus of B2B marketing?
3.- The 4 main functions of digital marketing in a B2B company
What is the mission of B2B digital marketing?
Marketing for Sales Success
From our perspective: “The mission of digital whatsapp new zealand marketing in a B2B company is to help the sales team succeed.”
The best way to start fulfilling this mission is to view digital marketing as an essential element within your sales process.
We are faced with a buyer who goes from digital to analogue and vice versa.
According to Gartner data , B2B buyers like to use information both digitally and analogically. They usually start their journey in digital media, then contact the sales team, return to digital media, and finally reconnect with the sales department.
It also happens the other way around: Your sales team connects with a prospect, they use information digitally, and then they look for your salesperson again.
According to Google data, it is estimated that 56% of the purchasing process is digital.
In the case of a B2B environment, this percentage tends to increase or decrease depending on the type of product or service in question.
1.- If your product or service is very transactional
If you sell products that do not require customization, equipment, spare parts, courses or software, it is normal for the buyer to independently go through a large part of the sales process on digital media and connect with your seller until the last part of the process.
2.- If your product or service is a solution that requires a specialized consulting or engineering process to quote
You'd expect the digital journey a prospect takes on their own to be a smaller percentage of the interactions they'll have with your sales and engineering teams.
In either scenario, it is clear that companies that are leaders in providing information to potential customers, both digitally and analogically, will be the ones that achieve the highest level of success.
What is the ideal approach to digital marketing in a B2B company?
Tell me what you sell and I'll tell you where to focus your digital marketing efforts
For transactional product sales, the marketing team must focus on aspects such as:
Coordinate the generation of new prospects.
Promote digital self-service information.
Implement a digital process to receive orders and/or purchases.
Empower sellers with processes, technology and content that allow them to answer questions, send quotes and provide fast and efficient follow-up to close the sale.
Help customers use our products efficiently.
Facilitate recurring purchases.
For sales of complex solutions we must focus our digital marketing on activities such as:
Collaborate in the generation of new prospects.
Promote digital self-service information.
Collaborate with the sales leader to establish processes that foster a smooth and efficient connection between prospects and the sales team.
Nurture prospects and opportunities with educational and sales material that allows them to learn more about your solutions.
Provide sellers with information related to return on investment, success stories, comparisons and any material that helps increase the level of trust and reduce closing time.
Empower your sales team with the technology they need to be more efficient in tracking opportunities.
What are the main functions of B2B digital marketing?
Digital marketing in a B2B company has 4 main functions:
1.- Strategy
2.- Branding
3.- Sales activations
4.- Sales Enablement
1.- Strategy
It is essential that your sales and marketing teams work together to design and execute your sales strategy.
You must migrate from a marketing function focused only on tactics such as Google Ads or social media, to fostering an environment in which your digital marketing department is able to design strategies that help the sales team connect with the new B2B consumer.
2.- Branding
Whenever we talk about digital marketing in B2B companies, we tend to refer to actions that generate sales results only in the short term.
While these actions that we know as “sales activations” are an essential resource, we often neglect the impact that our brand’s branding can have.
According to Linkedin, investing in a branding topic vs. sales activations generates a greater result in the long term.
Main benefits of branding for your company:
Get more customers to find you.
Differentiate yourself not only by price.
Your salespeople can make initial connections more easily.
Reduce the level of risk perceived by the buyer regarding your brand.
Increase word-of-mouth referrals.
A great way to create powerful branding for a B2B brand is to have a B2B content strategy . These materials will allow you to convey your vision, experience and position yourself in the mind of your target customer.
3.- Sales activations
Every B2B company requires 3 types of strategies to grow:
Strategy 1.-Sell new products and services to current customers.
Strategy 2.-Prospecting new high-value accounts.
Strategy 3.-Attract prospects from digital sources.
It is essential that the digital marketing team is involved in all three strategies. Let us avoid the mistake of thinking that digital marketing should only be involved in issues related to attracting contacts from the Internet.
4.- Sales Enablement
It involves empowering sales teams with the content, processes and technology they need to close sales faster.
Some sales enablement activities that marketing should be involved in are:
Analysis and implementation of improvements in the sales process.
Produce content in collaboration with the sales department that allows them to answer the buyer's most important questions during the sales process.
Ensure that the sales team uses the content during the sales process.
Implement formal Social Selling strategies.
Train salespeople in using CRM or other software.
Generation of commercial statistics.