Marketing Best Practices for B2B Manufacturing

OMEP | March 24, 2021 | Jennifer Larsen Morrow

What has changed?How business is doneWhat people think and do now

Digital transformation is our new reality… In 2020, goods bought online globally grew by 24% while store-based sales declined by 7%.

Manufacturers adjusting marketing strategies … [have shifted] their trade show dollars into online content creation and digital ...

According to research … 70% … have changed their targeting/messaging strategy … and 57% have put more resources toward social media/online communities.

https://blog.thomasnet.com/content-marketing-ideas-for-manufacturers

The challenges of 2020 … into 2021

Generally B2B sales are a longer sales process for higher priced items, with more people involved in the final purchase decision• Your website must address multiple decision makers• Additional information may be needed at each stage of the

buyer journey

Generally B2C or D2C sales are a shorter sales process (even an impulse buy) with a smaller price tag, and only one to a few people involved• Your website should emphasize the human/emotional side• Photos and facts to build on “what’s in it for me?”

Foundation – context for marketing

• 70% of buyers fully define their needs before engaging with a sales representative, and 44% identify specific solutions before reaching out to a seller. (CSO Insights)

• Over 45% of B2B technology buyers are 25- to 34-year-olds, … the single largest demographic, followed by 30% in the 35- to 44-year-old age group. (TrustRadius)

• Nine out of 10 B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions. (CMO Council)

• 67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally. (Sirius Decisions)

B2B recent statistics

The old way The new wayCold callingTrade showsSales callsSell sheetsBrochuresPublic RelationsTrade publication adsRFPs / RFQs

Outbound - push

WebsiteBlog postsPPC advertisingSEO (search engine optimization)Case studiesWhite papersSocial mediaSocial media advertising

Inbound - pull

Because it’s always easier to sell to someone who is already looking

Inbound marketing flow

5 critical areas for your marketing1. Website: What do you want visitors to do?

2. Audiences: Who are they? What do they want from you? What’s the role in the decision process?

3. Social: Choose the best tools to reach your audiences, extend your online presence

4. Visibility: Online and in the real world

5. Clarity: Consistent, clear and direct messages focused on your audiences

Your marketing must be online …

That’s where your people are … Google search, websites, ecommerce sites, social media, email, referral sites, other networks

Your website is the heart of your marketing.

All other marketing … ads, social media, mailings, signing … should drive people to your website.

… because YOU control your website, your message,all of the content, the user experience, contact form andthe calls to action.

WEBSITE1Design for your audiences,

compel action, offer content to deliver value and clarity

Your website is NOT an online brochure

It’s your 24/7 sales machine• Put yourself in the shoes of your best customers, what are

they looking for?

• Different roles in the buyer journey have different expectations, address each one

• Grab visitors with clear info and calls to action

• Make layout simple, copy easy to read, lead visitors through

• Plan for specific actions/results at each stage of the sales process

1. Your audiences2. What you offer3. Your message

Advertising Signing

Direct mail Social Media

Packaging Etc.

Your website

Outreach

The foundation

Go mobileMore than 50% of searches are from mobile

70% of B2B buyers increased mobile use in the past 3 years

57% of users won’t recommend a business with a bad mobile website

Remember … the attention span of a goldfish

• 38% of searchers will leave if the design is not appealing

• 44% of visitors leave websites without obvious contact info

• More than 50% of website traffic comes in via search

Can web visitors see in 3 seconds …

• Who you are and what you offer

• Where you’re located (if important)

• Your industry audiences (recognize themselves)

• Validation/testimonials

• What makes you different/better

• Where to go next, how to take action

• The home page must get them to an inside page

Examples: B2B websites<<Visible contact info

Mobile friendly >>Name/logo?

<< Clear message

<< Key Facts

Buried audience ID >>Important info in tiny font

Audiences up front

www.jandfmachine.com

What do you do? Are you proficient?

• Clear, specific message

• Credibility

• Identify the audiences and location

The “grunt” test In 5 seconds on your website’s home page

• What do you offer?

• How will it make my life better?

• What do I need to do to buy?

StoryBrand, Donald Miller

5minutemarketingmakeover.com

Buyer journey: AIDA

A – Where can you grab Attention?I – How will you build Interest?D – What can you do to create Desire?A – When will you drive Action?

The B2B marketing funnel

https://www.mageplaza.com/blog/b2b-marketing-funnel.html

Different content for different levels of the funnel … lead the buyer through with the right info

Why content?B2B … Helpful + expertise.“ … provide truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues.” Content Marketing Institute

• Blog posts, white papers

• Videos, photos, visuals

• Case studies, testimonials

• Infographics, charts

• Comparison lists, ebooks

• How to choose and order

WIIFM all your marketing• Audiences first, not you

• “You” vs. “we” in content

• Simple, direct, easy to read

• Pictures tell the story

• Answer FAQs

• Different roles want different levels of information

What’s in it for me?

Build your content and brand with a consistent look – fonts, colors, images, tone

Create valuable content that’s easy to use and share

AUDIENCES2Who are they?

What do they want from you?

Who are your target audiences?

Profile your best audiences: their role, what they’re looking for, how they decide.

Understand your audiences first

• Your audiences are people, not companies

• What are the roles in the decision process?

• Demographic profiles, interests, mindset

• What’s the problem you solve for them?

• How do they evaluate, decide, take action?

• For their role, what do they need to know?

• Who is NOT a good fit?

• Specificity and focus

<< Theme

<<Audiences

<<Key facts

<< Proof

B2B: Economic Development

Your buyers are people first“Almost without exception, every brand disrupting a stagnant B2B or professional service market is doing so by applying traditional consumer principles to audiences that have long been treated as perfectly rational and void of emotion.”

https://boss-digital.co.uk/blog/marketing-post-covid-world-7-ways-make-b2b-marketing-human/

Make B2B marketing more human

Example: B2B with a human touch

Simple and bold, doesn’t show the products, speaks to the outcome in human terms, credibility with logos, statement to clearly explain what they do and for whom.

SOCIAL3Choose the best tools and platforms

to reach your audiences

The BIG SIXEach has its own audience and type of users. Who do you need to reach?

Social is an add on, not instead of.

It’s an amplifier, a way tobuild online visibility and your network.A LinkedIn profile or Facebook page will show up in a search … expand your digital footprint

• Twitter – news focused, 20 second tweet life

• LinkedIn – professional, B2B, sales development

• Facebook – the gorilla, huge reach, generally older audiences

• Instagram – owned by FB, share between, younger, pictures!

• Pinterest – visual, long-life of a pin, primarily women

Be sure to:• Claim your Google Business listing and use it (free!)

• Check and cultivate reviews

Social media choices

Social media for B2B – often overlooked

• 27% say social media is an “indispensable” channel in their marketing

• 91% of B2B marketers use Facebook, 79% use LinkedIn, and 70% use Twitter in their campaigns

• Buyers are paying attention – 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions

• 84% of CEOs and VPs use social media to make purchasing decisions

• LinkedIn accounts for more than half of all B2B socialtraffic – and 80% of leads

The power of GoogleIt’s free!• Google Analytics, free to

install on your website

• Map with listing

• Google Shop

• Google AdWords**

• Google Business

Claim your listing!

**AdWords requires budget

Social media best practices

• It’s social – 20% selling, 80% social

• Repurpose content into social—posts link to blog or videos, share reviews, create memes, statistics

• FB – boost posts with good response

• FB and LinkedIn – targeted, low-cost advertising

• IG – owned by FB, share across both, younger

• Don’t be boring! (Watch it shred) https://www.ssiworld.com/en/watch_it_shred

• Video draws audiences in - demo products, interview customers or staff, watch it work, what else?

Faces draw attention …

Website, social media, use humans to tell your story

VISIBILITY 4Do you show up in a search?

Are you seen and recognized in the real world?

Visibility means

Real world: signing, vehicle graphics, window graphics, banners, building, store

Online: can your website be found? (SEO - search engine optimization, links, social media, articles, more)

Branding: Consistency between ads, website, social media visuals, messages, packaging (colors, fonts, messages)Reviews: Google Business, Facebook, Clutch, LinkedIn, industry sites such as Houzz or

Researchers at Northwestern University found that displaying five or more reviews for products/services increases purchase likelihood by 270%

Those are the answers I need!• Decision factors up front

• Pictures support message

• Testimonials, statistics

• Specific, not general

• Easy to read, scan

• Move visitors to next pages

Quick read, at a glance

Do you stand out from the rest?

Grab attention in the real world, send them to your website.

SEO There could be a disconnect between what you call your product/service and what your customers call it.• Use the words people will type into Google• Develop keywords/phrases for the problem and

solution, not just the product• The outcome or results, not the thing• Talk to your customers, what did they search for

when they found you?

Make it easy to find you online …• Keywords and phrases, 1 per page, work into content

• Great photos with captions, file tags

• Testimonials on your website and in social

• Complicated product? Demo with video

• Lots of features? Checklist, compare with others

• Appeal to each buyer persona (specifier, purchasing, CFO, CEO, general manager, user)

• Offer valuable downloads in exchange for email/contact info

• Build your contacts and email list, then stay in touch

Blog post tips – FAQs, fresh content

• One topic, one post, one keyword/phrase

• Each post answers a question

• 500 to 1000 words

• Keywords –URL, head, subhead, content

• Link to related info (web or blog)

Image via Moz / convince and convert

CLARITY5Clear and direct messages

focused on your best audiences

From their viewpoint …• Messages for each level in the funnel (think A I D A)

• Carry your messages on to your website

• Lead visitors through the process, how it works, how to buy

• Help people understand why to choose your company over others with similar products/services

• Be brief, simple, to the point

• Offer content to address their “trigger” … their reason for searching

• Results, outcomes … not the “blue box”

Your one-linerA sentence or two to answer “what do you do?” – 3 components

• Problem

• Solution/product

• Result (WIIFM) … what’s in it for me?

StoryBrand, Donald Miller

Remember, no matter who your audience is, always answer “What’s in it for me?”Measure results, keep testing, continuous improvement as you grow and reach more people.

APPENDIXResources you can use to learn more

Email tips

• Subject line 80%

• Brief content, links

• 150 to 300 words

• MailChimp, Constant Contact (templates)

• Frequency okay

• Flesch Reading Score

• Pictures, too

Email has a median ROI of 122% –

4x higher than other marketing formats

including social media, direct mail, and

paid search. (DMA and Demand Metric)

Don’t forget to proof

Spell check doesn’t catch

• Buy vs. but

• There vs. their

• Went vs. want

• Pubic vs. public

Ensure correct usage

• There, their, they’re

• Your, you’re

• Ensure vs. insure

• More than vs. over

And use the Flesch Reading Score

• Shorter paragraphs

• Fewer sentences in each paragraph

• Fewer words in a sentence

• Simpler words (buy vs. purchase, ride vs. transportation)

Better writing: Flesch–Kincaid Scale

1. Go to File > Options.2. Select Proofing.3. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make

sure the Check grammar with spelling check box is selected.4. Select Show readability statistics

SEO resources for you

SEO tools

• Ubersuggest.com

• Google search: Google’s top 5 SEO tools

• Google Keyword Planner

• moz.com/free-seo-tools

Free SEO guides

• thehoth.com/resources/

• Search for: Google SEO Starter guide

• Search for: HubSpot Ultimate guide to SEO 2021

Analyze your website

Hubspot’s free website tool: websitegrader.com

• Performance: Page size, Page requests, Page speed

• Mobile: Responsive and Viewport

• SEO: Page titles, Meta descriptions, Headings, Sitemap

• Security: https: … SSL certificate

Hubspot also offers many resources, from blog posts to ebooks to free training, on inbound marketing and content marketing.https://www.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing

5 ways to redefine your B2B Marketing1. Invest in video marketing

• Get 83% more qualified leads annually

2. Create industry-focused content for your buyers• Specific content that makes the buyer’s job easier

3. Keep your B2B website updated• Improve regularly, Google wants fresh content

4. Take your brand seriously• Set yourself apart, build trust, be consistent

5. Move beyond basic marketing analytics

https://blog.thomasnet.com/5-ways-to-redefine-your-b2b-manufacturing-marketing-strategy-in-2020

THANK YOU!Any questions?