5 Untapped Marketing Strategies Only a Select Few Use in B2B When you're selling to another business, there are more decision-makers involved in the sale — and more room for questions and rejections. Here's how you can stand out from the competition with strategies only some in the industry are utilizing.
By Asim Mughal Edited by Kara McIntyre
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Let's first state the obvious — selling B2B is far more complex than selling B2C.
In B2C, you're mostly selling to an individual, which means there's only one decision-maker involved. But in B2B, you're selling to a business, which means there could be multiple decision-makers involved — and these decision-makers are experienced business professionals who can spot a sales pitch from a mile away.
So, how do you stand out in this crowded and challenging market?
Well, as B2B marketers, our best bet is to think out of the box and use unique marketing strategies. Let's discuss some of the best marketing strategies that are only being used by a select few in the B2B industry.
Related: 3 Tips for Effective B2B Marketing Outreach
Warm outreach
Warm outreach is a great way to make sales and gain a loyal brand audience. Rather than cold calling your prospects out of the blue, warm outreach involves building a relationship with them before pitching your product or service.
As 84% of B2B buyers are likely to choose a vendor who clearly understands their business objectives, your goal is to craft pitches that address your customers and dig into their unique needs and pain points.
This means taking the time to research and interact with them and understanding their specific challenges and desires. Doing this will improve your chances of making a sale and encourage a sense of loyalty and trust in your brand.
As a B2B business, it's crucial to prioritize solving your client's problems and offering valuable solutions for them. This not only helps to build long-term relationships, but it also sets you apart from competitors who may not be as focused on the needs of their customers.
To conduct an effective warm outreach, it's important to research your target audience, personalize your pitch, and follow up if necessary. Just remember to treat prospects with respect and empathy and to avoid being too pushy or aggressive.
By embracing this mindset and following a structured approach, you can lay the groundwork for strong and long-lasting business relationships.
Micro-niching
As a B2B marketer, trying to appeal to as many potential customers as possible may seem appealing, but it's a trap. This scattergun approach can often lead to a lack of focus and subpar results. That's where micro-niching comes in.
Micro-niching is a form of marketing that involves targeting a highly specific group of customers or clients with unique needs or preferences and offering products or services to meet those needs. With micro-niching, you can target a specific market segment and laser-focus your efforts to meet this group's unique needs and challenges.
Let's take a furniture wholesaler as an example. Instead of trying to offer a broad range of furniture, a smart way to approach the business would be to specialize in office furniture manufacturing and market yourself that way. By leveraging this niche, the furniture wholesaler can establish a reputation as a trusted and reliable source of top-quality office furniture, making them the go-to choice for shoppers looking for the best in the industry.
The takeaway? Become the go-to authority for one micro niche rather than trying to compete in a large, over-saturated market.
Related: 5 Steps You Can Use to Find Your Niche
Short-form video
When it comes to reaching out to clients at the awareness stage, there's nothing quite like short-form video content. It's attention-grabbing, entertaining, and can quickly solve a problem or introduce a product to an audience.
This type of content is a powerful tool for B2B businesses as it allows them to explain their brand's unique selling proposition (USP) to their target audience in a minute or two.
TikTok is a great example of short-form style videos, with 136.5 million people using the app each month. This growing user base of millennial/Gen Z entrepreneurs and business owners represents a huge untapped opportunity for B2B brands. In fact, only a select few B2B brands are currently capitalizing on the #TiktokMadeMeBuyIt trend.
Event-based marketing
Did you know Americans tend to spend an average of $830 on Christmas presents, over $240 for Mother's Day, $84.12 for the 4th of July and $79 for the Super Bowl? So, if you do not already incorporate events in your B2B marketing strategy, now is the time to start.
Event-based marketing involves taking advantage of events, occasions, and holidays to market your brand to your target market and increase sales. The key to successful event-based marketing is pinpointing those specific occasions when your audience is most receptive to your message.
By focusing on these key moments, you can create marketing campaigns and promotions that truly resonate with your target audience and drive meaningful results. This targeted approach to marketing can be highly effective because it aligns campaigns with the customer's actions and lifecycle stages, making them relevant and engaging.
For example, a wholesale business selling sporting merchandise will most likely launch a campaign in January with discounts on Super Bowl-related merchandise. This is when retailers typically start stocking up on Super Bowl jerseys and other gear, making it an ideal time to reach out to your target audience with a relevant and timely offer.
Similarly, if you offer a service related to mothers, you could offer Mother's Day discounts and deals. You can maximize your marketing opportunities by identifying events related to your business and planning marketing campaigns around them in advance.
Related: Dramatically Increase Your Customer Base With Event Marketing
B2B marketplaces
The B2B ecommerce market is massive. And while online marketplaces have become common in B2C, they are a relatively underutilized marketing strategy in the B2B space. This is a missed opportunity for B2B businesses, who stand to gain a lot from selling on these platforms.
Why? For one, it allows them to reach a pre-built audience of potential buyers within their niche. This means they can start selling and raising brand awareness without starting from scratch or building their own website.
B2B marketplaces are explicitly designed for the needs of B2B businesses, with features and tools to make it easier for sellers to do business and provide a seamless purchasing experience for customers. So, even if a business already has its own website, there's no harm in adding an extra layer of exposure by selling on a marketplace.
After all, there's no such thing as too much marketing.
