Marketing in Numbers Digest #13

Marketing tips for B2B organizations

Most B2B (Business-to-Business) companies would agree: marketing is extremely important to the organization’s success. B2B marketing campaigns are aimed at any individuals with control or influence on purchasing decisions. This can encompass a large variety of titles and functions, from low-level researchers all the way up to the C-suite. The competition for customers, and even for attention is, therefore, very important and high.

Building out a B2B strategy that delivers results will require thoughtful planning, execution, and management. Yet it doesn’t seem like most marketing budgets are conscious of this; a quarter of B2B businesses allocate just 5% of their organization’s total budget towards marketing. Just 8% said they allocated more than 15% of their budgets to marketing — despite it fueling a consistent stream of leads.

eMarketer predicts that worldwide spending on digital advertising will reach record-breaking levels by next year, and we can expect a good chunk of that budget will be spent on B2B ad campaigns, such as LinkedIn ads, conference sponsorships, and Google Ad campaigns.

How can you set yourself up for B2B marketing success? Here are a few proven tips that will help your team stand out and make an impact:

• Be Human: Don’t just learn about the companies and accounts you’re pursuing. Learn about the people who work there, and make sure your marketing speaks to them.
• Focus on Targeting: Take the time up-front to define and segment your audience. Create messaging that speaks directly to the specific people who you want to see it.
• Thought Leadership Makes an Impact: Research continues to show that senior-level decision makers highly value this type of content, using it to vet both vendors and solutions.
• Keep Context in Mind: You want to speak the language of your customers, but that’s not always enough. You also want to deliver content and ads that fit thematically with where they’re viewed.
• B2B Marketing Solutions on LinkedIn: LinkedIn has proven to be the most-used social media platform for B2B marketers and also the most effective, so spending time and focus on posting updates frequently will help you stay present, active, and visible.
• Lead Generation: Lead generation forms are extremely effective because they pre-populate based on a member’s LinkedIn profile.

Now that you know more about how to put your B2B marketing strategy on the top, we’d love to hear which of these tips surprised you the most. Leave your answer in the comments section below.

SPIN Ideas is a marketing strategy agency, focusing on startups and SMS. We help our clients find their place in the market and grow. You want to hear more about what we do and have monthly marketing updates, subscribe to SPIN Ideas’ Journal.