The first of five blogs tying into Bython’s series of marketing whitepapers.
What is B2B marketing strategy? It’s the road map companies follow – or should follow — as they forge ahead searching for opportunities, generating demand, building customer relationships, increasing sales, and building their brand.
A strategy is key to everything you do as a marketer. It’s the big picture that steers every step and each decision as you race toward your short- and long-term goals. You may adjust directions occasionally as you review campaign results and new opportunities or markets arise, but, for the most part, you should stay the course.
The importance of planning ahead
How important is having a strategy? Not having one would be like sailing the ocean blue without a compass. Sure, you may end up discovering a whole new county by accident (thanks, Christopher!), but how often does that happen these days?
A comprehensive strategy begins with your products. How do they help prospective customers? Why should anyone buy them? What is the optimal price point where your prospects consider your offer “worth the money,” but you still earn a substantial profit? Those (ideally) unique benefits and solutions become the focal point of your entire marketing message.
Next, dig deep, research, and get to know your prospective customers. Who are they? Where do they live? How old are they? Which individuals or groups will benefit the most from your products based on demographics, buying habits, and other key metrics? All of that data goes into your strategy, as well.
Where it all comes together
You also need to integrate your company’s strategy. It must ensure that all B2B marketing campaigns, initiatives, channels, and every single aspect of your marketing endeavors work in tandem to carry the same benefit-laden message to your target audiences.
Having a plan in place offers several major advantages to your company. By establishing guidelines and benchmarks, it helps measure performance and ROI. It also gives your marketing and creative teams a rallying point to follow, which helps improve their performance.
Not developing a strategy is one of the primary reasons marketing fails. And if it fails, so does your sales team — and your company. So create one and follow it. Every day.
Find out more about marketing strategy
To learn more, go to our whitepaper pages and download our paper “If Marketing is The Way, Then Strategy is How You Get There.”
To find out how Bython can help you develop the strategy you need to connect with your target audiences and sales goals, contact us today.
