7 marketing pitfalls in the B2B industry to avoid
In order to reach your prospects successfully, you must get your marketing correct, and at times this can be a struggle with many mistakes being made along the way. There’s a risk of losing prospects when you don’t market towards them correctly. We’ve highlighted the 7 common mistakes that B2B marketers are making.
Only focusing their content on facts
It can be very easy for B2B marketers to focus solely on facts and figures, which is compelling and engaging, but nowadays, prospects want that little extra. It’s very well-known that B2B consumers are most engaged by the facts, but it’s equally important to build an emotional connection with them. You must get your marketing through to your consumer’s hearts and minds to truly have an impact on them and for them to differentiate you from the competitors.
The great thing about marketing is that once you have opposed an impact upon them, they are more likely to go through with the purchase and choose your brand over others.
Focusing on features and benefits
Highlighting features and benefits is a massive part of marketing, as you really want your consumers to know why your products and services are so great, but don’t just do this. As much as it’s an important aspect, it’s just as important to highlight why your product or service will resolve their challenges. Your consumers will be more motivated to invest in your product and services when they really understand the value it will bring them and know that you, as a business, understand them.
You must place your products in a meaningful situation. The best position to start in, before highlighting the features and benefits, is to inspire and showcase what your products can do for them.
Not prioritising branding
A common myth is that only B2C businesses should focus on and prioritise branding, but this is far from the truth. It’s just as essential that B2B companies focus on building their brand and differentiate themselves from the competition. Creating a loveable, trustworthy and positive brand image is successful for potential customers choosing your services over another.
To build your brand, ensure that you highlight why your products and services will resolve their challenges and meet their needs so that when they encounter a problem, they automatically think of you.
Lack of commitment when aligning their marketing effort with sales
A common pitfall is that many B2B marketers will focus on lead generation without concentrating their thoughts on the sales pipeline. The primary role of a B2B marketer is to educate your audience and make them aware of the problems buyers face and how your company can resolve these. When marketing is done correctly, it shortens the sales cycle, and for that to happen, you must align your marketing plan to your organisation’s revenue goals.
Focusing too much on measuring data
Although data is excellent for measuring success, it’s important that B2B marketers don’t become obsessed with data and data only. Many points of data aren’t precise enough; data can highlight direct traffic or search as the primary source behind a lead, but the reality is those users will have discovered your services through communities, podcasts or specific social media channels.
For example, branding is tough to measure, but many companies will get their leads due to their brand and/or reputation and word of mouth, which you cannot measure.
Using exclusive language
The main thing about marketing is to communicate clearly and effectively to connect with your target audience. Still, it’s very common that exclusive language is used within the B2B industry, assuming that the audience can understand it. Expressions, abbreviations, and acronyms are all forms of communication that B2B marketers use and are only understood by a small group of people, shutting out a large percentage of their audience.
You must market from your customer’s perspective; what we mean by that is you put them at the heart of everything you do, so ensure that you communicate in a language that they will understand. Just because you know something doesn’t mean they will, and you don’t want to risk it.
Treating every prospect the same
Every prospect you come across will have different communication styles, and if you speak to them the same way you talk to everyone, they may detect this and not feel personally connected, or they will just assume that you simply do not care. Your target audience has a wide variety of customers; some may be more profitable than others, some may only purchase once, or some are just visitors.
The problem with this is that salespeople will speak to their prospects the same way when really they should adjust how they communicate based on their customer type. A more successful and efficient way of speaking to your prospects is to develop and adjust your content to be aimed at your customers with the greatest potential.
The key to avoiding marketing pitfalls in the B2B industry
If you want to avoid these marketing mistakes within the B2B industry, then ensure that you take the time to really research your target audience and the different types of consumers within that group. Another important factor is that you highlight the features and benefits of your product but also ensure that you clarify how it resolves their challenges, as this is what will really capture their attention.
FAQ
How can I improve my marketing?
There are many ways to improve marketing, but the number one factor that you should prioritise is ensuring that your consumers are at the heart of everything you do and every decision you make. Whether that’s how you communicate, the design of your website or the content you post, ensure that it consistently meets your customers’ needs.
What are the challenges for B2B marketers?
With B2B purchases usually requiring a larger investment, it marks marketing more challenging, Marketers can face many challenges, such as:
- Poor engagement with prospects
- Poor website optimisation
- Integrating technology
- Aligning sales and marketing
- Content creation
What factors influence B2B marketing?
Many internal and external factors can come into play and affect as well as influence your B2B marketing. It’s critical to success to understand the factors that influence your B2B marketing; this way, you can learn how to face them and avoid them.
- Competition
- Technological advancements
- Changes to your target audience
- Customer service
- Pricing
- Promotion
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