We all know we should do marketing. We need to do ‘more’ and ‘better’. But why? Yes, it should lead to more sales, but actually doing B2B marketing properly has so many more benefits for your business.
We all know we should ‘do’ marketing. We all know we need to do more of it, and do it better. I often hear business owners say this is because it will lead to more sales – which is, of course, the ultimate goal – but actually doing B2B marketing properly delivers so many other benefits for your business.
Communication. Where would we be without it?
I know, if you’re like me, a day without email or calls would be like a dream come true, but imagine not communicating for any real length of time. You would feel alienated, ignored, lonely, unloved. And this is precisely how your customers feel when you are not communicating with them. (Or maybe they don’t notice because all your competitors are communicating with them instead.)
Either way, you’re not treating your customer right. Delivering the right product or service at the right time and for a good price is only part of the mix – communication is the marketing glue that draws it all together.
Your market share correlates to your brand strength
That’s right. You’re only as good as your brand. And the only way to get that brand and what you as an organisation stand for across is by the power of communication. What customers think of you and how you are perceived is as a direct result of your social feeds, or brochure, or website content.
A strong brand has other hidden advantages too, such as helping you to retain and recruit staff. It will also add value to your business if and when you look to sell, or alternatively help to convince investors to engage with you.
Communication is a two-way thing
If your B2B marketing communications are done right, you will be entering into a dialogue with customers and prospects, as well as suppliers, affiliates and other stakeholders. And that dialogue is more powerful and reaps more benefits than you maybe realise. Every interaction pushes potential customers from unaware of your company to becoming a customer and eventually, we hope, an advocate.
But these conversations also give you information – valuable insight about your company, your staff, your products and services. It’s circular. You push communication out and information is given in return, which leads to insight, and which if correctly utilised, leads to informed decisions about research and development, markets to operate in, products and services to develop. It becomes proprietary market intelligence that adds value to your operations.
And why is now so important?
The pandemic halted us all for a while. What has come from this crisis is a focus on well-being, community spirit, and the need to feel close to people after having been kept apart for so long. Not necessarily in the physical sense, but close communication is coveted.
People are more appreciative than ever before when others show they care, when they are being listened to and understood. Companies that have gone out of their way to show kindness and altruism to their customers in these recent hardships have earned brand loyalty many times over that which they would have achieved in ‘normal’ times.
So, what’s stopping you?
You know you should ‘do’ marketing, you possibly have some really great ideas – so why is it not happening?
The obstacles will generally come in any one of three guises; resources, reserves or risk.
Resources: You either don’t have the right people to do the job in-house or they are too busy doing other things. This is where an outsourced agency acting as part of your team can help.
Reserves: Cashflow is tight but you know you need to spend on marketing before you see a return on investment. Perhaps you have had someone in the office doing ‘bits’ of marketing in the past without needing extra budget for this, but you now realise you need to be doing B2B marketing properly.
Risk: You’ve either never done marketing actively before or you have but have had a negative experience. It is a leap of faith. There is sadly no magic formula, and you won’t always know or be able to predict results before you commit.
But whichever of the above apply, doing nothing is not an option. The companies who are communicating well are taking your market by force – and we know that share of voice (i.e. how well you communicate) equates to share of market.
What next?
My advice is to engage with a reputable agency that specialises in B2B marketing. Talk to them about what you want to achieve, the budget you have available and tell them your concerns.
A good agency will work with you to formulate a strategic plan that is designed specifically for your business, aligning your marketing activity to your financial goals, ensuring marketing productivity, and measuring return on investment.
An agency will offer you a broad skill set such as strategists, researchers, designers, copywriters, digital experts, and more, that you simply will not find – or at least not to the same standard – in one hired individual. You also pay for what you need without taking on an additional salary and more overheads.
Take a look at this webinar I did for the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce during lockdown (vimeo.com/472965606), which is all about selecting the right agency and avoiding the pitfalls.
Alternatively give me a call. I’d be happy to offer you advice or talk through your marketing challenges (after all, it’s all about communication, as I’ve said above!).
B2B is complex– but at bcm Agency, we work with our clients to simplify the complicated.
Find out more by visiting the BCM Agency website here or email hello@bcmagency.co.uk or call 01727 226202 or 07788 537567
View the webinar using the QR Code above
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