7 Steps to Build a Successful B2B Business to Business Strategy
B2B business to business is a term that describes the exchange of products, services or information between two or more businesses, rather than between businesses and consumers. B2B transactions are often more complex, involve longer sales cycles and require more trust and relationship building than B2C transactions.
If you want to grow your B2B business, you need to have a clear and effective strategy that aligns with your goals, targets your ideal customers and differentiates you from your competitors. In this article, we will share with you seven steps to build a successful B2B business to business strategy that will help you increase your sales, revenue and customer loyalty.
Step 1: Define your value proposition
Your value proposition is the core message that communicates how your product or service solves a specific problem or need for your target market. It should answer the question: why should they buy from you instead of someone else?
To define your value proposition, you need to understand your target audience, their pain points, their goals and their decision-making process. You also need to analyze your competitors, their strengths and weaknesses and their unique selling points. Then, you need to craft a concise and compelling statement that highlights the benefits and outcomes of choosing your solution over others.
Step 2: Segment your market
Market segmentation is the process of dividing your potential customers into smaller groups based on common characteristics, such as industry, size, location, budget, needs, preferences or behavior. By segmenting your market, you can tailor your marketing and sales efforts to each group and deliver more personalized and relevant messages and offers.
To segment your market, you need to collect and analyze data from various sources, such as your website analytics, customer feedback, industry reports, social media or surveys. You can use different criteria to segment your market, such as:
– Demographic: age, gender, income, education, etc.
– Geographic: country, region, city, etc.
– Psychographic: values, attitudes, interests, lifestyle, etc.
– Behavioral: purchase history, usage frequency, loyalty, etc.
Step 3: Identify your ideal customer profile
Your ideal customer profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the type of business that is most likely to buy from you and benefit from your solution. It is based on the characteristics of your best existing customers and the segments that you have identified in the previous step.
Your ICP should include information such as:
– Industry
– Size
– Location
– Revenue
– Goals
– Challenges
– Needs
– Budget
– Decision-makers
– Buying process
By creating your ICP, you can focus your marketing and sales resources on the most qualified leads and prospects and avoid wasting time and money on those who are not a good fit for your solution.
Step 4: Create buyer personas
Buyer personas are fictional representations of the key decision-makers and influencers involved in the buying process of your ideal customers. They are based on real data and insights from your existing customers and prospects.
Buyer personas should include information such as:
– Name
– Role
– Responsibilities
– Goals
– Pain points
– Motivations
– Objections
– Sources of information
– Preferred channels of communication
By creating buyer personas, you can understand the needs, preferences and behavior of each individual involved in the buying process and tailor your marketing and sales messages and strategies accordingly.
Step 5: Develop your marketing mix
Your marketing mix is the combination of tools and tactics that you use to reach and engage with your target market. It consists of four main elements: product, price, place and promotion.
Product: This refers to the features, benefits and quality of your product or service that meet the needs and expectations of your customers.
Price: This refers to the amount of money that you charge for your product or service that reflects its value and matches the budget of your customers.
Place: This refers to the channels and platforms that you use to distribute and deliver your product or service to your customers.
Promotion: This refers to the methods and strategies that you use to communicate and persuade your customers to buy from you.
To develop your marketing mix, you need to consider the following questions:
– What are the unique features and benefits of your product or service?
– How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
– How do you price your product or service?
– How do you distribute and deliver your product or service?
– How do you reach and attract your target market?
– How do you educate and inform your prospects about your solution?
– How do you nurture and convert your leads into customers?
– How do you retain and delight your existing customers?
Step 6: Implement your marketing plan
Your marketing plan is a document that outlines the objectives, strategies and tactics that you will use to execute your marketing mix. It should include:
– A summary of your situation analysis, including your value proposition, market segmentation, ideal customer profile and buyer personas
– A list of your marketing goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business goals and are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART)
– A description of your marketing strategies and tactics for each element of your marketing mix, including the budget, timeline and resources required
– A plan for monitoring and measuring the results and impact of your marketing activities
To implement your marketing plan, you need to assign roles and responsibilities to your team members, communicate your expectations and deadlines clearly and regularly, and use tools and systems to track and manage your tasks and progress.
Step 7: Evaluate and optimize your marketing performance
Evaluating and optimizing your marketing performance is an ongoing process that involves collecting and analyzing data from your marketing activities, comparing them with your goals and KPIs, identifying what works and what doesn’t, and making adjustments and improvements accordingly.
To evaluate and optimize your marketing performance, you need to use tools and methods such as:
– Web analytics: to measure the traffic, behavior and conversions on your website
– Email marketing: to measure the open, click-through and conversion rates of your email campaigns
– Social media: to measure the reach, engagement and sentiment of your social media posts
– Content marketing: to measure the views, shares and comments of your blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc.
– SEO: to measure the ranking, visibility and clicks of your web pages on search engines
– PPC: to measure the impressions, clicks and conversions of your paid ads on search engines or social media
– CRM: to measure the leads, opportunities and sales generated by your marketing efforts
By evaluating and optimizing your marketing performance, you can optimize your return on investment (ROI), increase your customer satisfaction and loyalty, and achieve your business goals.
B2B business to business is a challenging but rewarding field that requires a strategic approach to succeed. By following these seven steps, you can build a successful B2B business to business strategy that will help you grow your sales, revenue and customer loyalty.
How B2B Ecommerce Is Growing Globally
B2B ecommerce is the process of selling goods and services between businesses online. It is a huge and fast-growing market that offers many opportunities for businesses of all sizes and industries. In this blog post, we will look at some of the latest statistics and trends that show how B2B ecommerce is growing globally.
B2B Ecommerce Market Size and Growth Rate
According to Digital Commerce 360, B2B digital sales in all channels grew by 10.9% in 2019, reaching $9.00 trillion worldwide. This includes sales made through ecommerce sites, online marketplaces, e-procurement systems, and other digital platforms. The global B2B ecommerce market size is expected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 18.7%, reaching $20.91 trillion by 2027.
The Asia-Pacific region was the dominant market in 2020, capturing more than 60% of B2B revenue. China alone accounted for 44.8% of global B2B ecommerce sales, followed by the US with 19.5%. Other leading markets include Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the UK.
B2B Ecommerce Customer Expectations and Preferences
As more B2B buyers start their purchasing journey online, their expectations and preferences for customer experience are changing. According to Accenture, a third of B2B buyers say that their expectations of customer experience have increased. They want more convenience, personalization, and value from their online interactions with suppliers.
Some of the most important factors for B2B buyers evaluating solutions providers are features or functionalities, pricing, reviews, deployment time or ease of use, and the provider’s ability to solve a pain point. They also prefer to use multiple channels and modes of engagement throughout the buying process, such as in-person, remote, and self-service.
To meet these demands, B2B sellers need to invest in improving their digital capabilities and offering omnichannel experiences that are consistent, seamless, and relevant. Focusing on the customer experience, starting from front-end sales to ongoing support, can increase revenue by 5% to 10%.
B2B ecommerce is a huge and fast-growing market that offers many opportunities for businesses of all sizes and industries. However, it also requires adapting to the changing needs and expectations of B2B buyers who want more convenience, personalization, and value from their online interactions with suppliers. By investing in improving their digital capabilities and offering omnichannel experiences, B2B sellers can gain a competitive edge and grow their market share.
References:
https://www.infosys.com/about/knowledge-institute/insights/Documents/future-customer-engagement.pdf
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2015/econ/susb/2015-susb-annual.html
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/08/12/2077148/0/en/Global-Business-to-Business-E-commerce-Market-Size-study-with-COVID-19-Impact-by-Component-Platform-Solution-Enterprise-Size-End-User-and-Regional-Forecasts-2020-2027.html
https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-b2b-ecommerce-sales-will-reach-nearly-1-77-trillion-in-2023
https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-131/Accenture-New-Rules-of-B2B-Marketing.pdf
https://www.demandgenreport.com/resources/research/2020-b2b-buyer-behavior-study/
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-new-b2b-growth-equation
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/do-you-really-understand-how-your-business-customers-buy
https://www.hubspot.com/b2b-marketing
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/01/28/how-to-create-a-b2b-marketing-strategy-that-works/
