What is a B2B marketing strategy?
En B2B–marketing strategy is the opposite of a B2C-marketing strategy. In B2C, the strategy is about marketing from the business to the consumer, which is the end user (a private person). A B2B marketing strategy is not aimed at private individuals but instead at companies or other organisations. This means that it is marketed 'from business to business'.
Do you work in a B2B company? Then you probably already know that a B2B marketing strategy can be a lot more complex to develop than a B2C marketing strategy. The reason for this is that the buying process is typically longer and usually more people are also involved in the decision-making process when trading between companies.
How do I create a B2B marketing strategy?
Whether you work in a company that deals with other businesses or with individuals, there should always be a marketing strategy to work from.
The general approach you can take to this task is to follow these points:
- Analysis work - who is your target group?
- Write down your vision - what do you want to achieve?
- Plan - How do you achieve your vision?
- Carry out your planning
- Evaluate along the way
We go into more detail on each point below.
Analysis work - who is your target group?
Without market research, you won't get far.
If you run a business today, you probably have a lot of data that can tell you a lot about the customers you face. In addition, like brand new start-ups, you can research the rest of the market, which can prove or disprove which way your marketing strategy should go.
The aim of the analysis is to identify the most attractive customers and to learn more about their thoughts, motives, needs, dreams, fears, problems, etc. Information about this is very important as it contributes to an effective marketing strategy.
Write down your vision - what do you want to achieve?
Without a vision for strategy, there is little strategy to go by. Indeed, you can't create a strategy without having targeted the strategy towards a vision. So first of all, get clear on what your vision for the business is - the vision is typically very long-term.
The strategy is also long-term in that it focuses exclusively on achieving the vision. Underneath your strategy is your marketing plan, which is where you plan your marketing activities in detail to achieve the strategy and therefore the vision.
Plan - How do you achieve your vision?
Having carried out market research, you will hopefully have identified the most attractive customers and learned more about their thoughts, motives, needs, dreams, fears and problems, etc. You now know more about how to target your marketing at this particular audience. This could include measures such as channel selection, message design, the most profitable times to promote to them, etc.
Evaluate along the way
Don't let your strategy become your sleeping pillow, but instead be open and wary of having to adapt it along the way. We live in a world that is constantly changing, so even though you may have worked one way for 100 years and one summer, that doesn't mean it's the same way you should continue to work. Changes can easily and quickly happen in the marketplace that you need to test and evaluate on, to constantly adapt your B2B marketing strategy towards what's most profitable for your business.
