Free Marketing Tips For Your B2B Business

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

Since 1985 EdOutWest has been a full service marketing firm that helps businesses and

organizations market themselves online and in print. We turn your marketing goals into

real-world, cost-effective solutions that increase your leads and grow your business.

Contact Lisa at 303.847.1533 or Lisa@EdOutWest.com

Frustrated with finding marketing suggestions that

don’t relate to your business? Ones that expect you to

have a huge marketing budget and an even bigger

staff to get it all done?

Marketing Tips for your B2B BusinessFree marketing tips that are both

relevant and achievable!

FindOutWhoVisitedYourWebsite.Wouldn'titbenicetoknowwhatcompanieshavevisitedyourwebsiteandwhatpaththeytookwhilethere?

VisitorsAlwaysLeaveaTrail.Yoursalesteamcanreallybenefitfromtrackingprospectsearlierinthesalescycle,andthenreactquicklytovisitorinterest.Let’ssayaprospectisresearchingyourwebsiteforinformationonyourproductsorservices.Youwillseetheirinterestbeforetheyevendecidetocontactyouformoreinformation!Withthisvaluableinformationyoucan:• Informyourinsidesalesteam,whocancontacttheinterestedpartyrightaway,ratherthanwaitingforalead

conversionevent.• Notreadytomakethefirstmove?Whenthatleadcontactsyou,youwillalreadyhaveawealthofinformationabout

theirneedsandlevelofinterestbecauseyoualreadyknowwhotheyareandthepagestheyvisitedonyourwebsite.• Youcanalsousethisinformationtosegmentyourleadsandprovideinboundmarketingcontenttomovethemthrough

yoursalesfunnel.

WhoVisitedYourWebsitereportsprovideyouwith:• CompanyName• CityandState• WebsiteAddress• ContactNameandTitle(Thesereportsdonottellyoutheexactpersonwhovisitedyourwebsite)

Understandingwhichofyourmarketingchannelsaredrivingthegreatestnumberofcompaniestoyourwebsitecanincreaseyourconversions.Interested?Getintouch!

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

ContentMarketingforyourB2BCompanyContentmarketingisapowerfultooltotargetpotentialcustomersateachstageofthesalesfunnel-fromawarenesstoclose.Therightcontentwillshowyouasanindustryexpert.

Createcontentthattargetspotentialcustomersateachstageofyoursalesfunnel.• Stage1– Makeyourprospectaware.Theyknowtheyhaveaproblemandtheyneedasolution.Knowwhattriggersa

needforyourproductandwhattypeofcompanytheyare- writethisinformationdown.Forexample,adoctor’sofficemayask:“Willanewphonesystemincreaseproductivity?”Createcontentthatanswersthosequestions,inhopesofengagingthemandmovingthemthroughthefunnel.Thismayincludecreatingeducationalcontentonyourblog,beingactiveonLinkedInandinrelevantLinkedIngroupswhereyourprospectsare,eBooksorvideos.

• Stage2– Nowthecustomerisawareofyourproductandunderstandsitmighthelpthem.Theynowneedtofigureoutifyourproductisthebestfitfortheirneeds.Yourprospectwantstoknow:DoesthisproductdoeverythingIneeditto?Howdoesitcomparetothecompetition?DoesthisserviceofferthevalueIexpect?CanItrustthiscompany?Blogposts,socialmediaposts,customertestimonialsandvideoscanbeveryeffective.Youneedtoeducateprospectsonthemeritsandtrustworthinessofyourcompanyandservices,andwhatsetsyouapartfromyourcompetition.

• Stage3– Prospectsareprettysuretheywanttobuyfromyou,theyjustneedthatfinalpush.Yougoalhereistoclosethedeal!Includeacustomerreviewwhensendingthemanemail(withalinktomoreonyourwebsite.)Providecasestudies- eachofyourcustomershasastorytotell.Utilizingthesestoriesinyourcontentisveryeffective,asmostofuslookforsocialproofineveryareaofourlives.Wewanttobereassuredthatwe’remakingtherightdecision.

TIP:Analyzewhat’sworkingandwhatisn’t.Thisprovidesvaluableinformationonwhattocontinueandwhattochange.

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

UsingSocialMediaforYourB2BBusinessSocialmediahasbecomeamainstayinthewaywecommunicate,consumenews,andsharecontent.

Whattodoonsocialmedia:• Yoursocialmediacontentstrategyshouldincludeabalanceofyourbest

blogarticles,offers,andindustry-relatednews.Followthe80/20Rule:80%contentofinterestand20%businessoffers/saleinfo.

• CreateacompanypageonLinkedIn,Facebook,TwitterandGoogle+.Createagreatcompanypageimage.Thefirstthingvisitors to yourcompanypagewillseeisyourbannerimage.Investinahigh-qualityimagethatreflectsyourcompanyculture,campaigns,orannouncements.

• Makesurethecontentyoupostmatchesyourprospect’sinterests todriveengagement.Shareyourexpertise!

• Postonaregularbasis.Socialmediaistheperfectavenueforsharingcontentaboutyourindustryandaboutyourbusinessinparticular.Pushingoutvaluablecontentsuchasblogposts,videos,andindustryfactsprovideyoutheopportunitytoestablishyourselfandyourcompanyasexpertsinyourindustry.

• Linkbacktopagesonyourwebsitethatprovidesusefulcontent.Ifyou’vewrittenablogpost,shareit.

• CompletealltheAboutUscompanyinformationonyoursocialmediapages.Includepertinentkeywordsandphrases.

TIP:JoinLinkedInGroupswhereyourpotentialcustomersare.Thenshareyourexpertise,projects,casestudies,etc.Alwayslinkbacktopertinentpagesonyourwebsite.(ToomanytimesIseepeoplehaveonlyjoinedindustrygroups,whicharefilledwithcompetitors.)

TIP:ConnectwithhappyclientsonLinkedIn,askthemtowriteatestimonial(itwillappearonyourprofilepage.)Notsurehow?Askme!

TIP:OwnThe1stPageofBrandedSearchResults.Mostpotentialcustomersconductanonlineresearchbeforepurchasingaproductorservice.Besidesyourcompanywebsite,whatelseshowsupintheirsearchresultswhensomeonesearchesyourcompanyname?YourCompetitors?Reallyoldcontent?Thisisaquestionyouwanttohaveasmuchcontroloveraspossible.Havingmultiplesocialmediaaccountsthathaveaccumulatedfollowersandareupdatedregularlyisoneofthebestwaystoensureyourorganicsearchresultsaredominatedbyyourbrand.

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

YourB2BBusinessNeedsaProfessionalWebsiteAwebsiteisoneofthemostimportantonlinetoolsyoucaninvestintopromoteandmarketyourbusiness.Itisyouronlinestorefront,your27/7salesperson,andinmanycases,itwillbesomeone'sfirstimpressionofyourbusinesscomparedtoyourcompetition!

Therearemanypartsthatmakeupagreatbusinessserviceswebsite:• Yoursiteshouldbedesignedwithacleanmodernlook,invitingphotos,strategicmessagingandeasynavigation.

• Makesureit’smobileresponsive.Amobileresponsivewebsiteisonethatdisplaysproperlyonanymobiledevice,likeacellphoneortablet.Don’tgetpenalizedbyGoogle!GoogleSearchhasexpandeditsuseofmobile-friendlinessasarankingsignal.ThischangewillaffectmobilesearchesandwillhaveasignificantimpactinwhetheryourwebsitecomesupinGoogleSearchresults.

DoesyourwebsitepassGoogle'smobilefriendlytest?Findouthere:https://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly

• AddCTAs.A“CallToAction”isapowerfultoolonanywebsitetodriveengagementandtogetvisitorstotakethenextstepinthesalesfunnel.Makesureyouincludeatleastone.Hereareafewexamples:“SignUpForOurMonthlyEmails”“OurNewXYZIsSavingOurClientsMoney!SeeHow.”MakesureeachoftheseCTAsgoestoaspecificlandingpageonyourwebsitethatprovidesmoreinformationandengagement.

TIP:Aspartofyouron-siteSEOstrategy,publisheducationalcontentonaconsistentbasis(oncemonthly,minimum).Theeasiestwaytodothisistoupdateyourwebsiteblogwithinfoaboutyourservices,industrytrendsortopicalnewsyourclientswillfindinteresting,etc.

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

EmailMarketingforyourB2BBusinessThebenefitofemailmarketingistostaytop-of-mindwithyourcurrentclients,andtointroduceyourservicesandproductstopotentialcustomers.

Herearesomeideasonwhattoincludeinyouremails:• Yourlatestcasestudywithabriefdescription(includelinktomoredetailsonyourwebsite.)• Usefulinformationandinterestingfactsaboutyourindustry.• IncludeinallemailsthatCustomerServiceisimportanttoyou.Addabuttontheycanclicktoemailyourcustomer

serviceorsalesteamiftheyhaveaquestionorconcern.Alwaysrespondpromptly!• Featureanemployeeandtheirexpertise.• Sharethelatesttestimonialyourcompanyreceived.• Addsocialmedialinkstoincreaseyouraudienceonyoursocialmediapages.• Includealinktoyourwebsiteaswellascontactinformationlikephonenumbers,etc.• Shareyourblogpostcontent.

TIP:IncludeawayforsomeonetoOpt-Intoreceiveyouremails.Includethisonyourwebsite,socialmedia,emailsignatures,blogposts,etc.

TIP:Ifyouhavesegmentedcontactlists,thisisagreatwaytosendspecificinformationtoeachlistthatisrelevanttothemandtheirinterests.Diveevendeeperintowheretheyareinyoursalesfunnelandcreatesegmentedlists,custom-craftyouremailcontentforeach.ReadmoreaboutthesalesfunnelsontheContentMarketingpage.

TIP:Don’toversaturateyourcontactlistwithtoomanyemailcampaigns.Sendjust1or2amonthusingthe80/20rule.80%relevant/usefulinformationand20%sales.

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

LocalSearchOptimizationforYourB2BBusinessTogetdiscoveredbylocalcustomersonlineit’simportanttobevisibleinsearchengineresultswhenyourpotentialcustomerssearchforrelatedkeywordsassociatedwithyourproductsandservices.

WhatyoucandotomakesureyoucomeupinLocalSearchresults:• PayattentiontoyourNAP(Name,Address,Phone).Torankinlocalsearch,it’simportantthatallofthelistingsfor

yourbusinesshavetheexactname,physicaladdressandlocalphonenumberacrossalldigitalchannels.

• SetupyourGoogleMyBusinesspage.Addyourhoursandothervaluableinformationtohelpsearcherschooseyourbusinessfromthelistofresults.Addingpicturestoyourprofileisalsoabigconversionbooster.

• BeActiveonGoogle+.SinceGoogle+istieddirectlyintoGoogleMyBusiness,beingactiveonyourprofilewillworktowardsrankingyourlistingevenmore.(Moreaboutthisonthenextpage)

• Includelocalkeywordsonyourwebsiteforexample:“OurDenver***(includename/industry)offers…”

• Askforonlinereviews.Whetherit’sviaemail,onyourwebsite,onsocialmedia,orinperson,therearemultiplechannelstoaskforreviews.Themorecustomerreviewsyourlistinghas,thebetteritwillrank.

• Claimandmanageyourlistingson:SuperPages,Localeze,Yelp,CitySearch,Google,Bing,YPandmore.

TIP:Acrosstheboard,optimizethecontentaboutyourbusinessbyreferencinglocalandindustrykeywords.

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

OtherOpportunitiesForB2BCompaniesThemostsuccessfulcompanieshavemultiple“client-obtaining”channels.Thekeyistohaveseveralofthesechannelsworkingforyourbusinessatthesametime.

Hereisalistofsomeopportunitiestopursue:• FindReferralPartnersorPowerPartners.Theycanplayabigroleinreferringbusinessyourway,andvisaversa.

• AskPreviousClients.Ifyoudon’task,theanswerisalwaysNo.Soaskhappyclientsforareferraloranintroduction.

• AttendNetworkingEvents.Carefullychoosetheonesyou’llattendsoyourtimeiswellspent.

• Speaking/Seminars.Searchoutspeakingopportunities.

• HARO.HelpAReporterOutisagreatresourceforopportunitiestoshareyourinformation/insightwithreporterswhoneedtowritearticles.

• JoinIndustryAssociations.Broadindustryassociationsofferawaytomeetreferralandpowerpartners.Theycanprovidespeakingopps.too.

• JoinaMunicipalorCommunityBoard.TheseopportunitiesopenupavastresourceofbeingIn-The-Know.

• ParticipateinTradeshows.Dependingontheevent,thiscanbeagreatwaytogetinfrontofpotentialbusiness.

• WriteanArticleforaLocal/IndustryPublication.Reviewrelevantpublicationsandreachouttothemtoshareyourexpertise.

• SponsoraLocalEvent.Thisisanotherwaytogetinfrontofprospects,butconsidertheROI(returnoninvestment)beforecommitting.

TIP:Haveyourelevatorspeechreadytogoatalltimes!Also,whentheopportunityarises,includeareallifesituationaboutyourbusiness.Thismakesyouandyourcompanymorememorable.

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print

We hope you found our marketing tips both relevant and achievable!

Not sure how to start?Just contact Lisa, she’s happy to suggest the right steps to take towards your success.No cost, no obligation, just free marketing advise. Really!

Since 1985 EdOutWest has been a full service marketing firm that helps businesses and organizations market themselves online and in print. We turn your marketing goals into real-world, cost-effective solutions that increase your leads and grow your business.

Contact Lisa at 303.847.1533 or Lisa@EdOutWest.com

Creative Strategies in Pixels & Print