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Increasing digitization is posing ever greater challenges for industry and commerce. It covers all areas of modern companies and influences the entire value chain, from purchasing to sales and advertising. However, those close to digitization can miss the connection faster than they would like.

Avoid Common B2B Digital Marketing Mistakes

The following article shows how to promote digital marketing in the B2B segment successfully.

B2B digital marketing offers companies a variety of business opportunities

In contrast to traditional advertising in print media and TV, the advertising spends on B2B digital marketing is lower. At the same time, the effects of online advertising can be better measured. This applies to both reach and brand advertising campaigns and marketing activities focused on leads and sales.

For an ad in a magazine with a reach of 100,000 readers, advertisers must spend thousands of dollars. With the target-group-specific selection of appropriate online portals, 100,000 calls can be made significantly less budget. More money has to be invested in measuring the success of print or TV campaigns since valid numbers can only be determined by direct surveys.

In addition to the advantages of B2B digital marketing, marketing managers must also consider a few things. The following six digital marketing tips will show you avoiding common mistakes and making B2B Digital Marketing successful.

Consider the online channel as a side event only.

Many companies allocate their budgets largely to traditional print and TV advertising domains. As a result, they overlook the potential of their own website. The online marketing measures promote not only the own homepage but serve the branding and by the achievement of (in the best case) many prospective customers, the company-own paragraph. According to a marketing study from 2016, the own website with 89% is the most important element for the company presentation – even before the trade fairs.

This results in two consequences for all non-online decision-makers:

1. 1. A dedicated website is essential for successful B2B digital marketing, as it is an anchor point for all other online marketing activities.
   2. The digital sector should always be included when it comes to the external representation of one’s own company and new customer acquisition.

Possible Solution

For example, a simple solution is to redistribute the advertising budget. More than half should be invested in online measures. The priority is your own website. She is the figurehead of the company. You can attract new customers and build efficient online marketing through your site.

Online marketing without monitoring and KPI

Anyone who has invested in print or TV advertising will not want to miss a precise evaluation. The expenses for the advertisement are calculated based on extrapolated thousand contact prices (TKP). Whether the advertisement ultimately arrives, one can only guess. The effect of print advertising is even harder to determine, often can be decided here only with estimates of success or failure. As a rule, many opt for success to cover up their own planning mistakes.

If this attitude is taken over in B2B digital marketing, decision-makers give away important potential. The big advantage of digital advertising is the possibility of accurate scaling and evaluation. Every euro invested can be exactly understood.

Evaluating the collected data on user behavior on their own website and advertising clicks can optimize their own website and the use of advertising media continuously. This has two other advantages: Your digital advertising will be more targeted and successful, but at the same time cheaper.

Possible solutions

Invest in selecting the right analysis solutions at the beginning of your B2B digital marketing. The following tools are available:

• • Google Analytics: Google’s free tool gives you important insight into the use of your website and the efficiency of advertising through SEA.
  • Piwik: If you do not want to compromise on data protection, you can use this tool for evaluation and save the user data on your own servers. However, there are performance limitations compared to Google Analytics.
  • Tracker: The fee-based SaaS software provides similar data like Google Analytics, but more accurate information about page views can be generated by loading so-called counting pixels.

The use of tools in the beginning. Do not forget to evaluate your data continuously. You should create weekly reports that can be used to make further decisions about advertising or website optimization.

SEO without targeting the user’s needs

Search engine optimization (SEO) is unfortunately too often underestimated by decision-makers. Their assessments often bypass reality. Hardly any area of ​​online marketing is developing as fast and continuously as search engine optimization. If the measures at the beginning of the 2000s were enough to equip the websites with keywords, search engine optimization today has become much more of a search experience optimization. SEO is now an integral part of all online marketing activities. In this way, companies can rise in the ranking of the search engines (SERPs) and thereby reach more visitors and potential customers.

SEO is not just a means to an end. The focus should always be on the user because satisfied users ensure that they are in a good position in the ranking. After all, in the best case, they independently link and distribute the company’s own content.

Possible solutions

Those who want to pursue SEO today successfully should pay particular attention to the following aspects:

• • User experience: The user should easily open a website with any device. In particular, the “Mobile First” strategy applies here. This trend continues unabated as more and more search queries come from mobile devices.
  • OnPage optimization in focus: A successful website interacts with functioning technology and high-quality content. The good news: decision-makers directly influence success through OnPage optimization. You can influence all the elements yourself.
  • Keyword Focus with a Holistic Approach: The time of focusing solely on keywords is over. The goal should always be to treat each topic as detailed and as short as possible.

Neglect content marketing and misuse it as a link exchange program

Content marketing is one of the most important aspects of B2B digital marketing. The idea behind it is that companies can expect greater reach and brand awareness by disseminating quality content. Content with significant added value should be created for the customer to bind him to the company. As a result, the online presence is more frequently visited, sales figures and other conversions are also increasing. In addition, there is the opportunity to establish itself as an expert in niche topics or large subject areas via the web.

However, many responsible for the keyword “content marketing” fall into old ways of thinking. For them, the term consists of quickly assembled texts published on any website to get a backlink.

Possible solutions

Content marketing is a time-consuming marketing measure. Companies should be aware of this fact. The content must first be produced and then distributed. But every company has a distinct advantage in producing value-added content: It is a specialist in its field. You need people who can put these ideas on paper or turn them into blog articles, guest posts, or Facebook postings. To act sustainably, they should name responsible persons and develop a suitable strategy initially.

• • Identify your target audience carefully and decide what content to use to address them.
  • Get started with a corporate blog that publishes articles twice a week, as much as possible, with content that will add value to your customers and other users.
  • Publish regular press releases on the news from your company.

A nice side effect of efficient content marketing is the growing visibility in Google search results. Content marketing is an important part of inbound marketing. This ensures that your customers can actively find you.

Consideration of social media

German companies in marketing little consider social media platforms. However, social networks have experienced enormous growth rates in recent years.

The survey refers to companies from the B2C sector. B2B decision-makers are often even more critical of the benefits of social media channels. What do likes or shares have to do with the company’s success? But social media is more than just another channel to maintain.

Possible solutions

If you take a closer look at social media in the B2B area, you will discover the potential of these channels, for example:

• • Recruiting: Career portals such as XING or LinkedIn provide excellent opportunities to search for and contact new talent.
  • Brand Management: Social media lets you present yourself as an opinion leader and innovator by addressing corporate news or industry-related topics on their channels. Platforms are XING, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
  • Sales: Other decision-makers can be reached directly via social media profiles. By expanding your contact network, you have the opportunity to make important sales contacts.
  • Targeting: Advertising on social media platforms can be targeted to reach your customers directly.

Underestimate mailings

Newsletter marketing is often underestimated. Often these are mere advertising emails without further added value. Nevertheless, this is an important content channel: You have received permission from the recipient to contact him via an opt-in. There is, therefore, an interest in why the recipients are to be regarded as potential customers whose needs should be met as precisely as possible.

Possible solutions

So that your mailings do not fall into mailboxes and spam folders, you should note the following:

• • Segment your email recipients and design mailings tailored to the recipient and their status (new, regular, prospective customer).
  • Create a topic overview. Your mailings should not consist exclusively of offers. Instead, provide your readers with useful articles about their fields of activity. You offer a free service with the newsletter; this service contributes to your visibility and, ultimately, to better sales.

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Conclusion

There is no question that the B2B sector can no longer manage without B2B digital marketing. Therefore, marketing managers and decision-makers should be aware of the potential of digitization. As a result, they can avoid mistakes and secure decisive advantages over their competitors. Even though B2B digital marketing often saves costs compared to traditional forms of advertising, online marketing does not mean less work. Tracking tools allow successes to be better understood and errors analyzed. This allows you to improve your digital activities continuously. The reward is long-term business success in the B2B sector.

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