B2B Marketing

B2B services marketing is in a league of its own.

Marketing Services, business to business

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing is distinctly different to consumer marketing. In B2B, the:

  • sales cycle is longer
  • many buyers and influencers are well educated and well informed
  • barriers to switching are high which means so, too, are the stakes.

Similarly, services marketing is unlike product marketing. Services have unique characteristics in that they’re:

  • intangible – they have no physical nature
  • often inseparable insofar as services are produced and consumed simultaneously
  • perishable – once you’ve used a service it can’t be re-sold.

Combine all of these factors and you begin to understand why B2B services marketing is in a league of its own – it’s complicated.

Marketing versus Sales

What is the difference between marketing and business development?

It’s simple, really.

Marketing is the process of understanding a market’s needs, tailoring your services and solutions to those needs, and generating awareness and interest in what you have to offer. A marketing department’s key performance indicators will typically include the generation of ‘marketing qualified leads’ (MQLs) or prospective clients. 

Business development (or sales) is the process of understanding a specific prospect’s needs, proposing services and solutions to address those needs (opportunistically or formally in a tender response), and then converting the prospect into a client. In that sense, a business development team’s KPIs will typically include the value of new business won or secured.  

Strategy and Planning

As business-to-business (B2B) marketers our credentials are second to none. At our core, we assist ‘smart companies' in developing and executing B2B marketing strategies, plans, tactics, campaigns and projects that are coordinated, considered and results-oriented.

A well considered marketing strategy will provide your business with focus and direction. It will define and articulate your market position, value proposition, differentiators and strategy. It should include measurable goals to be achieved each year or term and be regulary reviewed to assess whether the marketing strategy remains sound, which marketing activities are most effective, and that you have the necessary in-house and external marketing resources and systems.

A marketing plan will ensure your marketing and business development team is focused and accountable. It will remove the emotion from decision-making and help you to limit discretionary spending. Every person in your business will be clear about your priorities, what you are seeking to achieve, and how you will achieve your objectives. We can develop and implement, should you require, a detailed fully costed month-by -month plan of all the recommended marketing activities. 

A final word: You can’t manage what you don’t measure and there are only three ways to measure results in business: dollar value ($), number of (#), and percentage (%).

Events

Year after year, events are rated one of most effective B2B marketing tactics. Why? Because events provide the opportunity for face-to-face engagement.

We design and execute corporate events for clients that are seeking to:

  • Build brand and positioning
  • Generate interest and leads, and demonstrate thought leadership
  • Develop and strengthen relationships with the buyers and influencers of their services
  • Convert existing clients into loyal brand advocates.

We understand the challenges, risks and opportunities common to B2B events, including:

  • That in-person attendees represent only part of the opportunity, only some of the potential leads. In the digital age, audiences will engage with content in their own time, rendering it essential that the educational events are recorded and available in multiple formats and across all relevant channels.
  • The opportunity to effectively use social media pre, during and post an event to engage with attendees, share information, amplify messages and broadcast updates to non-attendees.
  • The challenge of ensuring the right data is being captured with integrity so that conversations and leads can be effectively and efficiently followed up after the event.
  • The risk that an event might be planned in isolation, rather than integrated and aligned with the broader marketing strategy.
  • The opportunity to use new techniques, creativity and technology to drive engagement and create a memorable experience.

RELATED CONTENT

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we operate, live and gather, and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.