What is B2B Marketing?

 Understanding the Strategies and the Advantages of Business to Business Marketing 

By Lalit Sharma, Director, Ranking By SEOMost marketers often find themselves suing the term B2B marketing. But the truth is, some of these people do not know what B2B marketing really is. B2B which is Business to Business Marketing involves marketing goods and services which will help other companies operate. Some common B2B markets are resellers, manufacturers, government and nonprofit organizations.In layman’s language, we can say that Business to Business Marketing is a marketing strategy that works to ensure that the needs of other businesses are met. Businesses buy products and services with the goal of adding value to another business.Business to Business Marketing is now becoming quite popular in the field of marketing. It is for this reason that every sales and marketing expert out there should not only understand but also apply the principles of this kind of marketing.As B2B marketing consultants, you must know that your marketing initiatives should at all times be based around your potential customers’ needs, wants and expectations. Also, when creating a marketing campaign, it is imperative for you as a business to business marketer to remember that communication is important. Therefore, your key to a successful B2B marketing campaign is connecting to your target audience.That said, business to business marketing is a discipline that is totally different from business to consumer marketing or B2C marketing as it commonly known. Whilst Business to Consumer marketing caters for the customers’ needs, B2B marketing aims at meeting the needs of other businesses.What Makes Business to Business Marketing worth Considering – the Advantages?

• With B2B marketing, the buyers become long term buyers.

Though very rare, some consumers do buy make long term purchases like buying a car or a house. These kinds of purchases are very common in business to business markets because here, capital machinery and consumables are more prevalent.In addition to this, long term purchases need service back up from the products and services suppliers; something that the consumer market cares less about. Also, unlike consumers, business customers are regarded as long term customers. Therefore it is for this reason that marketers are beginning to appreciate the value of B2B marketing.

• With B2B marketing, the decision making process is more complex unlike it is with business to consumer marketing. This is because the target audiences for B2B are constantly changing and their motivations are interests are always different.
• Business to business products and their applications are far more complex compared to consumer products. When marketing to consumers, the individuals will be drawn to the products and services because of the emotional component they hold. With business to business marketing, the buyers are normally trained professionals who are very much concerned about the quality of products, their revenue benefits as well as their cost saving benefits.
• Business to business (B2B) marketers’ aim at addressing a much smaller audience. However, the smaller the audience, the larger the consumption rate of products; something that is not noticed with consumer markets. In the business industry, few consumers are known to dominate the sales ledger and the lives of businesses. It is the small number of customers that distinguishes Business to Business from Business to Consumer marketing.
• With Business to Business marketing, personal relationships are very important in the industry’s markets. Fact is, a customer base that buys regularly from B2B suppliers is easier to talk to. For this reason, personal relationships begin to grow and they develop to trust with time. Now, how good would it be for you as a B2B marketer to have loyal, trustworthy and committed customers? Great, right?

What B2B Marketing Strategies will make you successful?First, you need to understand that B2B marketing is not something that will make you successful through radio or TV advertisements alone. You must embed your business in the industry and make your products look like a staple. Here are some helpful marketing strategies that will make your company look good in the eyes of your niche buyers.

• First and foremost, bring yourself up to speed with what B2B marketing really is and how it is going to affect your business
• Give buyers the right information by hosting webinars
• Send out as many emails as possible indicating that your business is proficient in the industry
• Set up your company booths at popular tradeshows
• Ensure that your social media platforms are active – with internet taking over everything, your buyers should notice your presence via social media
• Even with remarkable social media presence, you can also generate more traffic to your business through sponsored social posts
• Ensure that you attend networking events that are relevant to the industry
• Maintain strong and healthy buyer relationships
• Concentrate on guest blogging as a form of advertisement

Three B2B Marketing Trends as of 2015For years, B2B marketing has experienced a major shift in both tactics and strategies. However, these tactics and strategies focused mainly on attracting a target audience. Last year was not any different—the B2B marketing continued to experience this shifts thanks to this amazing marketing rends.

• Mobile Domination

Owing to the fact that mobile scene was on the rise in 2015, it is only logical to say that mobile environments will continuously play a very significant role in B2B marketing. Moreover, most business executives are using mobile devices to research and communicate via web. Therefore, to meet these executives, you must come up with a functional and responsive website. In simple terms, mobile experience became a big priority back in 2015 and it will still be for many more years to come.

• The need for Content Marketing

With content marketing on the rise, it is safe to say that most business to business companies now know their way around content marketing as a reliable B2B marketing strategy. For companies that are still not aware of content marketing, be prepared to give your target audience in-depth content and complete briefs of what it is you are trying to achieve.

• The Micro targeting concept

This trend requires a more personalized approach towards content generation and building good relationships. It entails using data and analytics to understand your audience. Conclusion:Marketing strategies and trends will definitely come and go. But me, there are those that are here to stay. Judging by above information, B2B is here to stay. So, focus on generating engaging content to your target audience now more than ever.[author]About the Author: Lalit Sharma is an SEO consultant who runs a SEO house called Ranking By SEO. He is specialized in link building and other SEO related activities. You can also find him on Twitter, Google+ and his personal blog. [/author]