A clear marketing strategy is the way to define the overarching marketing focus of your business. It is the direction of travel which all activities lead you towards. It is the guiding principle which puts all other marketing actions in context. In this article we take a look at how to create a B2B marketing strategy.

As you build your business it easy to get stuck into your marketing. There is so much you can go after it is easy to get carried away.

You run some print ads, you write a few blogs for your website, you invest in ads on social media, maybe you even exhibit at a trade show.

You give it a go, and you spend a little money here and there.

However, without a clear direction these marketing activities can quickly feel unfocused. They generate some results here and there. But you find yourself spending an awful lot of time and resources without ever quite achieving the outcome you were hoping for.

This is where a marketing strategy comes in. It provides the logic to justify your marketing tactics and channels to market.

Marketing results don’t come from nowhere, and a B2B marketing strategy helps provide the focus to your marketing actions to reach your business goals.

But what exactly makes an effective marketing strategy and how do we go about creating one?
 

What makes a good marketing strategy?

The best marketing strategies look simple. They are easy to understand and to articulate.

This does not necessarily mean that they are easy to create though. The best marketing strategies are often a result of comprehensive market research and having a deep understanding of the target market.

While anyone can create a marketing strategy, sometimes it can help to have the advice of an experienced marketing consultant.

There is no one process to creating an effective marketing strategy. It will depend on your objectives and the individual needs of your business.

However, a good set of principles to include could be:

• Research your business environment
• Define your marketing aims
• Establish your product proposition
• Define your channels to market
• Pick appropriate marketing tactics
• Put in place KPIs to measure success

Explore your business environment

A first step in developing your marketing strategy can be to look at the business environment you are operating in. Be curious and ask questions.

What is the size of the market and the latest trends, who are you target clients and what are their needs, who are you competitors and what do they offer to their clients?

While the marketing strategy you produce might be straightforward – the research that informs it should be thorough.

This can often be one of the most challenging parts of the creating a marketing strategy. There is always the temptation to fit the research to meet the outcome you would like. But, going in with an open mind can sometimes reveal unexpected opportunities. The chance to do something your competitors do not, and to find an advantage.
 

Define your marketing goals

Creating your marketing strategy is the prime moment to establish your marketing goals.

These should link back to your overall business objectives and should be achievable. It is good to think of these in the short, medium and long term.

The type of marketing goals you end up picking will depend on your business and business objectives – but could be related to creating awareness, improving conversion or driving revenue.

Defining your marketing goals is an important step in helping you pick the appropriate marketing tactics and channels to market later in your strategy development.
 

Develop your proposition

Why should clients choose you? What benefits do your product or service offer compared to your competitor.

A common mistake here is to highlight your products features in your marketing. However, you should really be defining what are your product or service’s benefits.

Maybe you are an accountant offering bookkeeping – but the benefit you are offering is freeing up your clients time to focus on other parts of their business.

Think and define what problem will your product or service solve for your prospective client.
 

Choose your marketing Channels

When it comes to picking a route to market there is always the temptation to do it all. To go after everything and see what sticks.

However, it is often better to do a few channels well than spread yourself to thin. Think about what will move the needle and be an expert in the channels that deliver.

This is not to say to never experiment. A test and learn approach is a fantastic way to get ahead of the curve and discover new channels before your competitors. Focus on your primary channels but hold back a bit of a budget throughout the year to experiment with new channels. Accept that often the price of innovation is that not all experiments will work, but when your experiment does work, double down to get ahead of the crowd.
 

Pick your Marketing Tactics

Like with choosing your channels, when picking your marketing tactics there is again the temptation to do it all.

We are bombarded by competing options and opportunities. But there is no one blueprint to success. What works for one company will not work for everyone. Be open to experimentation, focus down on the tactics that deliver and pull back budget in those that don’t.
 

Measure Success

Set yourself a robust set of KPIs to cut through the noise.

The key to KPIs is that they are linked to actions and making changes. In the digital age it easy to track almost everything you could dream of in-real time – but ask yourself is it useful to have constant visibility on that data or is it adding to the noise.

A good question to ask yourself is will seeing a change in that KPI cause me to change my behaviour. If the answer is no, then maybe that piece of data is a distraction and not an asset.

The KPIs that you choose to measure will depend on your marketing goals and your industry.

• Are you trying to drive awareness? Measure your traffic, impressions and brand recognition
• Looking to improve conversion? Track your conversion rates and return on investment
• Focused on revenue? Track your sales and margins

Just like your overall strategy you can keep your KPIs simple at the strategy level. Dig into the minutiae when reviewing performance in-depth at the tactical level.

If you need support to create a B2B marketing strategy for your B2B business, why not get in touch or book a complimentary consultation and let’s discuss how we can help.

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