In the ever-expanding landscape of B2B marketing, the playing field is always changing. Gone are the days of direct outbound marketing, where sales-focused outreach was the core focus and purpose to reach out to prospective buyers. The objective was to be persuasive and compelling to a fault where the consumer reacted and engaged based on the service being provided. However, the behavior of consumers has changed remarkably over the years, it is more likely that a buyer will run a google search to find and evaluate a service provider basis the consumer value being offered rather than the core service itself. So how would you as a B2B database marketer add value to your customers while ensuring an edge over your competitors?
In order to stay relevant, you need to broaden your approach and utilize a variety of strategies in the current hyper competitive environment. While the following techniques may seem too basic at the moment, a thumb rule is to stay focused on these integral foundations of database marketing, in order to stay relevant and competitive in your niche as a B2B marketer.
Automation & Analytics: Marketing Automation uses technology to replace repetitive processes which are people dependent, with automated solutions. It enables you to consolidate your online marketing channels into one centralized tool to manage all your campaigns. Combine this with a targeted and analytical based e-mail campaign utilizing B2B database, and your lead conversion rate will increase exponentially.
Search Engine Optimization: A vital component of marketing, SEO has the ability to ensure you elucidate your concepts to the customer via the right usage of keywords. This is particularly helpful as your audience relies heavily on online search results. The trick is to address the key consumer pain-points that is compelling enough to persuade and stand out in the crowd.
Personalized Advertising: Sounds like the most basic approach for a database marketer, doesn’t it! Yes, this age-old technique continues to remain relevant, however the methods and strategies have evolved. Choosing the right platform and medium is simply the first step, ensuring your strategy incorporates a personalized approach to target the right audience will increase your chances of success. A quick workaround for this is to always have an up-to-date and accurate marketing database based on the core personas that you intend to target.
Social Media Listening: Ignore this at your peril! The impact that social media can have is evident from the fact that over 80% of buyers check out service providers on social media today and over 28% of referrals made are based on interactions on social media. In a nutshell, social media can maximize your reach and help you monitor your brand via social listening.
Reporting: All efforts made towards achieving your goals can become meaningless quite quickly if you do not possess the right reporting techniques for your campaigns. The ability to modify campaigns based on ongoing trends and results can be a powerful tool for course correction. Using this in conjunction with a robust ‘Database Marketing’ approach with relevant and accurate data will ensure that you reach out to the right customers at the right time with the right messaging.
While the above strategies are not the only techniques that a database marketer should rely on today, discovering the right approach that is relevant for your audience and business will help you improve your campaign performance to an unprecedented level.
