Top 10 Most Effective Marketing Strategies for B2B and B2C

Top 10 B2C Marketing Strategies · Social Networks and Viral Marketing · Paid Media Advertising · Internet Marketing · Email Marketing · Direct ... WhatAretheTop10MostEffectiveMarketingStrategies? PostedbyVickiWoschnickonAugust11,2021 Lookingforgrowthmarketingstrategiesproventobethemosteffectiveforgeneratingleadsanddrivingbusiness?Thisarticleisdesignedtohelpyouexplorethebestmarketingtacticsforanybusinesssituation—whetherB2BorB2C!Belowyou'llfindtworoutes—oneforB2BandanotherforB2Cbusinesses.Clickorscrolltolearnaboutthestrategiesthatmatchyourbusinesssituationandexplorethebestapproachestodeployforyourbusiness'smarketingplan. Getacompleteunderstandingofhowtoplananeffectivemarketingstrategy.Downloadour"FREEAnnualMarketingPlanTemplate." Eachtop10listisbackedbydatafromavarietyofsources,andhasbeenupdatedwiththelatestinformationfrommarketleaders,suchasDrift,Forrester,HubSpotResearch,Invesp,Saasquatch,Statista,andMarketingProfs.com. Clicktojumptosectionorscrolltoreadall Top10B2BMarketingStrategies ContentMarketing InboundMarketing SocialMediaMarketing SearchEngineOptimization SearchEngineMarketing/PPC AccountBasedMarketing(ABM)andRetargeting EarnedMediaandPR ReferralPrograms IndustryEvents ConversationalMarketing Top10B2CMarketingStrategies SocialNetworksandViralMarketing PaidMediaAdvertising InternetMarketing EmailMarketing DirectSelling Point-of-Purchase(POP)Marketing Co-Branding,Affinity,andCauseMarketing ConversationalMarketing EarnedMedia/PR Storytelling Top10B2BMarketingStrategies Curiousaboutwhatbusinessprofessionalsthinkofdifferentmarketingstrategies.Wetookalookatrecentsurveyresultsandreportsthatcompileddataonthetopic,andcreatedalistof10B2Bmarketingstrategiescommonlyrecognizedassuccessfulregardlessofindustry.Here’swhatwefound,innoparticularorder: ContentMarketing Contentmarketingemphasizeseducationoversellingtoinfluencebuyingbehavior.Thisstrategicmarketingapproachfocusesoncreatinganddistributinginformationrelevanttoprospects’needsinordertoattractthosebestalignedwith—andmostlikelytopurchase—yourproductorservice.Sincecommunicationisongoing,contentcanbetailoredtoreflectwhatyoulearnaboutleadsovertime,andmayincludevariedformatslikeinfographics,webpages,podcasts,videos,blogs,whitepapers,webinars,andeBooks.It’simportanttonotethatcontentmarketingisnotsynonymouswithinboundmarketing(moreoninboundbelow).Contentmarketingisanimportantcomponenttoanoverallinboundgrowthstrategy,butitdoesnotintegrateothermarketingmethodologiestomaximizecontentvalue. Contentmarketingiseffectivebecauseit: Drawsprospectsthroughthesalesfunnel Growsbrandvisibility,credibility,anddesirability Alignstargetmarketswithrelevantinformation FastFact:9outof10B2Bbuyerssayonlinecontenthasamoderatetomajoreffectontheirpurchasedecisions InboundMarketing InboundisfarandawaythemosteffectiveB2Bmarketingstrategybecauseitleveragesthestrengthsofthemajorityoftheotherninestrategiestoattract,engage,anddelightcustomers.Unliketraditionalmarketingmethods—eventheotherstrategieslistedhere—inboundmarketersearntheattentionofcustomersandpullthemtoacompanywebsitebyproducingandprovidingmeaningfulcontent.Becausemessagingisrelevantandappearsintherightplaceattherighttime,inboundinvitesvisitorsinratherthanannoyingthemwithinterruptivetraditionaladvertising. Inboundmarketingiseffectivebecauseit: Worksforbusinessesofanysizeortype Createsmoreknowledgeableprospects CanbeeasilyintegratedandmanagedusingaCustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)systemandacontentmanagementsystem(CMS),likeHubSpot FastFact:FastFact:80%ofcorporatedecision-makersfavorgettingbrandinformationthroughanarticleorblogseriesmorethanads SocialMediaMarketing Socialmediamarketingfocusesonprovidinguserswithcontenttheyfindvaluableandwanttoshareacrosstheirsocialnetworks,resultinginincreasedvisibilityandwebsitetraffic.Socialmediasharesofcontent,videos,andimagesalsoinfluenceSEOeffortsinthattheyoftenincreaserelevancyinsearchresultswithinsocialmedianetworkslikeFacebook,Twitter,LinkedIn,YouTube,andInstagramaswellassearchengineslikeGoogleandYahoo. Socialmediamarketingiseffectivebecauseit: Reducesmarketingspendwhileincreasingleadgeneration Providesmetricsthatgivecompaniesadditionalmarketplaceinsight “Humanizes”brandsandencouragesconversions FastFact:83%ofallB2Bmarketersuseatleastoneofthe"BigFour"socialmediasites(Facebook,LinkedIn,Twitter,YouTube)todistributecontent. DrivetrafficandrevenuewiththeseB2Bsocialmediamarketingstrategies SearchEngineOptimization Searchengineoptimization,orSEO,istheprocessofincreasingawarenessabout—andtrafficto—aparticularwebsitebymakingsureitappearsamongthetopunpaid(or“natural”)searchresultsonsearchengineslikeGoogle,Bing!,andYahoo.Whilethereisacommonmisperceptionthatit'sastand-alonemarketingtactic,SEOisaccomplishedbymanytacticsworkingtogetherandiscentraltoaneffectiveinboundmarketingstrategy. Whilesocialmedia,email,bannerads,andothermarketingtoolsgeneratewebsitevisits,SEOvisibilityisparticularlyimportantbecausesearchenginesaretheprimarywayusersnavigatetheInternet.SEOautomaticallyincreasesyouraudienceinarelevant,targetedway—theyself-identifyassomeonewhoisinterestedinyourproductorservice. Searchengineoptimizationiseffectivebecauseit: Continuestoevolvetokeeppacewithmobileandlocalsearchengineuse Simplifiessearchesforcustomersinterestedinyourproductorservice Isacost-effectivewaytokeepyourbrandcompetitivewithsimilarlysituatedcompanies FastFact:SEOtopsB2Bleadsourcesat14%,followedcloselybyemailmarketing(13%),andsocialmedia(12%). ExploremoreinthisfreeSEOSurvivalGuide! SearchEngineMarketing/PPC Searchenginemarketing,orSEM,isatoolthatcompaniesusetogrowtheirwebsitetrafficthroughpaidonlineadvertising.OneofthemostpopularSEMmethodsispay-per-click(PPC)links.Essentially,acompanybuysor“sponsors”alinkthatappearsasanadinsearchengineresultswhenkeywordsrelatedtotheirproductorservicearesearched.Everytimetheadisclicked,thecompanypaysthesearchengine(orotherthirdpartyhostsite)asmallfeeforthevisitor—aliteral“payperclick.” Searchenginemarketingiseffectivebecauseofits: Breadthinonlinetoolsandreach Cost-effectivenessingeneratinghighvisibility Adaptabilitytomultiplemarketsandaudiences FastFact:PPCusersare50%morelikelytomakeapurchasethanorganicsitevisitors. AccountBasedMarketingandRetargeting AccountBasedMarketing(ABM)isaB2Bstrategythatfocusesonatargetedsetofaccountsusinghighlypersonalizedcampaigns.Itprovidesmarketingandsalesteamswithanumberofadvantages,includingafastersalesprocess,costeffectiveness,andamoreefficientuseofmarketingresources.WithallofthethingsABMis,though,it’simportanttorememberthatABMisnotthesameastargetedoutboundmarketing.It’smuchmorestrategic,usingmethodslikeonlineretargetingtopersonalizemarketingefforts. Retargetingusesbrowsercookie-basedtechnologytoidentifyuserswhovisitedyoursitebutleft(or“bounced”)beforecompletingatransactionorconversion.Thecookieallowsfortargetedadvertisementstoappearinthoseusers’subsequentwebsearchesandinteractions,evenifthey’renotrelatedtoyoursitespecifically.Retargetingisaneffectiveconversiontoolbecauseitrepeatedlygetsyourbrandinfrontofaudiencesthatalreadydemonstratedinterestedinyourproductorservice. Retargetingiseffectivebecauseit: Recapturestheattentionandpurchasepowerof“windowshoppers” Generateshighclick-throughrates Lendsitselftovisitorsegmentationandtailoredmessaging FastFact:Theaverageclick-throughrateforretargetedadsis0.7%(comparedto0.07%fordisplayads). EarnedMediaandPR Earnedmedia(or“freemedia”)ispublicitythat’screatedthrougheffortsotherthanpaidadvertising.Itcantakeavarietyofforms—asocialmediatestimonial,wordofmouth,atelevisionorradiomention,anewspaperarticleoreditorial—butonethingisconstant:earnedmediaisunsolicitedandcanonlybegainedorganically.Itcannotbeboughtorownedliketraditionaladvertising. RELATED:Takinganearnedmediaapproachtoinboundmarketing EarnedmediaandPRareeffectivebecausethey: Aregenerally“free”advertisingchannels Areunsolicitedand,therefore,haveinstantperceivedcredibility Increaseawarenessofvaluable,educational,andtrustworthycontent FastFact:Earnedmediaaccountsfor25-40%ofalltrafficandleadgeneration. ReferralPrograms Areferralprogramisanumbrellatermusedtodescribeasystematicapproachcompaniestaketoincentivizepeopletotellothersabouttheirproductsorservices.Implementingspecificaffiliateprograms,customerreferralprogramsandpartnerprogramswithinamarketingplanstructurearemeanttooffertheinstantcredibilityofexistingcustomerstogrowacustomerbase.“Referralprograms”isoftenusedsynonymouslywith“referralmarketing.” Referralprogramsareeffectivebecausethey: Leveragetherecommendationsofhappycustomers Authenticallyrecognizecustomers’brandloyaltyandreinforceit Areperenniallypopularwithcustomers FastFact:Thelifetimevaluefornewreferralcustomersis16%higherthannon-referrals. Wantmoreleads?ImproveYourVoiceoftheCustomer(VoC)Program! IndustryEvents In-personandonlinetradeshowsremainatopB2Bnetworkingtool(especiallywheninboundtacticssupporteventefforts),astheygathercompanieswithinaspecificindustryintoonelocation,whetherphysicalorvirtual,toconnectanddemonstratetheirlatestproductsandservices.Rarelyopentothepublic,tradeshowsgivecompaniesthechancetoestablishorstrengthenrelationshipswithkeyindustrypartners,customers,andprospects;identifymarkettrendsandopportunities;andgainanunderstandingofwhattheircompetitionisofferinginthemarket. Inlightofthepandemic-driven“newnormal,”networkinghasmetwithsomelimitations.However,technologyisadecidedadvantage,asin-personeventshavebeensuccessfullyconvertedtovirtualeventsthatoffersimilarbenefits,including: Meaningfulinteractionsandrelationship-building Goodattendance,creatingatarget-richenvironmentforleadgeneration Opportunitiesforbusinessesofeverysizetoaccessthesameaudienceandinformation FastFact:EventsliketradeshowsgeneratethemostB2Bleads,whilecasestudiesarethecatalystsbehindleadconversionandacceleration. ImproveTradeShow&ExhibitionRsultswithTheseInboundTactics ConversationalMarketing Conversationalmarketingisjustthat—aconversation.Real-timeinteractionviaachatbotorlivechatgetstherightinformationinfrontofprospectsandcustomersattherighttime,andfollow-upquestionsareaddressedimmediately.Personalized,relevantengagementvastlyimprovestheuserexperience,increasingthelikelihoodofgettingreferralsfromhappycustomers.Forbusinesses,conversationalmarketingmethodstypicallycutthetimebuyersstayinthesalesfunnel.Conversionshappenquickerbecauserelationshipsareestablishedquicker. Setuplivechatonyourwebsitein6stepsusingHubSpotConversations Conversationalmarketingiseffectivebecauseit: Removeslayersofimpersonalleadcaptureandcreatesanauthentic,personalcustomerexperience Fostersclearcommunication—buyerscanplainlystatetheirneeds,andbusinessescanmorereadilyunderstandandassistsincethereisappropriatecontextaroundtherequest Strengthensrelationshipsasbotscanalsorecommendadditionalcontenttosupplementbuyereducation FastFact:Messagingisthepreferredmethodofcustomercommunicationwithbusinesses—90%ofcustomerswantachatoption. Takenindividually,themajorityofthestrategieswelistedprovidelimitedmarketingclout.However,inboundmarketingalignstheheavy-hitters—SEO,SEM,contentmarketing,socialmedia,andearnedmedia—todeliverawell-rounded,cost-effectivemarketingapproachthatgeneratesqualifiedleads,strengthenscustomerrelationships,andsuccessfullybuildsbrands. Related:Top6B2BMarketingStrategiesandTrendsfor2021 Ifyou'reinterestedinlearninghowtoincorporatethemosteffectivemarketingtechniquesintoyourinboundmarketingprogram,clickthelinkbelowtogetourfreeguideandstarttoday! Top10Business-to-ConsumerMarketingStrategies Whatdobusinessprofessionalsthinkaboutdifferenttypesofmarketingstrategytoreachconsumers?Wetookalookatrecentsurveyresultsandreportsthatcompileddataonthetopic,andcreatedalistof10B2Cmarketingstrategyexamplescommonlyrecognizedassuccessfulregardlessofindustry.Here’swhatwefound,innoparticularorder: SocialNetworksandViralMarketing Socialmediamarketingfocusesonprovidinguserswithcontenttheyfindvaluableandwanttoshareacrosstheirsocialnetworks,resultinginincreasedvisibilityandtraffic.Socialmediasharesofcontent,videos,andimagesalsoinfluenceSearchEngineOptimization(SEO)effortsinthattheyoftenincreaserelevancyinsearchresultswithinsocialmedianetworkslikeFacebook,Twitter,YouTube,andInstagramandsearchengineslikeGoogleandYahoo. FastFact:61%ofcompaniesusesocialtoincreaseconversions,and50%useittogaincustomerormarketinsights. PaidMediaAdvertising Paidmediaisatoolthatcompaniesusetogrowtheirwebsitetrafficthroughpaidadvertising.Oneofthemostpopularmethodsispay-per-click(PPC)links.Essentially,acompanybuysor“sponsors”alinkthatappearsasanadinsearchengineresultswhenkeywordsrelatedtotheirproductorservicearesearched(thisprocessiscommonlyknownassearchenginemarketing,orSEM).Everytimetheadisclicked,thecompanypaysthesearchengine(orotherthirdpartyhostsite)asmallfeeforthevisitor—aliteral“payperclick.” FastFact:Ascustomersapproachtheirpurchasedecision,65%willclickonapaidad. InternetMarketing Internetmarketing,oronlinemarketing,combineswebandemailtoadvertiseanddrivee-commercesales.Socialmediaplatformsmayalsobeincludedtoleveragebrandpresenceandpromoteproductsandservices.Intotal,theseeffortsaretypicallyusedinconjunctionwithtraditionaladvertisingformatslikeradio,television,andprint. There’salsoalottobesaidaboutonlinereviewsandopinions.Word-of-mouthadvertisingisunpaid,organic,andoh-so-powerfulbecausethosepeoplewhohavenicethingstosayaboutyourproductorservicegenerallyhavenothingtogainfromitotherthansharinggoodnews.Arecommendationfromafriend,colleague,orfamilymemberhasbuilt-incredibilityandcanspurdozensofleadswhoanticipatepositiveexperienceswithyourbrand. FastFact:Globale-commerceisanticipatedtoreach$3,056.3billionataCAGRof14%through2023,withthespikelargelyattributedtocontactlessbuyingbehaviorsresultingfromtheglobalpandemic(COVID-19) EmailMarketing Emailmarketingisahighlyeffectivewaytonurtureandconvertleads.However,it’snotagameofchance,astowhetheryourmessagewindsupinspamfilters.Instead,emailmarketingisanautomatedprocessthattargetsspecificprospectsandcustomerswiththegoalofinfluencingtheirpurchasingdecisions.Emailmarketingsuccessismeasuredbyopenratesandclick-throughrates,sostrategycomesintoplay,particularlywhenit’susedasacomponentofalargerinternetmarketinginitiative. FastFact:TheaverageexpectedemailmarketingROIis$42forevery$1spent. DirectSelling Directsellingaccomplishesexactlywhatthenamesuggests—marketingandsellingproductsdirectlytoconsumers.Inthismodel,salesagentsbuildface-to-facerelationshipswithindividualsbydemonstratingandsellingproductsawayfromretailsettings,usuallyinanindividual’shome(e.g.,Amway,Avon,Herbalife,andMaryKay). FastFact:Thedirectsellingmarketiscurrentlyvaluedat$63billiondollars. Point-of-PurchaseMarketing(POP) Point-of-Purchasemarketing(orPOPmarketing)sellstoacaptiveaudience—thoseshoppersalreadyin-storeandreadytopurchase.Productdisplays,on-packagecoupons,shelftalkersthattoutproductbenefits,andotherattention-getting“sizzle”oftenswaybuyingdecisionsattheshelfbymakinganoffersimplytoogood—andtoovisible—topassup. FastFact:IntheU.S.,annualimpulsepurchasestotal$17.78billion,whileCanadiansdoleoutabouthalfthatmuch—$8.8billionperyear. Cobranding,Affinity,andCauseMarketing Co-brandingisamarketingmethodologyinwhichatleasttwobrandsjointogethertopromoteandsellasingleproductorservice.Thebrandslendtheircollectivecredibilitytoincreasetheperceptionoftheproductorservice’svalue,soconsumersaremorelikelytopurchaseandwillingtopaymoreatretail.Secondarily,co-brandingmaydissuadeprivatelabelmanufacturersfromcopyingtheproductorservice.Similarly,affinitymarketingisapartnershipbetweenacompany(supplier)andanorganizationthatgatherspersonssharingthesameinterests—forinstance,acoffeeshopthatsellsgoodsfromalocalbakery. Thereisnoshortageofco-brandingpartnerships,butseveralmorerecentexamplesdemonstrateparticularlygoodnaturalbrandalignmentincludingtheadventurousGoProandRedBull,luxuriousBMWandLouisVuitton,andfashion-forwardAlexanderWangandH&M. Likewise,causemarketingleveragesandenhancesbrandreputation.Causemarketingisacooperativeeffortbetweenafor-profitbusinessandanon-profitorganizationtomutuallypromoteandbenefitfromsocialandothercharitablecauses.Causemarketingisnottobeconfusedwithcorporategiving,whichistiedtospecifictax-deductibledonationsmadebyanorganization.Causemarketingrelationshipsare“feelgoods”andassureyourcustomersyousharetheirdesiretomaketheworldabetterplace. FastFact:Customersinterpretco-brandingasavalueendorsementfromabrandtheyalreadytrust,creatingapotentiallylucrativehaloeffect. ConversationalMarketing Conversationalmarketingisjustthat—aconversation.Real-timeinteractionviaachatbotorlivechatgetstherightinformationinfrontofprospectsandcustomersattherighttime,allowsthemtoself-service,andgetquestionsansweredimmediately.Personalized,relevantengagementvastlyimprovestheuserexperience.ForB2Cbusinesses,conversationalmarketingisespeciallyeffectivebecauseitscalesyourcustomerserviceandtypicallycutsthetimebuyersstayinthesalesfunnel.Conversionshappenquickerbecauserelationshipsareestablishedquicker. Setuplivechatonyourwebsitein6stepsusingHubSpotConversations Conversationalmarketingiseffectivebecauseit: Removeslayersofimpersonalleadcaptureandcreatesanauthentic,personalcustomerexperience Fostersclearcommunication—buyerscanplainlystatetheirneeds,andbusinessescanmorereadilyunderstandandassistsincethereisappropriatecontextaroundtherequest Strengthensrelationshipsasbotscanalsorecommendadditionalcontentorproductsrelevanttobuyersbasedontheirpastbehavior FastFact:Messagingisthepreferredmethodofcustomercommunicationwithbusinesses—90%ofcustomerswantachatoption. EarnedMedia/PR Earnedmedia(or“freemedia”)ispublicitythatiscreatedthrougheffortsotherthanpaidadvertising.Itcantakeavarietyofforms—asocialmediatestimonial,word-of-mouth,atelevisionorradiomention,anewspaperarticleoreditorial—butonethingisconstant:earnedmediaisunsolicitedandcanonlybegainedorganically.Itcannotbeboughtorownedliketraditionaladvertising. FastFact:92%ofcustomerssaytheytrustearnedmedia. Storytelling Brandstorytellingusesafamiliarcommunicationformattoengageconsumersatanemotionallevel.Ratherthanjustspewfactsandfigures,storytellingallowsyoutoweaveamemorabletaleofwhoyourcompanyis,whatyoudo,howyousolveproblems,whatyouvalue,andhowyouengageandcontributetoyourcommunityandthepublicingeneral. FastFact:Inarecentsurvey,91%ofrespondentsreportedhavingapositiveemotionalconnectionwithatleastonebrand. ReturntoTop EveryStrategyRequiresanEffectiveMarketingPlan Readytorampupyourmarketingefforts,butunsureofwheretobegin?Reachouttousorcheckoutourcompleteguidetobuildinganannualmarketingplanforanysizeofbusiness. Topics: InboundMarketing YOUMAYALSOLIKE... 10EssentialTacticstoSupportaB2BInboundMarketingStrategy Top6B2BMarketingStrategiesandTrendsfor2021 WhatisSalesEnablementinB2BInboundMarketing? PostedbyVickiWoschnickAnexperiencedwriterandcontentplanner,Vickihasavarietyofclient-sideandagencyexperienceinallofWeidertGroup'sserviceareas.Sheishighlyadeptatlearningvariousindustrialnichesandproducingeffectivecontentonbehalfofclients.InWeidertGroup'sinboundmarketingprograms,Vickiplaysamajorroleincraftingblog-formarticlesaswellasdownloadableadvancedcontentoffers.       Services AreWeaFit? Resources Blog AboutUs Careers ContactUs ©2022WeidertGroup,Inc.Allrightsreserved.PrivacyPolicy|EEOPolicy|Terms&Conditions