4 B2B Marketing Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Make no mistake – smart, skillful, purposeful, and creative marketing can elevate your business to an unimagined level of performance. But how do you get to that level as a B2B company?

It always seems that business-to-consumer companies place a bigger emphasis on marketing, while business-to-business companies put a larger focus on sales efforts. However, the role of marketing in a B2B setting cannot be overstated.

In a world where everybody is doing whatever they can to get their name out in the open, your company cannot afford to not do the same. This applies to B2B companies as well. With the advent of online content marketing, it’s never been easier, more effective, or more crucial for B2B companies to market their services wisely.

Here are some of the most common marketing mistakes made by B2B companies, as well as some ways to remedy these inexcusable errors.

Mistake #1: Your Marketing Material is Motionless

In a B2B setting, product imagery and description just won’t cut it. Company videos that clearly and creatively describe products or services catch the attention of prospects and let them know your company is one of modern times. It’s a great opportunity to show your product in action, introduce viewers to your employees, and connect with them in a way that banner ads and search engine sponsorship just can’t. This is why in 2015 71% of companies planned to increase their video marketing budget.

If you haven’t already, take it upon yourself to develop at least one video for your company. It could be an introduction to a new product, a customer testimonial to vouch for your quality of service, or even a simple “who we are” video on your company’s history. Then, upload it and share it with the world wide web. When you start seeing results, you’ll see why you’ll want to start dedicating marketing resources toward video marketing.

Mistake #2: You Think Blogging is Just For B2C Companies

“Only consumers read company blogs, right?” Wrong.

Blogging adds several benefits to B2B companies. Primarily, posting frequent high-quality blogs can boost your page authority in search results. With more posts comes more diverse topics to write about, and you’ll be more likely to rank highly on search engines. This helps organic search performance and SEO, which is one of the greatest assets to have that your company cannot buy.

Companies are made up of people, and they search for their needs at work virtually the same way they would outside of work. Looking at blogs as an exclusive B2C issue is one of the most detrimental B2B marketing mistakes still practiced today.

Mistake #3: Your Social Media Pages Aren’t Utilized (Or Worse, They Don’t Exist)

“We’re a business-to-business company. We don’t need social media.”

Or so you thought.

Most B2B companies that don’t employ social media in their marketing strategy are under the assumption that their clientele isn’t on social media, and therefore it would be a waste of resources. Now, this statement isn’t totally devoid of merit. If you’re selling highly-advanced technology or software, posting artsy Instas may not be the best idea for your marketing strategy. However, this doesn’t mean that tweets to loyal followers and LinkedIn updates for those in your industry to see are a waste of time. Quite the contrary – it’s a way to reach and connect with other companies and those who work with them. In fact, 88% of of brands planned to incorporate social media in their marketing strategy as recently as 2014.

Look up the trends of your customer base’s social media patterns. There’s bound to be something out there to tell you if you should be using Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn. The best part about social media is that it’s free to use, although it is also a great place to boost posts and advertise them if you feel it can add to your company’s performance.

Mistake #4: Sales and Marketing Aren’t Working Together

Marketing and sales cohesion adds irrefutable synergies that your company can only benefit from. Because of that, there’s nothing more frustrating than that seemingly constant disconnect between sales and marketing. Both have different opinions on what exactly is a qualified lead, and both place more emphasis on their respective contributions to the business. Especially in a B2B company, this can be a hindrance.

Marketing and sales naturally work together when they are on the same page and operating from a mutually beneficial mindset. One way to enhance your B2B marketing performance is to incorporate marketing content into your sales process. For example, sales enablement portals use videos and offers from the marketing department and compile them into a one-stop location for your prospects. It’s an amazing way to enhance your B2B marketing performance and B2B sales efficiency at the same time.

B2B marketing doesn’t have to be hard, but it always seems to be. However, by incorporating striking visuals, insightful blogs and online content, a strong social media presence, and the joint efforts of both the sales and marketing departments, your B2B company will operate with ease and see a stronger marketing performance.