B-to-B and B-to-C Marketing – How to Use Them to Increase Your Revenue
Being a business owner, you assume that you know the in’s and out’s of the business world. The term business to business marketing is not new. However, if you’re a new company or you simply don’t understand this concept, then let’s look closer at this business term. Business to Business or B-to-B marketing is the marketing of goods and services to another business. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Surprisingly, if you were to ask a handful of people what B-to-B marketing was, chances are you get all different answers. The same applies for B-to-C (Business to Customer) marketing.
In marketing, no matter who you’re marketing to, it is always best to set a goal; a target. So if in 2009 you wanted to achieve $500,000 in sales then perhaps for 2010 you may want to raise the bar and achieve $700,000 in sales. While marketing is about business, you need to be able to come up with new and refreshing marketing strategies. A fairly new concept being used over the past few years is using paper and video tutorials (or informative pieces) on the website to increase business. This could be information on how to use a product that is being sold or if you’re offering a service it could be about how that service works or how to choose a provider for that service. While you’re wanting them to choose your company, by giving them more information, you are actually making yourself the expert in this area to this potential customer. This goes for businesses or customers.Of course, this needs to be a constant process. You will always need new and fresh content or tutorials to keep your potential and current customers coming back for more.
Do you know what ROI means? It stands for Return on Investment. The goal is to get a good return on your marketing investment. A great marketing specialist will adjust content and tone to fit the purpose. You can’t use the same piece to market to a business that you would use to market directly to an individual customer. Too often, companies try to use an all-in-one marketing piece. This is the end, is costing more money in the long run because your not marketing wisely and your ROI is going to be lower. In effective marketing tactics backfire in ways you don’t immediately see. However, when you look at the bottom line, the truth is always revealed.
Marketing for B-to-B and B-to-C isn’t a complicated process if you know what you’re doing. While it takes time, in the end when you greatly increase your ROI, you’ll see why the process is so valuable.
Why a SWOT Analysis is Important
Marketing your business is an important part of running your business. You can’t progress and become successful if people don’t know who you are and what you do or have to offer. How do you know what marketing efforts you need? Which areas of your company or organization are excelling and which wants are declining rapidly?
This is where a SWOT Analysis comes in handy. What is a SWOT Analysis you ask? SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. When attempting to determine where your marketing efforts need to be placed, the SWOT Analysis shows you the areas where you’re doing fine and where you really need a helping hand. It gives you an overview of where your company stands. Be prepared for what you will see. Not everything will be perfect. You will have weaknesses and you may even be surprised at the areas that you thought were strong that really aren’t. You will see the internal and external factors that are affecting these various areas within your company.
Below is a sample of what a SWOT Analysis looks at:
Overview
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Internal Analysis External Analysis
/ \ / \
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
Strengths are your company’s resources and capabilities. This could include solid branding, strong customer base, etc.
Weaknesses are your absence of strengths in certain areas. So this could be things like a bad reputation or high costs in an area.
Opportunities are areas where you have opportunities to grow. This could be a new niche area that will benefit your current customers as well as bring in new customers.
Threats are things that can adversely affect your business. These can include changes in the economy, changes in consumer spending habits, etc.
By using the SWOT Analysis you get the whole picture, internally and externally. This will help you determine where your company is standing in the grand scheme of things. The information is placed into the SWOT Matrix to show you these various areas. This is because not every opportunity is going to be one that you want to take advantage of. Why? Well, it may not be the right time or financially it could be very costly. So you have to look at the big picture and the matrix allows you to do that. Below is what a sample matrix looks like:
SWOT Matrix
| Strengths | Weaknesses | |
| Opportunities | S-O strategies | W-O strategies |
| Threats | S-T strategies |
W-T strategies |
S-O is opportunities that may be a good match for your company.
W-O these are areas where you may need to make some adjustments to them before you can turn them into an opportunity.
S-T allows you to see the ways that you may be able to counter the threats affecting the company making you less vulnerable.
W-T these are areas where you can provide a game plan that allows you to “build a fortress” around your weak areas so you aren’t so susceptible to external forces that could weaken your company.
Using a SWOT Analysis when you’re looking at marketing is very beneficial in the long run. While it takes some time initially writing down all the details, the entire plan will come into view and you will have a better sense of the direction that you need to go. It’s a very valuable tool that no company should be without.
The Power of Internet Marketing
With the invention of the internet, the world of marketing has taken on a whole new life. Traditional marketing efforts were always:
- Newspaper Ads
- Billboards
- Television Commercials
- Radio Announcements
- Magazines and more…….
With the internet, you ‘re reaching more people than just the one’s in your region. You can reach out to people worldwide. What does this mean for businesses? It means a new market of potential customers waiting for you. The world of internet marketing includes:
- Internet Ads (like Google Adwords)
- Article Directories (like Ezine, Squidoo)
- Websites
- Social Media
- Podcasts
- SEO
- Blogs and more………
So when it comes to the internet, are you marketing your company as effectively as you could be? Start by reviewing the list above. How many of the internet marketing tools are you using? If you’re using less than four of them, then you’re cutting your business short by not tapping into this market. Writing articles on your particular niche and then distributing them to article directories gets you valuable linkbacks to your website. That is of course if you have a website. Yes, believe it or not in this day and age, there are numerous companies that don’t have a website in place. In addition, Facebook and Twitter may be all the rage with people trying to stay in contact with one another but they’re also valuable marketing tools. Blogs are one the most used marketing tools online. A blog not only informs and educates but it markets to potential clients. In the traditional marketing world, you give a potential client a coffee cup to remember you by. With online marketing tools like a blog, you give them information they need. This makes them come back for more.
The internet offers so much when it comes to marketing. The key is learning what is available and learning how to use it to benefit your business. In the end, you have everything to gain but a lot to lose if you let these marketing tools pass you by.
How to Increase Your Marketing Efforts through Traditional Networking
With the invention of the internet, the way we did business changed almost immediately. New doors opened when it came to online media, the creation of websites, ecommerce and other technologies. During this progression, business owners found new ways to market their business. However, during this process, many forgot the traditional marketing methods that paved the way. Human interaction has become almost extinct when it comes to traditional networking efforts. Many companies are simply relying on their website, blogs and online social media outlets to get them the exposure they need. This can be a downfall to many companies. As a society built on all this technology, we still crave human interaction.
Think about how many times you call a business and you get the dreaded automated system. You have to press one for this, press 2 for that, and then press 4 to get here. By the time you’ve pressed 5 or 6 buttons, you’re still no closing to getting the answer you’re looking for. You sit there and think, “I wish I could just speak to a live person!”
Face-to-face networking is a powerful marketing tool that can set your business a part from all the rest. It makes a statement in this technologically advanced era that your company still place value on human interaction. Networking can occur in various places and in various ways:
- Events and Functions are a great place to network with others who may need to take advantage of your products and services.
- Events pertaining to your niche market are also great ways to network with those who are in your industry. These are great opportunities to get connected with like minded individuals who can answer questions you may have or they just become a brainstorming platform.
- Community and charity events are also great places to not only give back to your community or to a deserving cause but you can also build valuable connections through these events. In addition, your business gets a boost from being viewed as a charitable organization.
Remember, networking takes two, so don’t be abrasive in your approach. You don’t have t be a walking billboard to network and get your message out. A simple technique is by carrying a small amount of business cards with you where ever you go. You may meet a great connection and while your conversation may have nothing to do with your work, giving them your card before you go not only gives them your contact information but makes them aware of your business.
Networking is having a conversation. So if you know how to talk then you can learn to network. Granted not everyone you meet will be a potential client or sounding board but they will be a contact for your business that could come in handy at some point in time. Someone once said that “there is never a bad contact but all contacts are information obtained for now or for later.”
Face-to-face networking is a vital component to doing business and a powerful marketing tool that not everyone takes advantage of. So this can be the one thing that sets you apart from your competition.
Client Retention – The More Time You Waste; The More You Lose
You get into business to make money. In order to make money, you have to have clients. However, “getting a client: and :retaining a client” are two totally different things. Clients are the life blood of any successful business. So it seems to make sense that you would want to build a relationship with your clients that will last for years to come.
If you look at it from a financial perspective, you spend a lot more money trying to obtain new clients then it would be for you to market your products and services to your existing clients. In these tough economic times, client retention is more important than ever. Why do clients stay with a company? Research has shown that clients remain with a company for the following reasons:
- Superior Products
- Superior Customer Service
- Friendly, Knowledgeable Staff
If you waste time in marketing to your existing client base, then you are playing Russian roulette with the success of your business. How can you work on client retention? Below are just a few things that you can do to insure that you retain your clients for the long haul:
- Market to Current Clients – Set a specific number of current clients to market to each week. Setting a goal will keep you focused and goal oriented. Your goal could be to market to 25 current clients this week with an additional goal of selling new products or services to 10 of those 25.
- Always Keep Your Word – Your word is what customers will hold you to. Never promise what you can’t deliver. You want to be seen as reliable and trustworthy. If a client knows they can rely on you then they are more likely to remain with you.
- Personalize Your Service – Get to know your clients. Who are they? What are their interests? What drives them? Knowing more about them will allow you to personalize your delivery to them.
- Longevity – Your customers want to know that you’ll be there long after the sale. There’s nothing worse than a company gaining your business and then dropping the ball after the sale. Clients are more apt to stay put if they know you’ll be around for them if they need you in the future.
- Get Comments – Your clients are the main source for gaining feedback on the positives and negatives of your business. The way to make your business better is to get feedback from your clients. They can assist you in areas that may need improvement or letting you know areas that exceed their expectations.
Positive client relationships equal long term clients. Remember the old saying “you get what you put in it”? Well this is true in business as well. Customers can make or a break a business. So the time you invest in them will insure that they are around for years to come. It’s never too late to work on client retention