Digital marketing strategies for B2B companies: Creation, channels, measurement

What are the benefits of B2B digital marketing?

Obviously, first, you need to understand why a digital marketing strategy is worth the hassle.

So, thanks to this plan, everyone on the team is on the same page regarding where the company is going online, why it is going this way, and how it will reach certain goals.

This understanding of the direction across the entire company allows you to effectively execute digital marketing and achieve its goals, such as:

• Targeted Reach and Personalization: Using tools like email marketing, you can send personalized messages to specific segments of your audience for higher engagement rates and conversion rates compared to generic emails.
• Cost-Effective Inbound: Tactics like search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing attract organic traffic without the high costs associated with traditional advertising. A well-optimized blog post can continue to bring in leads for months or even years after publication.
• Lead Generation: Putting tools like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to work can generate qualified leads in real-time. You can use Google Ads to target specific keywords related to your industry and bring in visitors who are actively searching for your solutions.
• Measurable Results: Tools like Google Analytics allow you to track and measure the performance of your campaigns. You see if something works, and you can invest in effective tools or improve the ineffective ones.
• Increased Brand Awareness: Social media marketing and online advertising can significantly boost your brand’s presence and recognition among key decision-makers or decision influencers.
• Customer Retention: Besides getting new clients, digital marketing is key to keeping your current customers happy. Regular updates, personalized offers, and staying in touch help keep them engaged and loyal to your brand.
• Global Reach: Digital marketing breaks down geographical barriers. You can use virtually any digital tool to attract clients from all over the world. A multinational SEO strategy will rank your website in search engines across whatever countries you like.

Why understanding your B2B audience is key?

When you’re hungry, you go to the store and buy food. Most of the time, you don’t consult anyone or delay the decision. You have a simple need, and you handle it simply.

This is how, in most cases, B2C sales work. However, B2B sales operate differently. They are more complex because they affect a larger number of people.

Consider a corporation with thousands of employees looking to change its customer relationship management software. A good or bad decision will have a huge impact on the entire company, its employees, and its customers.

Therefore, the decision-making process in B2B:

• Takes longer – sometimes even several months or more.
• Involves more people – the more important the product, the larger the purchasing committee.
• Is divided into stages – from initial research and needs assessment to vendor evaluation, trials, and final approval.

That’s why you must thoroughly understand your B2B audience and their business environment.

Learn the buyer’s journey

The first thing you need to learn is your customers’ buying process. In B2B, it typically boils down to three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision.

Awareness

The buyer realizes they have a certain business problem or need. Your marketing efforts should focus on providing educational content that helps them deeply understand their issue and the consequences of resolving it or not.

A company discovers its current project management software is insufficient. To target buyers in the awareness stage, you could create blog posts titled “Top 5 Signs Your Project Management Software Needs an Upgrade” or offer an eBook called “The Ultimate Guide to Efficient Project Management.”

Consideration

Here, the buyer is researching and evaluating different solutions. Your marketing should offer detailed information about how your product or services resolve their business pains.

Now the company is looking for new software. To engage them, you provide a whitepaper comparing the top project management tools, a case study showing how your software improved efficiency for a similar company, or host a webinar discussing the key features to look for in project management software.

Decision

Finally, the buyer is ready to choose a solution. Your marketing should provide clear, compelling reasons to choose your product or service.

The company has narrowed down its options and is deciding between a few vendors. To influence their decision, you could offer a free trial of your software, schedule a personalized demo, and provide testimonials from satisfied customers.

Identify your target market

Understanding your buying committee is one thing, but you also need to have a bigger picture and identify and understand your target market.

This involves combining industry research and market analysis, creating detailed buyer personas, and market segmentation.

Conduct industry Research and Market Analysis

To be at the top of your game and utilize a digital strategy to the max, you must understand current business trends, competitive landscape, and market needs.

Without it, how can you stay relevant in the industry?

You do this by utilizing certain methodologies, among which the most popular are SWOT analysis (which we will discuss later), market surveys, competitor analysis, industry reports, and the good old in-depth interviews with potential customers.

Create a buyer persona

Once you have an overall view of the business landscape, it’s time to narrow your client down to a buyer persona.

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on real data and research. It considers factors like job role, company size, industry, and challenges they face.

Create it to get a clear picture of your ideal customers so that every touchpoint with your clients, be it marketing, sales, or customer service, is consistent and aligned across the entire company.

For example, if you sell project management software, your buyer personas might include a project manager at a mid-sized tech company who struggles with team coordination and deadlines.

(Don’t forget to give them a proper profile picture, too).

Segment your target market

Next, create segments so that your outreach is personal and precise. There are three main ways of business segmentation.

Firmographic data includes company size, industry, and location. For example, you might target mid-sized tech companies in urban areas.

Demographic data covers aspects like job title, age, and education level. For instance, you might focus on IT managers aged 30-45 with a technical background.

Psychographic data involves understanding your audience’s interests, values, and behaviors. You could segment based on their preference for innovative solutions or their tendency to adopt new technologies early.

How to create a B2B digital marketing strategy

Once you get a grasp of the business environment, such as your clients, competitors, and the target market, it’s time to turn that knowledge into a concrete marketing plan.

Here’s where the “step-by-step” part kicks in.

Set SMART Goals

When establishing the goals of your marketing strategy, you want to use the SMART methodology.

Establish Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.

1. Specific: Define clear and specific goals. Instead of saying “increase sales,” specify “increase sales of Product X by 15%.”
2. Measurable: Ensure your goals can be measured. Track progress using metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, or lead generation.
3. Achievable: Set realistic goals that are attainable given your resources and constraints. Don’t aim for 30 monthly leads if you generate 10 a year.
4. Relevant: Align your goals with your overall business objectives. If your business goal is to expand into a new market, your marketing goal should support this.
5. Time-bound: Set a deadline for achieving your goals. For instance, “achieve a 15% increase in sales of Product X by the end of Q4.”

Choose your marketing mix (The 4 Ps of marketing)

At a certain point, when creating a digital marketing strategy, you turn into a builder. Using a few key building blocks, you will construct the foundation of your strategic marketing activities.

The instruction manual for this construction is called The 4 Ps of Marketing, and it consists of four chapters: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

• Product: First, clearly define the goods you offer. In B2B, this could be software solutions, consultancy services, or industrial products. Your product must solve a problem or fulfill your business clients’ needs.
• Price: Determine how much your customers must pay to acquire your product or service and how they will pay. Will it be a one-time fee, a subscription, or free-to-play? Will the contract be for a month, three months, or a year?
• Place: Decide how your product is distributed and where it can be purchased. Match this with your customers’ preferences: Do they prefer buying directly from a website or on a marketplace?
• Promotion: Decide where and how you promote your goods, and again, match it with your audience’s preferences. What channels resonate most with them: social media, industry websites, or Google search? What formats: text, video, graphics?

Once you have defined the 4 Ps, you can select the appropriate marketing tools and channels to support them.

For example, you can use content marketing to highlight the benefits of your Product, Web analytics to analyze the effectiveness of your Pricing, e-commerce platforms to create a certain Place, and email marketing campaigns to Promote your products.

Create a B2B marketing plan

The goals and the four Ps have been set. The next step is to combine everything into a cohesive B2B marketing plan, which will help you organize your efforts and allocate resources.

The 3 Foundations of a B2B Marketing Plan are Budgeting, Content Calendar, and Execution.

1. Budgeting: Start by estimating the costs associated with each element of your marketing strategy to prevent overspending and ensure funds are allocated to the most impactful activities. Budgeting could include content creation, digital advertising, marketing automation tools, and any other necessary resources. Consider both fixed and variable costs.
2. Content calendar: You don’t want to leave deadlines to chance, so you need a content calendar. Use content management tools to assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. Include a mix of content types and ensure each piece is tailored to the different stages of the buyer’s journey (awareness, consideration, decision).
3. Campaign execution: Outline the steps needed to launch each campaign, set timelines, and assign responsibilities to team members. Use the appropriate tools and platforms to manage and track your campaigns and ensure that everyone involved understands their role and the overall timeline. Be specific when assigning tasks – clearly define who needs to do what and when.

Conduct a competitive analysis

Imagine you’re opening a coffee shop in a neighborhood with several established cafes.

Before setting up, you’d visit these cafes to understand their offerings, pricing, customer service, and atmosphere. Why?

No matter how similar the service might seem, it’s delivered by different people; you and your team create a unique blend you want to showcase to the world to stand out in your market.

Similarly, in the B2B world, a competitive analysis helps you understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to shine with whatever is unique about you.

For example, you might be one of ten Salesforce partners, but you are the only one sharing knowledge through a video blog – so you attract customers who prefer this form of learning.

SWOT analysis is the best tool for conducting competitive analysis when building a digital marketing strategy (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).

• Strengths: Identify what your competitors do well. This could be strong brand recognition, a loyal customer base, or superior product features. For example, a competitor might have an extensive library of high-quality whitepapers and case studies that attract leads.
• Weaknesses: Look for areas where your competitors are lacking. This could be poor customer service, a weak online presence, or limited product offerings. For instance, a competitor might have a slow, outdated website that frustrates users.
• Opportunities: Find areas where you can capitalize. This might be emerging market trends, underserved customer needs, or gaps in competitor offerings. For example, if competitors lack educational webinars, you could fill this gap with informative sessions.
• Threats: Be aware of potential challenges. These could be new market entrants, changing regulations, or technological advancements affecting your business.

Position your brand with UVP

Once you understand your strengths and weaknesses and those of your competitors, you want to articulate them to position your brand effectively.

Brand positioning is defining how you want your target audience to perceive your brand compared to competitors. You’re carving out a distinct place in the minds of your customers, using specific words, voice tone, brand colors, etc.

In the B2B world, the most helpful brand positioning tool is a Unique Value Proposition (UVP). This clear statement explains how your product or service solves a customer’s problem or improves their situation.

It’s a smooth and coherent way to tell your customers why they should buy from you, not the competition.

How to create a UVP to position your brand?

1. Identify your audience’s needs and pains: Understand your target market’s key challenges and needs. Use the buyer personas developed earlier to gain insights. Conduct more in-depth interviews to learn about their business pains and gains if needed.
2. Highlight the benefits of your solution: Clearly define how your product or service addresses these needs better than competitors’. Focus on the specific benefits your customers will gain. Specificity is key here—avoid vague terms such as “increased efficiency.”
3. Craft the statement: Combine these 2 elements into a concise, compelling statement. Examples:

Meet every deadline and reduce project completion times by 30% with real-time collaboration tools.

Your peace of mind is the priority– Protect your data with advanced encryption and 24/7 monitoring

Increase sales by 25% through automated lead tracking and personalized customer insights

Maximize the impact of your UVP

Once you’ve defined your UVP, use it wisely.

First, make sure all team members understand and embody this message; you want everyone to respond to questions about the company’s unique value with the same, concise statement.

Then, ensure your brand messaging is consistent across all channels and touchpoints. For instance, display your UVP on your website, social media profiles, and sales materials. If you produce content, consistently address your audience’s pain points and interests.

If you maintain consistency in your message and regularly publish relevant and helpful content, you build lasting brand awareness and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

And boy, is it worth it.

B2B digital marketing channels

If strategy is your action plan, then marketing channels are your tools. They are the various tactics you use to achieve your higher business goals.

In a B2B digital strategy, we distinguish five of the most popular tactics:

• PPC (Pay-Per-Click): Ads on platforms like Google Ads.
• Email marketing: Targeted emails to nurture leads and maintain relationships.
• Content marketing: Creating valuable content like blogs and white papers.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Optimizing your site to rank higher in search results.
• Social media marketing: Using platforms like LinkedIn to connect and promote your brand.

Let’s examine each of them more closely.

PPC for B2B companies

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising involves placing ads on search engines and other platforms. You pay each time someone clicks on your ad.

For B2B companies, PPC can be an absolute gold mine of leads in quick time, as it offers precise targeting and immediate visibility.

ROI (Return on Investment) is a crucial metric that determines the effectiveness of your pay-per-click advertising campaigns. It measures the profit generated from your ads in relation to the advertising costs

Unlike SEO or content marketing, you don’t need to wait until the search engine or a specific business environment recognizes you – you simply pay for the visibility and start seeing results right away.

For this to happen, however, you need to conduct thorough keyword research to identify terms your target audience is searching for:

• Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords.
• Use platforms like Google Ads or Bing Ads to target specific industries, job titles, and company sizes, ensuring your ads reach the most relevant audience.

For example, you can target keywords like “B2B project management software” and then use Google Ads’ targeting options to focus on specific demographics, locations, and even company names.

B2B email marketing

Email marketing in B2B is used to nurture leads and improve retention.

To keep your email subscribers (both current and potential clients) happy and loyal, you must deliver valuable and relevant information and updates regularly, over and over again.

The only question is: how do you make those emails precise and personal?

Well, first, you want to collect your potential clients’ emails in various ways.

The most popular methods are offering resources like eBooks or whitepapers, running webinars, and using sign-up forms on your website in exchange for a personal business email.

Then, you want to segment the list based on criteria such as industry, job role, and engagement level to send even more relevant content. For example, you might create segments like “C-level executives in tech from [city]”.

Once you have your segmented lists, the magic happens: you reach out directly to your potential leads with valuable, personal, relevant messages. You share knowledge, invite them to events, promote good practices and tools, and more.

You build engagement, trust, and loyalty. And eventually, of course, you sell your services.

B2B content marketing

Creating, publishing, and promoting valuable content helps establish your brand as an industry leader and addresses the pain points of your target audience.

Helpful content builds trust, positions your company as a go-to resource, and differentiates you in the market. If, among 10 similar companies, only you share knowledge or do it in the most accessible way, that’s a huge advantage.

Engage your audience using different content formats, such as blog posts, videos, white papers, case studies, and webinars. Which ones are the best? It depends on how your clients prefer to receive information, and it’s your role to find out.

Importantly, for content marketing to work, it’s not enough just to create content. Even the best material, if not placed in the right locations or promoted effectively, won’t work.

So promote your content through your website, email newsletters, and social media channels to reach a wider audience. Use SEO to ensure your content is discoverable in search engines, and consider paid promotion to boost visibility.

SEO for B2B companies

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) involves optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results which increases traffic without paid advertising. A simple example: you type “best CRM for medium-sized business” in Google; the higher a website ranks (excluding paid ads), the better its SEO.

Several factors influence ranking. One of the most important is keywords. You need to conduct keyword research to find terms your target audience is searching for and then use them on your website, blog, etc.

Of course, this doesn’t mean blindly stuffing your site with keywords—the content must be valuable to the reader.

Besides keywords, optimizing on-page elements is also essential: using clear and descriptive titles, crafting meta descriptions that entice clicks, and organizing content with headers that make it easy to read. Building backlinks from reputable sites can also boost your search engine rankings.

And what is the most significant benefit of SEO in B2B? More visibility and credibility among potential clients.

B2B social media marketing

Social media marketing leverages platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to connect with your audience, share content, and promote your brand. For B2B companies, it’s primarily used to build brand awareness and engage with industry professionals seeking business knowledge on these platforms.

For social media marketing to succeed, you must carefully select platforms where your target audience is most active. LinkedIn is particularly effective for B2B marketing; even if there are some smaller platforms or channels where your clients spend time, start with LinkedIn without hesitation.

Another social media marketing tip for B2B is to be active and play with the format. Participate in industry groups, join relevant conversations, and share not just useful articles or case studies but also opinions or memes.

Use text, video, infographics, and shorts. Explore, experiment, and replicate what brings the most engagement.

3 most common challenges and solutions for B2B digital marketing

Now that we’ve covered all the elements of a B2B digital strategy, let’s look at the three main challenges in executing it – and the most common ways to solve those troubles.

1. Long sales cycles

• Problem: As mentioned earlier, B2B sales cycles are typically longer than B2C because of the higher stakes, bigger investments, and multiple decision-makers involved. Keeping prospects engaged (and focused particularly on your company) is tough. The worst thing you can do is engage with the prospect once and expect them to decide on just that one interaction.
• Solution: Develop a solid lead nurturing strategy. Use email, content, and social media marketing to send regular, valuable content that keeps prospects interested throughout the sales cycle.
• Best practice: Create a content calendar that matches the buyer’s journey, offering relevant info at each stage to keep their interest and build trust. Use marketing automation tools to streamline and personalize your communications.

2. Complex buyer journeys

• Problem: The B2B buying process often involves multiple stages, from initial research to final purchase decisions, each needing different types of content and communication. If your prospect is at the awareness stage, you don’t want to overwhelm them with case studies. If they’re choosing a vendor, you don’t want to send them introductory videos.
• Solution: Detect the buyer journey and create content tailored to each stage. Use a mix of formats, such as blog posts, white papers, case studies, and webinars, to address your audience’s needs at different stages.
• Best practice: Use CRM systems to track interactions and tailor your follow-up actions based on prospects’ journey.

3. Targeting the right audience

• Problem: Finding and reaching the right decision-makers within a company can be tricky, especially in large organizations with complex structures. How can you make sure the CMO of a company with 5,000 employees reads your article?
• Solution: Conduct thorough market research to understand your target audience, build personas, conduct a few in-depth interviews, invite individuals on LinkedIn, and actively observe their behaviors.
• Best practice: Use the information about your personas in Google Ads campaigns or LinkedIn Navigator. Segment your email lists and PPC campaigns by industry, job role, and company size. Personalize your messaging to tackle the unique challenges faced by each segment.

How to measure success in B2B marketing

Finally, you want to understand whether your digital marketing efforts are paying off. Without knowing what works and what doesn’t, you can’t improve results, invest in successful tactics, or drop the ones that fail.

Let’s dive into how to measure success in B2B marketing.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) for B2B

KPIs are measurable values that indicate how effectively your marketing efforts achieve business objectives. They’re the bread and butter of tracking success and making informed decisions in B2B digital marketing.

Here are the most common KPIs for B2B:

• Website traffic and lead generation: This KPI measures the number of visitors to your website and how many of them turn into leads. Tools like Google Analytics can help track website traffic, while lead generation can be monitored through forms, landing pages, and CRM systems.
• Engagement metrics (clicks, shares, comments): These metrics track how users interact with your content. High engagement suggests your audience finds your content valuable and relevant. Use social media analytics tools and platform insights to measure engagement.
• Conversion rates (leads to customers): This KPI measures the percentage of leads that turn into customers. A high conversion rate indicates effective lead nurturing and sales processes. Use CRM software to track lead progression and conversion rates.
• Customer lifetime value (CLTV): This KPI calculates the total revenue a customer will generate during their relationship with your business. CLTV helps you understand the long-term value of acquiring new customers. Tools like CRM and financial analytics software can help calculate it.
• Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate may indicate that your landing pages are not engaging or relevant to your visitors. Reducing bounce rate involves improving page content and ensuring it’s useful and relevant.
• Average session duration: This metric tracks how long visitors stay on your site. Longer session durations suggest that visitors find your content engaging and valuable. To increase session duration, focus on creating high-quality content and improving site navigation.
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): CPA measures the cost of acquiring a new customer. This includes all marketing expenses divided by the number of new customers acquired. Lowering CPA involves optimizing your marketing strategies to get more conversions for less spending.

Tools and techniques for measurement

Lastly, let’s look at the tools and techniques to help you gather and analyze this data effectively.

• Marketing automation platforms with analytics: Tools like HubSpot, Marketo, and Pardot provide robust analytics tracking campaign performance, lead scoring, and customer journeys. These platforms help you understand how leads interact with your content and where they are in the sales funnel.
• CRM (customer relationship management) software integration: Integrate your marketing tools with CRM software like Salesforce or Zoho CRM to track interactions, manage leads, and analyze customer data. This integration provides a comprehensive view of your customer journey from initial contact to conversion.
• A/B testing for campaign optimization: Conduct A/B tests on your campaigns to determine which variations perform better. Test headlines, images, calls-to-action, and content formats; tools like Google Optimize and Optimizely will help.

B2B vs B2C marketing: Key differences and similarities

When building a B2B strategy, it’s also worth knowing how it relates to B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing strategies; how they differ, and what they have in common.

Digital marketing vs growth marketing strategy

In the end, one more comparison worth knowing – what is the difference between digital marketing and growth marketing strategies?

Are you ready to scale your B2B business with a marketing strategy?

That was quite a lot of information, and it’s totally okay if you need to read through it in parts or come back later to refresh your knowledge.

Creating a marketing strategy in B2B is a complex, multi-layered task, but from our experience – it’s definitely worth it.

Fancy a quick example?

Check out how we helped Ladymakeup, an e-commerce company in the cosmetics industry, find ways to, among many, increase their PPC revenue by 200% through a well-crafted marketing strategy.

If you have any questions or would like to create such a strategy with us, don’t hesitate to contact us!