Content marketing attracts and engages prospects at each stage of the buying process.

B2B vs B2C: 7 Attributes of Effective B2B Marketing and Sales

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Effective Selling

As we know, several factors fundamentally differentiate B2B from B2C. B2B (Business-to-Business) sales are transactions between business entities and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) sales is where businesses sell to consumers.

Typically B2B sales are complex and considered. Evaluation and decision making follows multiple stages of learning and evaluation. B2B sales cycles are longer and purchases typically have higher dollar volumes and higher risk. B2B is often characterized by team selling to committee buying. Decisions involve various stakeholders and influencers including economic buyers, solution users, procurement specialists, domain experts, etc. B2B buyers self sell.  Sales teams are no longer the single source of product information and benefits. Education has shifted to the web where buyers search products and ‘self-sell’.

The buying and selling process is fundamentally different in B2B and marketing and sales must work well together around the customer buying process. Content needs to be multi-stage and mapped across the buy-sell cycle. It must include a spectrum of TOFU (top of the funnel), MOFU (middle of the funnel) and BOFU (bottom of the funnel) content. Content for B2B is typically less emotional and more educational. It includes value propositions and product facts. Qualification is more important in B2B as the cost and of sales is high so it is important that sales teams are focused on the qualified opportunities. Marketing and sales teams must collaborate on the qualification process and lead nurturing is more important.  The cycle for B2B is elongated and complex and buyers decide when they engage with sales.

7 Attributes of B2B Marketing and Sales

When you design your B2B revenue strategy, consider these 7 attributes.

1. Use the right set of performance metrics.

Measurement focus in not just about lead generation and vanity web metrics, it is about a tangible focus on pipeline and revenue impact.

    • Impact on pipeline / Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) plus impact at each funnel stage
    • Impact on close rate
    • Impact on deal size / contract value
    • Impact on total revenue.

2. Segment your markets and tailor the messages.

Segmentation and clean data is critical in B2B marketing. Campaigns for new acquisition and cross selling are driven by predictive analytics.

    • Segmentation around demographics, firmographics, behaviors
    • Clean data
    • In-house and 3rd party data
    • Business Intelligence Tools for predictive marketing

3. Design and launch integrated campaigns

B2B campaign design is complex and follows a variety of buy-sell paths. Campaigns can be automated and driven by business rules. Marketing Automation is a critical enabler.

    • Multi-touch, multi-stage programs
    • Lead Nurture Strategies
    • Account based advertising
    • PPC vs. Organic
    • Smart (e.g. IP-based) Retargeting
    • Branding and experience
    • Derivative content

4. Maintain a solid digital experience across web and social.

The website continues to be a marketing and sales hub for B2B and social media amplifies your impact and visibility.

    • Social media sites also present a brand and product / service message
    • Website personalization plays a high value role for B2B to tailor content and messages for particular segments
    • Organic SEO around your best content helps build visibility – especially on the long tail
    • Landing pages remain a critical conversion point for lead generation.
    • B2B emphasis on LinkedIn, Twitter
    • Social selling  – enabling the account teams with relationship intelligence and social media engagement
    • Using discussion Groups on LinkedIn and Quora

5. Use the right revenue technology including Marketing Automation, CRM, Data Management and Business Intelligence.

The role of revenue technology, including Marketing Automation, CRM, Data Management and Business Intelligence is prominent in B2B. Closed the marketing and sales loop.

    • Marketing Automation for List management, life of the lead, lead scoring / grading, nurture programs, list management,
    • CRM for contact management, opportunity management, sales nurture
    • Data Management and Business Intelligence for predictive analytics and campaign design.

6. Take advantage of content marketing across the cycle.

The inbound marketing model relies on compelling, search visible and tailored content across the buyer process.

    • White Papers
    • Solution Briefs
    • White Labeled Assets (B2B2C)
    • Webinars
    • Infographics
    • Video
    • Apps and tools

7. Build your selling excellence.

Of course the effectiveness and capability of the sales team is paramount in complex B2B sales.

    • Balance the inside vs. outside mix
    • Align specialists and sales teams
    • Mix your farmers and hunters
    • Activate account and cross selling (3Cs – continue, crop rotation, colonization)
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Revenue Architecture for Closed Loop Marketing and Sales

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Align Sales and Marketing with a Revenue Systems Blueprint

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When implementing CRM and Marketing Automation, first align marketing and sales with a Revenue Systems Blueprint.

For 20 years, CRM (and now Marketing Automation) has promised to help organizations capture customer value. Businesses that attract, sell, service and retain the best customers see positive effects on growth and profitability. By delivering relevant experiences, customers engage more deeply, become more loyal, and act as advocates. As sales and win rates go up, cost of acquisition goes down, satisfaction increases. The longer the relationship, the more opportunities there are to cross sell additional products and services and build lifetime value.

But, as the diagram below illustrates, marketing technologies are expanding rapidly and cut across every dimension of the marketing, sales and PR ecosystem. It is not as simple as selecting a CRM or a Marketing Automation solution. Successful implementation requires alignment across different business areas, especially marketing and sales.

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SharpSpring Review

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If you’re looking for a marketing automation platform that offers many of the same functionality as the more expensive options, give this SharpSpring review a look!  Sharpspring works primarily with agency partners (like Revenue Architects) and is well suited for mid-sized businesses and high end professional sales teams. As an agency, we work with Sharpspring along with other platforms including Eloqua, Hubspot, Pardot and Marketo. We find SharpSpring is an excellent fit for businesses that value inbound marketing. email marketing  and integrated CRM. Depending on the solution architecture in your organization, including the existing infrastructure of CRM and Office, SharpSpring may be a fit.

This post highlights features found in marketing automation platforms as well as a few lesser-known features found in SharpSpring.  Let’s begin with the most common functions of a marketing automation platform:

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Marketing Automation Selection Criteria

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Marketing Team Working on Vendor Selection

Choosing a marketing automation vendor can be challenging. Whether you are jumping into marketing automation for the first time, or are re-evaluating your current system, it can be a difficult and daunting task – especially with how many options are out there these days. Marketing Automation Selection Criteria can help.

The vendor you choose will have an enormous impact on not only your Marketing Department and marketing efforts, but could easily touch other areas as well such as Sales, Customer Service and IT. It is important to consider these other groups when evaluating various vendors, as they may have requirements, obstacles and questions that should be taken into consideration.

To help make the evaluation process a little easier and more effective, here is a recommended process to follow: Read more

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7 Attributes of a Lead Scoring Model

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Every company will have different ways of measuring a qualified lead, yet there is a set of factors that you can use to map into a lead-scoring model. Many marketing automation solutions, such as Eloqua, Marketo, Hubspot, Pardot, ShaprSpring, and others, have built-in lead scoring algorithms and pass this information into a CRM system like Salesforce and SugarCRM.

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These scores can be set up to deliver marketing-qualified leads based on certain criteria and scores, helping sales teams accept the leads (Sales Accepted Leads) and focus their energies on the top prospects.

Marketing Automation and CRM are both important. We use Sharpspring technology for our small business retainer services to deliver inbound marketing programs and integrated marketing. Sharpspring includes an integrated CRM as well as API hooks into leading CRMs so it is great for small businesses. The life of the lead is a great way to see the flow of the lead through time and the lead scoring approach helps sales focus immediately on the top inbound leads.

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What’s Your Integrated Digital Strategy?

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An Integrated Digital Strategy clarifies how you differentiate your online presence and drive revenue with your website, mobile, social media, search, email marketing, apps and online advertising. Using analytics to capture customer insights will inform your digital strategies and tactics and keep you aligned around key performance indicators (KPIs).

As more customers ‘self-sell’ on the web, a digital strategy is increasingly important. It is about integrating digital into all facets of marketing and describing the role of different web channels, inbound marketing, content marketing, search and the role of and social media.  Integration can range from adding a URL at the bottom of a print ad to having a common creative message on your home page and in banner ads to the sophisticated delivery of sequenced messaging on multiple digital media vehicles.

Integrated Digital Strategy

Source: RevenuePerform.com

Disruptive Technology Driving Digital

Four specific technology developments are driving a tectonic shift in the digital ecosystem:

  • Mobile. Widespread penetration and evolution of feature-rich, smart mobile devices
  • Social. Ubiquitous social networking and user-generated content
  • Cloud. On-demand, real-time access to supercomputer power and unlimited storage
  • Internet of Things. Convergence between the real and the virtual worlds.

These technologies are changing the relationships between consumers and companies. Consumers have more power to gather and process information, connect, and voice opinions. And companies can leverage vast new sources of consumer information that lets them engage customers in a microtargeted way across multiple digital touch points.

What’s the State of your Integrated Digital Strategy?

To win in the digital economy, explore new approaches and learn by experimentation, while focusing on crucial capabilities and overcoming any gaps.  Ask these questions:

  • Do we have a dynamic digital strategy that generates value and considers new business models?
  • Do we have deep insight into how our customers are using new digital tools?
  • Do we have a partnership strategy with the key technology players to enable us to respond?
  • Does our marketing strategy take advantage of new technologies to enhance our traditional campaigns?
  • Are we fully utilizing online and mobile channels as part of our go-to-market strategy?
  • Do we have the right talent and organization to execute our digital strategy?

Addressing these questions and formulating an integrated digital strategy will ultimately make your businesses relevant in a digital era while growing opportunities and profits, as well as scaling efficiently in the process.

Identify opportunities to address now with DIGITAL EXPERIENCE INDEX.

Revenue Architects is here to help with our digital marketing assessment using the  DXI or DIGITAL EXPERIENCE INDEX.  It’s complimentary!  

The Digital Experience Index (DXI) is based on eight interdependent dimensions: Brand, Visibility, Design, Content, Usability, Functionality, Conversion and Amplification.

SIGN UP FOR YOUR  DXI DIAGNOSTIC TODAY!

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Considering HTML vs PDF SEO and the User Experience

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When optimizing your website for search engines, it’s essential to consider both on-page content and PDF content. While PDFs can offer certain advantages, such as offline accessibility and in-depth content, HTML pages often provide a better user experience and can be more SEO-friendly.

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