The term business-to-business, popularly also called B2B is a form of transaction between businesses like a manufacturer and a wholesaler or a wholesaler to a retailer. These are business transactions conducted between companies. Such B2B transactions are common within the auto industry, property management companies, housekeeping, and industrial cleaning companies.
The B2B start-up businesses, which are also referred to as enterprise start-ups are essentially companies that are built to support other businesses. These B2B start-ups usually make a relevant distinction between their client companies, usually based on the size as it affects their sales cycle, the final product category, and dedicated customer support.
The Modern B2B Client
B2B Marketing Challenges
Conclusion
The Modern B2B Client
Any business, whatever its model, has a constantly evolving customer audience. Even B2B clients are evolving, depending on their business needs. The modern B2B client is more educated with many information tools at their disposal like online searches, podcasts, and webinars. Secondly, the advent of the internet and its technological advances have opened up a world of opportunities for these clients to connect to providers of services or products from around the world. The amount of information available to them also means, their queries are in-depth and require specific responses. Another feature of the modern B2B client is their requirement for quick responses. This is the client need that makes customer experience extremely important.
B2B Marketing Challenges
Apart from the constant market and client evolution, B2B companies, specifically, also face marketing challenges that are unique to the business model.
A Lengthy Sales Cycle
A B2B sales cycle tends to be lengthy due to its complexity. The time frame of B2B sales can take anywhere from 6 months to a year or, sometimes, even more depending on the product that is being transacted. Another reason for the extended time frame is that institutional buys involve a lot of people from the client company for purchase approval. Also, there are many deliberations involved due to the volume of purchases.
Hiring & Aligning Sales & Marketing Teams
As different as the two departments are in their functions, they work closely and cohesively for effective results. Hence, it becomes important for the business to ensure that the right people are hired who have an in-depth understanding of the industry and, preferably, a little experience. This ensures that the team understands the unique challenges as well as the opportunities that come within the operational area. Once the right team is in place, it is necessary that the two teams meet regularly to keep updated on ongoing campaigns, goals, strategies, and achievements.
Rishabh Rathi
Ensuring Quality Lead Generation
B2B businesses need to build an ideal profile of a buyer as well as create targeted content for each profile using resources like newsletters, worksheets, templates, videos, etc. This saves precious time as well as effort and ensures that the business is only connecting with genuine prospective customers.
Maintaining a Healthy Pipeline
Different customers require a different approaches as they progress through the various stages of making a purchase. Not every prospective customer is ready to go through with the purchase immediately. In such a scenario a sales funnel can be of use for the B2B business in creating targeted content for every stage – Top, middle, and bottom. This also helps the business to identify gaps in sales processes and even pinpoint emerging opportunities. Use technology and marketing automation processes to stay organized as well as keep in contact with prospective clients with newsletters, drip-feed emails, customer loyalty programs, etc. Such efforts help is building and maintain brand awareness.
Creating Account-Based Marketing Campaigns
This is the marketing mantra for the new world. Account-based marketing is all about personalization beginning with target customer identification. A content strategy can be developed addressing the target clients’ specific needs. It is important to research the decision makers so the communication can be addressed directly to them.
Using Updated Technology
This is one area of the business where expenses should be counted as an investment so as to offer the best possible solution to the target customer. The business must ensure to stay updated on technology that eases business processes, thereby not only reducing cost but allowing the company to retain clients.
Regularly Updating the Website
The business website is the presentation card for the prospective client. It is the website that creates that very important first impression. Hence it is mandatory for the website to be appealing, intuitive, and easy to navigate. Some important considerations are quick loading time, a responsive design (to load well regardless of the screen size), and heat mapping software to track the time that visitors spend on each page and which pages have a high bounce rate.
Conclusion
The success road of B2B companies is winding and isn’t obstacle free. However, most of these obstacles have easy solutions. With time and technological advances, it is getting easier and easier to tackle these obstacles with trackable solutions designed to increase conversion rates and thereby increase business.
FAQs
What is a B2B Company?
The term business-to-business, popularly also called B2B is a form of transaction between businesses like a manufacturer and a wholesaler or a wholesaler to a retailer. These are business transactions conducted between companies.
What are the marketing challenges faced by B2B companies?
B2B companies face marketing challenges that are unique to the business model. Some of the challenges are listed below:
- A Lengthy Sales Cycle
- Hiring and Aligning Sales and Marketing Teams
- Ensuring Quality Lead Generations
- Maintaining a Healthy Pipeline
- Creating Account-Based Marketing Campaigns
- Using Updated Technology
- Regularly Updating the Website