We will never stop talking about it: the B2B world is evolving, much to the delight of marketers! Uberisation, digitalisation, data, new audience usage and behaviour: more than ever, brands are looking for new growth levers to stay competitive and boost their revenue. Marketing and communications teams are therefore asking themselves: what are the best practices for setting up an effective B2B customer acquisition programme?
The key to B2B engagement: mapping customer journeys, targeting the most impactful channels and deploying relevant content on the right touchpoints.
The emergence of new customer journeys
A smaller customer base than in B2C, complex targeting and purchasing processes, longer decision cycles: this is what B2B marketing looks like today. Yes, the professional buying journey has well and truly evolved. It was already "multichannel"; the rise of digital and new behaviours have now made it "omnichannel"!
Semantically speaking, "multi" means "several", while "omni" means "all". It is not uncommon to hear statements such as: "A tradesperson ordering online with collection and returns in branch is clearly an omnichannel journey, not a multichannel one". In reality, the fundamental difference between the two has nothing to do with the number or nature of the channels involved. Omnichannel should rather be seen as marking a shift in approach, with the customer taking centre stage.
Today, depending on the type of trade, between 70%* (tradespeople, for example) and 95%* (specifiers, for example) of prospects use digital channels during their buying journey. With touchpoints multiplying, there is no doubt that the transformation driven by digital is unavoidable — and it opens up new possibilities for the B2B marketer!
Through a clever blend of data, content and customer-experience-centred campaigns, marketing can already activate new levers to boost brands' revenue. What if this shift in buying behaviour truly marked the golden age of B2B marketing?
Engaging your audiences requires a content strategy
Among the levers to activate as a priority in your customer acquisition strategy, content work (commonly known as content marketing) sits on the podium of best practices.
Is B2B self-centred? Sometimes, yes! Indeed, the content developed by brands is too often focused on sales or technical matters… This "pragmatic", even "opportunistic" view of the brand-customer relationship fails to take changing behaviours into account. In a hyper-competitive market, professionals today are looking for differentiated, targeted, tailor-made information.
To achieve this, manufacturers and distributors must deploy a long-term strategy of content and resources. To reach your audiences, targeted, exclusive, practical, solution-driven content must be published regularly across multiple touchpoints and adapted to each distribution channel. Driven by a project team, the content is then rolled out through 360° operational campaigns: print and digital materials, newsletters, blogging, social media, PR, videos, media, events…
« Whether as part of global strategies or through clearly identified communication materials, we encourage brands to take a step back and look at the content they develop. The traditional product catalogue, for example, is an excellent way for a brand to demonstrate its added value to its audiences: showcasing the company's services and expertise, testimonials, site case studies, product tests, selection guides, trend features… » stresses Geoffrey Saugeon, Account Director at Convergence.
To get the ball rolling...
You will have no choice: you are going to have to sit down around the table! Aligning the Marketing and Sales departments is fundamental to smoother collaboration. The two teams must jointly define their respective roles and determine what a lead really is and which profiles the sales force expects. By working together, Marketing and Sales can then set shared, coherent objectives — not forgetting the performance indicators!
Furthermore, knowing your audiences is an essential lever for deploying high-ROI campaigns. Backed by data and supported by a communications consultancy specialising in your markets, map your customer journeys and target the most impactful channels — armed, of course, with the appropriate content.
