In a world filled with information and advertisements, it can be difficult to gain and maintain effective leads within a B2B situation. Marketing for technology companies can be tricky as the number of competitors out there is vast.
It is therefore safe to say that finding new ways to lure in customers is imperative when implementing marketing strategies. Gone are the days of cold-calling and advertisements in Newspapers. Our world has changed significantly since then and these marketing strategies could at times have an adverse effect on your company.
If you are stuck and are unsure of which campaign to launch next, read on as we will be going through the top ten most effective B2B marketing strategies for technology companies.
10 Effective B2B Marketing Strategies for Technology Companies
1. First earn trust, and then gain leads
In the past, marketing used to consist of bombarding potential customers with facts and figures as to why a specific service or product was needed. There was no focus on building trust first.
This may still happen, unfortunately, and could be driving your customers away. A key strategy to use is to gain the trust of your potential customers first. Use your people skills to connect with them and keep your focus on delivering quality.
Potential customers are extremely intuitive and they will pick it up straight away if your aim is not genuine. Of course, the main goal is to gain qualified leads, however, the relationship with your new potential customer needs to be reciprocated before any sales come into fruition.
Once trust is established, it would be wise to foster the three Rs in your marketing campaign: Reputation, Reviews, and Recognition.
Your main priority here should be value over the number of leads you gain. Ensure that the service you deliver is of the best standard and in turn, you will receive a good reputation, good reviews, and brand awareness.
2. Content Marketing
Content marketing is a strategy that can be used in a versatile way. Your company could do this via an eBook, podcasts, YouTube videos, or blog posts.
With content marketing, you are aiming to solve a problem that your potential customers may be facing. You demonstrate that you understand the problem and that you empathize with them for having to deal with this problem. Again, as mentioned earlier, this helps build trust and reliability.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most reliable ways to market your service or product. This type of marketing has been around for years and is still relevant today. In fact, 85% of marketers state that email marketing is their most used form of marketing that gains leads.
With email marketing, you are promised a direct line of communication with your target audience and it is almost certain that your email will be read.
One thing to remember with email marketing is to ensure that your emails do not look ‘spammy’. This will turn potential customers away from your brand in the present and in the future.
4. Branded Games
In recent years, more and more companies have been utilizing gamification to market services and products.
Branded games are effective attention grabbers, ensuring engagement from the audience, resulting in more clicks on your website. Consumers enjoy interactive marketing campaigns, and this is one way that your company could implement this.
5. Social Media
There is no doubt that Social Media is a very influential tool that can be used to get your brand name out there. Social media has taken the world by storm over the past few years and, if utilized properly, can be a real game-changer in your marketing campaigns.
An organic social media marketing strategy is a good way of sharing your brand name. You could do this in a variety of different formats, such as Reels, blog posts, and surveys.
The great thing about social media is that your post could be shared all around the world. This strategy requires consistency as most social media platforms use algorithms. One also needs to be patient when testing out this strategy as it may not work overnight.
Another strategy that can be used on social media is paying various social media platforms to advertise your service or product. The most popular platform for this is LinkedIn with marketers stating that 80% of all B2B leads come from here.
A perk of using social media platforms to advertise is that they provide data for companies that track consumer behaviors online.
6. Case Studies
Having case studies as part of your marketing strategy is an excellent way to prove your skills and the credibility of your product or service.
Potential customers will always read case studies and base their decision on them. This is where the saying ‘The proof is in the pudding’ resonates. It is all fair and well creating a beautiful marketing campaign, however, if your company cannot deliver high-quality services or products to consumers, your brand will not be trusted.
7. Webinars
Hosting a webinar is another effective marketing strategy for technology companies. A study shows that 73% of B2B marketers say that using webinars is one of the best ways to gain high-quality leads.
By hosting webinars, your company is able to demonstrate its strengths and answer any questions that potential leads may have regarding your service or product. Potential leads will automatically connect with your brand and be more open to considering it.
8. Pay-per-click (PPC) Marketing
When using this strategy, your company relies on having your advertisement appear on Google, ranked high.
Being ranked high on Google means that your ad appears at the top of the search results by implementing keywords that you know consumers may type into the search box.
If consumers type in keywords that you have embedded in your ad, they will see your ad and there is a higher chance that they will visit your website.
9. Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is the use of technology to streamline marketing efforts using automation platforms to manage the logistics of marketing campaigns.
As a result of this, marketing strategies are more effective as data is used to track the behavior of site visitors and your company can then use this information to create effective marketing campaigns.
10. Focus less on volume and more on revenue
Another strategy that you could use is to refocus your attention on the type of leads you are trying to gain.
Instead of a vast amount of leads, try and gain leads that will produce more revenue for your company. Change your MQL targets from the entire population to those that would take your brand seriously, your buyer persona.
