3 strategies to survive as an SME
December 4, 2018Mhairi Black Urges People to Support Renfrewshire Christmas Toy Bank
December 4, 2018In many ways, marketing B2B business is trickier than solving a Rubik’s cube one-handed.
Persuading a pernickety public to part with their cash is a considerable challenge, but convincing hard-nosed businesspeople that you solve their problems can be even tougher.
Large B2B firms have the bottomless budgets to throw big bucks at this problem, but thanks to digital marketing, small firms can compete too.
Here are four ways to boost your B2B business online.
Social media platforms can be useful for getting your marketing messages out to the masses — but a scattergun approach isn’t effective because you won’t find your target customers on every platform.
For B2B business, LinkedIn is the preferred choice, because no other platform makes it so easy to segment and target an audience according to criteria like business sector and job grade.
If you want to harness the power of this networking site for your business, read this guide to publishing LinkedIn thought leadership content from business bible Forbes.
When your website, social media channels and any content output you publish online is optimised for SEO, you’ll be very visible on powerful search engines like Google at the exact moments customers need you most.
The content on your website should contain the high-value search words and phrases which customers actually type into their browsers — and as well as references to your products and services, they can be linked to your physical location, or in other words, localised.
Combine this with a well-designed website which has good internal and external links and your SEO is in good shape. Maybe think about employing the services of a good ‘link building agency‘ or SEO company to help you.
For example, if you search online for a private investigator in Renfrewshire just take a look at the companies that pop up in the organic results — it’s likely that their SEO is on-point.
When you’re trying to manufacture and market a niche product, you’ve got to be clever about how to convince customers that it’s perfect for their project.
So once your top-notch SEO brings them to your website, product descriptions full of tech specs might not be enough, but case studies which demonstrate them in action in a range of diverse applications are very effective.
For instance, you might have an inkling that buying catenary wire will help support heavy trees in your landscaping project, but a case study of a similar setting complete with photos would seal the deal.
Word-of-mouth is still one of the most effective ways of getting new customers through your door or making your telephone ring.
And positive reviews on Google, social media, comparison websites and your own site work wonders — so be sure to make the most of them.
If you’re starting from scratch online and don’t have a website yet, grab a free Google My Business listing for a start — it’s an easy and effective way to share your contact details, a photo and positive reviews on the search engine’s wide network.
Follow these four tips and you’ll be punching above your weight online in no time at all.
How do you approach digital business? Share your tips in the comments section.
