Are you looking for the most effective growth marketing tactics for generating leads and increasing business? This post will guide you through the finest marketing strategies for every company scenario, whether B2B or B2C! There are two pathways listed below, one for B2B companies and one for B2C businesses. Read on to discover more about the appropriate tactics for your company’s circumstances and investigate the most acceptable methods to use for your marketing strategy.
Data from multiple sources support the top ten list. It has been revised with the most recent information from industry heavyweights such as Drift, Forrester, HubSpot Research, Invesp, Sasquatch, Statista, and MarketingProfs.com.
Top 10 (B2B) Business-to-Consumer Marketing Strategies
So, are you interested in knowing what business experts think about various marketing techniques? We looked at current survey findings and publications that collected data on the subject and produced a list of 10 B2B marketing tactics widely acknowledged as effective across industries. Under no particular sequence, this is what we discovered:
1- CONTENT MARKETING
Content marketing stresses educating overselling to impact purchasing behavior. This strategic marketing strategy focuses on developing and disseminating information relevant to prospects’ requirements to attract individuals who are most aligned with — and likely to buy — your product or service. Because communication is continuous, you may customize material to reflect what you learn about leads over time. It can take many forms, including infographics, websites, podcasts, videos, blogs, white papers, webinars, and eBooks. It is essential to recognize that content marketing is not the same as inbound marketing. Although content marketing is an integral part of an overall inbound growth strategy, it does not combine other marketing techniques to optimize content value.
Content marketing is successful because it does the following:
Prospects are drawn via the sales funnel.
Increases brand awareness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness.
Target markets are aligned with relevant information.
Quick Check: 9 out of 10 B2B customers believe internet information influences their purchasing choices in a moderate to significant way.
2- INBOUND MARKETING
Inbound marketing is far and away from the most successful B2B marketing approach. It capitalizes on the strengths of the majority of the other nine methods to attract, engage, and delight consumers. Unlike conventional marketing techniques and even the different strategies mentioned above, inbound marketers attract consumers’ attention and draw them to a business website by creating and delivering valuable content. Inbound welcomes people rather than irritating them with interruptive conventional advertising since the message is relevant and arrives in the right place at the right time.
Inbound marketing is flourishing as it does the following:
Effective for just about any size or kind of company.
Prospects become more informed as a result.
It is simple to connect and manage to utilize a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and a content management system (CMS), such as HubSpot.
Quick Check: Fast Fact: Eighty percent of business decision-makers prefer receiving brand knowledge through articles or blog series over advertisements.
3- SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Social media advertising aims at providing people with helpful information that they want to share on their social networks, resulting in greater exposure and website traffic. Social media is the sharing of information, videos, and pictures. It also impacts SEO efforts since they often improve relevance in search results inside social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube, Instagram, and search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
Social media marketing is successful because it does the following:
Lowers marketing costs while boosting lead generation
Provides analytics that provides businesses with extra market information.
“Encourages” brands and promotes conversions.
Quick Check: 83 percent of all B2b companies utilize at least one of the “Big Four” social media platforms to disseminate information (Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, and YouTube).
4- SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
SEO is the practice of spreading awareness of — and visitors to — a specific website by ensuring that it shows among the top unpaid (or “natural”) search results on search engines such as Google, Bing!, and Yahoo. While SEO is often misunderstood as a stand-alone marketing technique, it results from several strategies working together and is essential to a successful inbound marketing plan.
While social media, email, banner advertising, and other marketing methods drive traffic to websites, SEO exposure is essential since search engines are the primary way people browse the Internet. SEO instantly expands your audience in a relevant, focused manner – people self-identify as interested in your product or service.
Search engine optimization is successful because it:
evolves to keep up with the usage of mobile and local search engines
Searches for consumers who are interested in your goods or service are made more accessible.
It is a low-cost method to maintain your brand competitive with similar-sized businesses.
Quick Check: 14 percent of B2B leads come from SEO, followed by email marketing (13 percent) and social networking sites (12 percent ).
5- SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING/PPC
SEM, or search engine marketing, is a strategy companies use to boost website traffic via paid online advertising. One of the most popular SEM methods is pay-per-click (PPC) links. In essence, business purchases or “sponsors” are links that appear in search engine results when terms relevant to their product or service are searched. When the ad is clicked, the business pays a modest charge to the search engine (or other third-party host sites) for the visitor – a literal “pay per click.”
Because of the following factors, search engine marketing is effective:
Reach and breadth of internet tools
Efficacy in creating excellent visibility at a low cost
Adaptability to a variety of markets and audiences
Quick Check: PPC users are 50% more likely than organic visitors to the site to complete a purchase.
6- ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING AND RETARGETING
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a B2B approach that utilizes highly customized campaigns to target a specific group of accounts. It offers various benefits to marketing and sales teams, including a quicker sales process, lower costs, and more productive use of promotional tools. Despite all of this, it’s essential to keep in mind that ABM is not the same as focused outbound marketing. It’s a lot more strategic now, with tools like internet retargeting helping to tailor marketing campaigns.
Customers who visited your website but departed (or “bounced”) before purchasing any product or conversion are identified using browser cookie-based technology. The cookie enables tailored ads to show in future online searches and interactions for those users, even if they are unrelated to your site. Retargeting is a powerful conversion strategy because it keeps your brand before people who have previously shown interest in your product or service.
Because of the following reasons, retargeting is effective:
Recapture “window shoppers'” attention and purchasing power
It generates a lot of click-throughs.
It allows visitor segmentation and personalized communications.
Quick Check: Retargeted advertisements have an average click-through rate of 0.7 percent (compared to 0.07 percent for display ads).
7- EARNED MEDIA AND PR
Earned media (sometimes known as “free media”) is publicity generated without paid advertising. Earned media may take many forms — a social media testimonial, word of mouth, a television or radio mention, a newspaper piece, or an editorial. But one thing is constant: it is unpaid and can only be obtained organically. It cannot be purchased or possessed in the same way that conventional advertising can.
Earned media and public relations are successful because they:
Are there any “free” advertising outlets in general?
They are uninvited and, as a result, have a high level of perceived credibility.
Raising awareness of helpful, informative, and reliable material.
Quick Check: Earned publicity is responsible for 25-40% of all traffic and lead creation.
8- REFERRAL PROGRAMS
A referral program is a broad word that refers to a company’s systematic strategy to encouraging individuals to tell others about its goods or services. Specialized affiliate programs, customer referral programs, and partner programs within a marketing plan framework are intended to provide immediate credibility to current consumers to expand a client base. The terms “referral programs” and “referral marketing” are often interchanged.
Referral programs work because they do the following:
Make the most of pleased customers’ referrals.
Recognize and strengthen consumers’ brand loyalty in a genuine way.
They are always well-liked by consumers.
Quick Check: New referral clients have a 16 percent greater lifetime value than non-referral customers.
9- INDUSTRY EVENTS
In-person and online expos continue to be a popular B2B digital platform (primarily when inbound tactics are used to support event efforts). They bring companies from the same industry together in one location, whether physical or virtual, to demonstrate their latest products and services. Trade fairs, which are seldom accessible to the general public, allow businesses to build or develop connections with important industry partners, customers, and prospects, discover market trends and possibilities, and learn about what their competitors offer.
Networking has encountered certain restrictions as a result of the pandemic-driven “new normal.” Technology, on the other hand, is a significant advantage, since in-person events have been successfully transformed to virtual events that provide comparable benefits, such as:
Interpersonal and purposeful connections
High turnout, resulting in a lead-generating atmosphere that is rich in targets
Businesses of all sizes will have access to the same audience and information.
Quick Check: Trade exhibitions produce most B2B leads, with case studies acting as catalysts for lead conversion.
10- CONVERSATIONAL MARKETING
Conversational marketing is exactly what it sounds like: a chat. Real-time engagement with customers and prospects through a chatbot or live chat puts the appropriate information in front of them at the right moment. At the same time, follow-up inquiries are answered straight away. The user experience is significantly improved by personalized, relevant interaction, increasing the probability of satisfied consumers’ recommendations. Conversational marketing techniques reduce the number of times consumers spend in the sales funnel for companies. Because connections are formed more quickly, conversions occur more quickly.
Conversational marketing works effectively because of the following:
Removes impersonal lead collection levels to provide a genuine, one-on-one client experience.
Encourages straightforward communication – consumers can express their requirements clearly, and companies can better comprehend and help since the request is contextualized.
Bots may also suggest more material to complement buyer education, which strengthens connections.
Quick Check: Messaging is the most popular way for consumers to communicate with companies, with 90% requesting a chat option.
The bulk of the techniques we mentioned have little marketing power when used singly. On the other hand, inbound marketing brings together the big hitters — SEO, SEM, content marketing, social media, and earned media, to create a well-rounded, cost-effective marketing strategy that produces quality leads, develops customer connections, and grows brands.
If you’d want to discover how to integrate the most successful marketing strategies into your inbound marketing campaign, download our free guide below and get started right now!
Top 10 (B2C) Business-to-Consumer Marketing Strategies
What are the perspectives of business experts on various marketing techniques for reaching consumers? We prepared a list of 10 B2C marketing strategy examples that are widely regarded as effective, regardless of industry, based on current survey findings and studies that collected data on the subject. In no particular sequence, here’s what we discovered:
1 – SOCIAL NETWORKS AND VIRAL MARKETING
Social media marketing aims to provide consumers with helpful information to share throughout their social networks, resulting in greater exposure and traffic. Shared knowledge, videos, and pictures on social media may help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by increasing relevance in search results on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Quick Check: 61% of businesses use social media to boost conversions, and 50% use it to learn more about their customers or markets.
2- PAID MEDIA ADVERTISING
Paid media is a technique used by businesses to increase website traffic via paid advertising. Pay-per-click (PPC) links are one of the most common techniques. In essence, a business purchases or “sponsors” a link that shows as an advertisement in search engine results when terms relevant to their product or service are searched (this process is commonly known as search engine marketing or SEM). When the ad is clicked, the business pays a modest charge to the search engine (or other third-party host sites) for the visitor – a literal “pay per click.”
Quick Check: 65 percent will click on a sponsored advertisement when a consumer approaches a buying decision.
3- INTERNET MARKETING
Internet marketing, often known as online marketing, uses the web and email to promote and drive e-commerce sales. Businesses may also use social media platforms to boost brand visibility and advertise goods and services. These efforts are usually utilized with conventional advertising media such as radio, television, and print.
There’s certainly much to say about internet reviews and opinions. Word-of-mouth advertising is unpaid, organic, and very practical since individuals who have positive things to say about your product or service have nothing to gain from it other than spreading the word. A referral from a friend, coworker, or family member has built-in credibility. It may generate hundreds of leads who are looking forward to having a good encounter with your business.
Quick Check: Global e-commerce is expected to reach $3,056.3 billion by 2023, with the increase mainly attributable to contactless purchasing habits arising from the global epidemic (COVID-19).
4- EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing is a powerful tool for nurturing and converting leads. However, whether or not your communication is caught in spam filters is not a game of luck. Email marketing, on the other hand, is an automated procedure that targets particular prospects and consumers to influence their buying choices. Email marketing success is evaluated by open and click-through rates, so planning is essential, primarily when utilized as a part of a broader online marketing effort.
Quick Check: The average anticipated return on investment for email marketing is $42 for every $1 invested.
5- DIRECT SELLING
Direct selling does exactly what the term implies: it markets and sells goods directly to customers. In this approach, sales representatives develop face-to-face connections with customers by showing and selling goods outside of retail venues, often in the customer’s house (e.g., Amway, Avon, Herbalife, and Mary Kay).
Quick Check: Direct marketing selling is now worth $63 billion.
6- POINT-OF-PURCHASE MARKETING (POP)
Point-of-Purchase (or POP) marketing sells to a captive audience – consumers who are already in-store and ready to buy. Product displays, on-package discounts, shelf talkers touting product advantages, and other eye-catching “sizzle” often influence purchasing choices at the shelf by presenting an offer that is just too good — and too apparent — to pass up.
Quick Check: Annual impulsive purchases in the United States reach $17.78 billion, whereas Canadians spend about half that amount — $8.8 billion — each year.
7- COBRANDING, AFFINITY, AND CAUSE MARKETING
Co-branding is a marketing strategy in which two companies collaborate to advertise and sell a single product or service. The brands contribute their collective reputation to enhance the impression of the product or service’s worth, so customers are more inclined to buy and ready to pay more at retail. Second, co-branding may discourage private label producers from duplicating the product or service. Similarly, affinity marketing is a collaboration between a business (supply) and an organization that brings together people who have similar interests — for example, a coffee shop that sells products from a local bakery.
There is no shortage of co-branding alliances, but many recent instances show powerful natural brand alignment, including the daring GoPro and Red Bull, the luxury BMW and Louis Vuitton, and the fashion-forward Alexander Wang and H&M.
Similarly, cause marketing leverages and improves brand reputation. Cause marketing is a collaborative effort between a for-profit company and a non-profit organization to promote and benefit social and other humanitarian causes jointly. Cause marketing should not be confused with corporate giving, which is linked to particular tax-deductible contributions made by an organization. Cause marketing connections are “feel good” and convince your consumers that you share their goal to make the world a better place.
Quick Check: Customers see co-branding as a valued endorsement from a company they already trust, resulting in a potentially beneficial halo effect.
8- CONVERSATIONAL MARKETING
Conversational marketing is exactly what it sounds like: a conversation. Real-time engagement through a chatbot or live chat puts the appropriate information in front of prospects and customers at the right moment, allowing them to self-serve and get queries addressed straight away. The user experience is greatly improved by personalized, relevant interaction. Conversational marketing is particularly successful for B2C companies since it expands customer service and usually reduces the time purchasers remain in the sales funnel. Conversions occur more quickly because connections are formed faster.
Conversational marketing is successful because it does the following:
Removes impersonal lead gathering layers and provides a genuine, personalized customer experience
Encourages straightforward communication – consumers can express their requirements clearly, and companies can more easily comprehend and help since the request is contextually relevant.
Bots may also suggest more information or items appropriate to consumers based on their previous activity, strengthening connections.
Quick Check: Messaging is the preferred way of consumer contact with companies, with 90% of customers preferring a chat option.
9- EARNED MEDIA/PR
Earned media (sometimes known as “free media”) is publicity generated via means other than paid advertising. Earned media may take many forms — a social media testimonial, word-of-mouth, a television or radio mention, a newspaper piece, or an editorial — but one thing is constant: it is unsolicited and can only be obtained organically. It cannot be purchased or possessed in the same way that conventional advertising can.
Quick Check: 92 percent of consumers believe in earned media.
10- STORYTELLING
Brand storytelling is a well-known communication style to elicit emotional responses from customers. Instead of just spewing statistics and numbers, storytelling enables you to construct a memorable narrative about who your business is, what it does, how it solves issues, what it values, and how it engages and contributes to its community and the broader public.
Quick Check: According to a recent study, 91% of respondents have an excellent intimate attachment with at least one product.
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