Building a B2B Marketing Ecosystem in 2022: 3 essential steps to build your strategy
Post by Joe Wilde
Working closely with clients and students in the B2B space over the past number of years, I have seen a noticeable awareness of the ‘need’ to be active in the digital space, and an increased focus on marketing and the value marketing and digital can add. It’s almost as if the digital revolution that happened in B2C marketing a decade ago had landed in the laps of B2B organisations.
What is missing in many cases is the underlying marketing and digital strategy. Instead, I see content being developed for the sake of it, an ad-hoc approach to social media, a tentative approach to B2B eCommerce or maybe a lack of confidence in marketing efforts.
As a starting point with clients, I always bring things back to basics. Those basics are:
Customer Value
Consumer Behaviour
Situational Analysis
Once you have the basics in place, it’s a question of building on this and taking a step by step approach to building your marketing ecosystem.
Customer Value
In many instances, a back to basics approach is what’s called for. Considering:
How do we create value for customers? - via our products and services
How do we deliver value for customers? - via our services and add-ons
How do we communicate this value? - via strategically chosen marketing channels
Even experienced marketers should continually ask themselves these questions. Marketing is no longer the ‘crayon’ department of your organisation.
Marketing ≠ Advertising
It should be viewed as an essential component of driving tangible business outcomes.
Consumer Behaviour
B2B consumer/client behaviour has shifted considerably in the past few years. Digital research of you and your organisation is the starting point. Ask yourself the question: What do they find if a potential customer researches you online? Are you showcasing your products and services in a manner that will encourage them to find out more? What are they finding on;
Your website
Your social media channels
Customer reviews and testimonials
Another critical aspect to consider is my key customer. Ask yourself:
Do I understand them and their behaviour?
Do I know their path to purchase?
Do I know what channels they are on?
You must have a deep understanding of your customers and their potential behaviours to create content relevant to them and provide solutions to their problems.
Situational Analysis
Conclusion
The three areas above are designed as thought starters if you need to be in B2B and raise your marketing game. The questions should focus on what matters from a marketing perspective.
Joe Wilde is the founder and CEO of Mac Digital, a B2B Digital and Marketing consultancy based in Ireland. As well as serving client needs, Joe lectures on Marketing and Digital programmes in Trinity College Dublin, UCD Professional Academy, and delivers ongoing corporate training with the Digital Marketing Institute. Feel free to contact joe@macdigital.ie to arrange a no-obligation chat!
