What challenges do you face when marketing to businesses?

Targeting the right audience One of the first challenges is to identify and reach the right audience for your product or service. Businesses vary in size, industry, location, budget, and pain points. You need to segment your market and create buyer personas that reflect the characteristics, goals, and challenges of your ideal customers. Then, you need to craft a value proposition that speaks to their specific needs and shows how you can solve their problems or improve their situation.

As someone who has had the chance to work in more than one industry and in more than one region, my golden rule is to give yourself the time to learn the business and its audience before jumping right in and setting your ways. Once you're confident in your knowledge, you can update what your predecessor had in place or start from scratch, creating the persona first to know your audience's SWOT, and appropriate tone of voice

Lorsque nous abordons le marketing auprès des entreprises, nous sommes confrontés à plusieurs défis. Tout d'abord, la difficulté à contacter les clients constitue une barrière majeure. Ils ne sont pas toujours disponibles et c’est pas évident d’avoir un rendez vous avec eux. De plus, les attentes en termes de vitesse de livraison sont de plus en plus élevées, ce qui met une pression supplémentaire sur nos processus logistiques. En outre, les clients sont extrêmement exigeants en matière de flexibilité dans les échéances de paiement, ce qui nécessite une gestion fine de la trésorerie sans oublier les cas de mauvais payeurs.

> acknowledging decision-making complexity > enhancing credibility and trust in the decision-making process > providing evidence of value and return on investment > navigating complicated buying cycles > establishing a competitive advantage IMO, integrating a customer-centric, data-driven, and strategic marketing approach is crucial.

Building trust and credibility Is essential for success in any personal or professional relationship. When people trust and believe in you, they are more likely to listen to you, follow your advice, and do business with you. Be honest and transparent: Always tell the truth and be upfront with people. Keep your promises: This shows people that you are reliable and dependable. Be consistent: Be predictable and reliable in your words and actions. Be competent: People will trust you more if you do what you say you can do. Be empathetic: Show that you care about them and that you are willing to listen to their concerns. Be respectful: This shows that you value them as a person and that you are worth their time.

Building trust and credibility is crucial with prospects and customers. Skepticism is common with new vendors. Establish expertise, authority, and reliability through different channels. Utilize testimonials, case studies, white papers, webinars, and social proof. Showcase success stories, industry knowledge, and customer satisfaction.

Navigating the decision-making process Define the Problem: Identify the issue or question you need to address. Gather Information: Research and gather relevant data to understand the situation comprehensively. Brainstorm Solutions: Generate a list of possible solutions or courses of action without limitations. Evaluate Alternatives: Assess the pros, cons, feasibility, effectiveness, impact, and risks of each option. Make a Decision: Choose the most suitable option based on your evaluation and consider input from others. Implement the Decision: Develop a plan, assign responsibilities, and monitor progress effectively. Review and Adapt: Evaluate the outcome, identify areas for improvement, and adjust your approach for future decisions.

Standing out from the competition 1. Know Your Niche: Understand your target audience, their needs, and preferences. 2. Distinctive Value Proposition: Identify what makes your business unique and valuable. 3. Exceptional Customer Experience: Prioritize customer satisfaction by providing excellent service, responding promptly to inquiries, and resolving issues efficiently. 4. Innovation and Adaptability: Continuously innovate and adapt to changing market trends and customer needs. 5. Brand Identity and Positioning: Craft a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience. 6. Effective Marketing and Communication: Implement targeted marketing strategies to reach your audience effectively.

Measuring and optimizing your marketing Effective marketing requires measuring and optimizing performance to ensure a high return on investment. Set SMART goals, such as increasing website traffic or generating leads. Track progress using analytics tools and identify areas for improvement based on data and feedback. Utilize a marketing dashboard to gain a comprehensive overview of campaign performance and make data-driven decisions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

The average B2B buying cycle is 6-12 months. Meaning, marketing success is a slow burn. It's a marathon, not a sprint. There's rarely instant gratification. Marketing to businesses requires patience, pragmatism and planning.

I don’t have a problem marketing my business as my fellow BNI members, who know me, like me and trust me, help market it for me. We learn about each other’s businesses and we support each other. We promote each other’s businesses to our contacts and we shout out about them on social media. It’s been working for 39 years in 79 countries and in my group in Newbury we have 39 local businesses who want each other to succeed. It’s cost effective, relationship building support and I wouldn’t be without it!

The problem with marketing to businesses is that they're faceless. Have you ever tried talking to a building? You don't tend to get much back. Well, unless the place is haunted... It's so much easier to speak to a person. Or, a group of people within a business. Addressing individuals within a business is the key to successful B2B marketing. However, it can be tricky to identify the right person to speak to. Research and effective brand marketing is essential.

You need buy in from all areas of the business from the board to sales . Everyone internal is also your customer. The more employee engage and participate in marketing the more successful it will be. They also need to understand marketing isn’t a quick fix it’s the long game, particularly if there is no developed processes or channels. In b2b generally the minimum deal time is 3-6 months. Larger b2b enterprise deals the time is 12 months plus. Public sector and local gov can be even longer. Most leads need to go through at least 10 touch points before they are qualified and multi-channel. You need to build the house before people will buy and move in.

Feeling in business b2b por ejemplo si compras maquinaria quiebras porque le hojuelas de pet nadie te lo compra y varios compraron maquinaria para triturar pet y quebraron en mexico