B2B Marketing Horrors - Avoid these Scary B2B Marketing Mistakes!
B2B companies and wholesalers need to take heed to avoid the horror of these common scary marketing mistakes!
Ok so mistakes happen. We are only human, right? However when it comes to B2B marketing some mistakes can be so horrifying they are best to be buried alive! Avoiding these scary mistakes will go a long way to treating not tricking your customers any time of year.
In many cases, a little planning and a disciplined approach eliminate the majority of the following mistakes.
Trying to Be All Things to All People
This is a common mistake that’s easily avoided. In their marketing efforts B2B or wholesale companies try to be everything to everyone. Let’s be real. While your company likely has a great product and service, you can’t service everyone.
In fact, you likely have a sweet spot in terms of the most profitable services or the ideal client. The best way to avoid this mistake is to know your target market. An essential component of successful B2B marketing is knowing what you can’t or shouldn’t do.
Start by building a buyer persona that is specific and detailed. Who is your ideal customer, what is their title, what are their needs, what is their experience, what challenges do they face on a daily basis, and what questions do they have for your firm? Once you build this buyer persona, you can create clear messaging that speaks directly to that target market.
Don’t worry about leaving out other potential buyers. Chances are they aren’t the right fit for your company. Focus on those who are.
Staying in Your Comfort Zone
We all have our go to strategies and campaigns that have gone really well in the past. And what worked five years ago may still work, but it may not be as effective a method at reaching your target audience as it once was. While it’s easier to stay in our comfort zones and not risk new strategies, perhaps we are missing out on bigger rewards!
Taking into account new technologies, channels, and approaches will ensure a more succesful marketing strategy. We aren’t saying to jump on the bandwagon for every new shiny approach. Rather, simply being open to learning new technologies or exploring upcoming channels enable marketers to keep their brand relevant and reach clients where they want to be reached.
Exhausting Your Audience List!
This is likely the most scary mistake of them all. A company may have lots to say and lots to promote, but this should be spaced out. By sending too many emails in a short amount of time you will do little but annoy those on your mailing list, whether it’s an email list, social media audience, or blog followers. Remember that these folks have shown a certain level of interest in your company and have taken the steps necessary to ensure they see your future messaging, but don’t burn them out.
Don’t abuse or overwork your audience by continually sharing content they don’t care about. While your latest special or promotion may be great, if they aren’t in a position to start the sales process, it’s a waste of their time. Before hitting send, share, or post, look at your B2B marketing content as part of a broader picture. Was your last email similar? Did your last blog post talk about your products and services too? Have you shared an educational blog post lately or just propaganda for your company?
Don’t just push out material that is promoting your products and services, think about what value this has to those potentially reading it.
Focusing Only on Generating New Leads
Generating leads can often be the sole focus of the marketing strategy in a business. This is a mistake. Ok, the sales team are screaming out for leads and this is vital to the organisation, but it can’t be the only focus of the marketing efforts.
In order to maintain a positive brand experience, you need a fuller approach that includes brand awareness and brand recognition as well. Why? Because not all prospects are ready to convert.
In the B2B world, the sales cycle can take a long time, anywhere from one month to one year or more. For this very reason, it’s important to have a marketing approach that has multiple objectives, including lead generation, lead nurturing, brand awareness, and reputation management. And don’t forget about the low-hanging fruit, client retention. For many firms, it only takes a little bit of extra effort and a minimal cost to maintain existing client relationships with an account management strategy.
Only focusing on lead generation can have very scary results. Imagine focusing 100% of efforts on generating leads. What happens to those leads once they are in the door? Marketing also needs to take an active role in nurturing leads. Producing 20 leads is useless if they aren’t properly nurtured or handled once they come in. Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint.
Scary B2B Marketing Mistakes Will Ultimately Cost
The scariest thing about these four marketing mistakes is what they will ultimately cost you. They end up costing money, time and resources. Mishandling a lead can lead to a poor reputation. Overworking your audience list can lead to audience attrition and a diminished prospect pool. Ignoring new marketing technologies or approaches can cause your firm to miss out on potential opportunities and new audiences. Trying to be everything to everyone ensures that your company won’t be able to properly deliver on anything. Take heed and learn from the mistakes of others to avoid these scary B2B marketing mistakes!