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For as different as B2B and B2C companies are, there is a distinct commonality in wanting to generate leads and drive business growth. Finding the best types of marketing strategies to achieve these goals in either business model can be time-consuming and maybe even a little tricky. That’s why we’ve condensed the top growth strategies for successful marketing plan execution into one article with two lists — one for B2B and the other for B2C.
B2B Marketing Strategies
Industry Events
In-person and online trade shows remain a top B2B networking tool. They gather companies within a specific industry into one location — be it through physical, virtual, or hybrid events — to connect and demonstrate their latest products and services. Industry events give companies the chance to establish or strengthen relationships with key partners, customers, and prospects; identify market trends and opportunities; and gain an understanding of what their competition is offering in the market.
The pandemic-driven “new normal” compelled creative use of technology to augment trade show opportunities. In-person and online trade shows are effective because they focus on meaningful interactions and relationship-building. They are generally well attended, creating a target-rich environment for lead generation. They also provide opportunities for businesses of every size to access the same audience and information.
Fast Fact: Nearly half (48%) of B2B marketers said that in-person events produced the best results in the last year.
Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is just that — a conversation. Real-time interaction via a chatbot or live chat gets the right information in front of prospects and customers at the right time, and follow-up questions are addressed immediately. Personalized, relevant engagement vastly improves the user experience, increasing the likelihood of getting referrals from happy customers. For businesses, conversational marketing methods typically cut the time buyers stay in the sales funnel. Relationships are established faster, leading to quicker conversions.
Conversational marketing is effective because it removes layers of impersonal lead capture and creates an authentic, personal customer experience. It fosters clear communication — buyers can plainly state their needs, and businesses can more readily understand and assist since there is appropriate context around the request. It also strengthens relationships as bots can recommend additional content to supplement buyer education.
Fast Fact: 58% of B2B company websites use a chatbot on their website, compared to only 42% on B2C companies.
Inbound Marketing
Taken individually, the majority of the strategies listed above provide limited marketing clout. However, inbound marketing aligns the heavy hitters — SEO, SEM, content marketing, social media, and earned media — to strategically generate qualified leads, strengthen customer relationships, and successfully build brands.
Inbound marketing is effective because it focuses on attracting, engaging, and delighting customers through relevant and valuable content. It drives organic traffic to websites, increases brand visibility and authority, and positions businesses as industry thought leaders. By implementing SEO strategies, creating high-quality content, and leveraging social media platforms, B2B companies can connect with their target audience and nurture them through the buyer’s journey.
B2C Marketing Strategies
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing leverages the reputations and social followings of “experts” in specific fields to promote brands. Influencers’ endorsements and product placements provide the best returns to B2C businesses so consistently that 61% of marketers are including influencer marketing in planning strategies. The appeal of influencer marketing is considerable, but there is a note of caution. Followers are increasingly insistent that influencers be transparent about their advertising and sponsorship deals. 61% of consumers prefer influencers who are authentic and relatable — meaning an influencer’s personality may outweigh their celebrity status.
Fast Fact: 69% of customers trust influencer recommendations, and 36% of marketers believe it does better than branded social media content.
Paid Media
B2C businesses aren’t solely relying upon influencer and viral marketing or other forms of earned media to manage their brands. Nearly three in four (72%) of B2C marketers use paid media channels to distribute content. Of the paid media options, social media advertising and promoted posts (primarily on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) are far and away the most popular at 97% usage. A close second is search engine marketing (SEM) and pay-per-click (PPC). Essentially, a company buys a link that appears as an ad in search engine results (SERPs) when keywords related to their product or service are searched. Every time the ad is clicked, the company pays the search engine a small fee for the visitor — a literal “pay per click.”
Fast Fact: 70% of all paid search impressions are on mobile, and 52% of PPC clicks come from mobile.
Video & Audio Content
Video and audio content are two of the top B2C trends. Short-form video is already a staple for 33% of B2C marketers, and the percentage is projected to nearly double in the next year. Why? Video is a social media staple. It drives marketing strategies for raising brand awareness (49%), product advertising (44%), and increasing revenue (43%). Audio content — specifically podcasts — has been slow to catch on in the B2C space, but that trend is turning for a couple of reasons. There’s an increased desire for immersive brand experiences that revolve around video and audio engagement and, more simply, is the power of voice. It’s thought that larger market segments can be reached as personalities and messages connect with listeners on a more “human” level.
Fast Fact: B2C marketers increased their use of video — up to 71% from 61% the previous year.
Ecommerce
Ecommerce is a B2C stalwart. An estimated 2.41 billion people around the world buy products and services online, so competition is fierce. Savvy marketers saw the pandemic-driven explosion in eCommerce engagement as an opportunity to implement a dynamic, customer-centric marketing strategy. In addition to the tactics mentioned here, there is a focused effort on ramping up on-site personalization, the mobile shopping user experience, and subscription-based services. Remaining flexible yet responsive in the eCommerce space appears to be the solution for getting a share of the $6.5 trillion in projected 2023 sales (that’s 22% of retail sales worldwide).
Fast Fact: By 2040, it’s estimated that 95% of all purchases will be through eCommerce.
Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing in B2C is no different than B2B, except that it’s even more of an expectation by consumers. Conversational marketing is a real-time interaction via a chatbot or live chat that gets the right information in front of prospects and customers at the right time, allows them to opt for self-service (a growing demand for 40% of customers), and gets questions answered immediately (a top priority for 75% of customers). Personalized, relevant engagement vastly improves the user experience, but there are other benefits for B2Cs. Engaging in meaningful conversations gives businesses the opportunity to “humanize” brands by telling the stories behind them and demonstrating company values. Two-thirds of customers have stopped buying from a company whose values didn’t align with theirs.
Fast Fact: 41.3% of consumers said they used chatbots for purchases.
Every Strategy Requires an Effective Marketing Plan
Ready to ramp up your marketing efforts, but unsure of where to begin? Reach out to us or check out our complete guide to building an annual marketing plan for any size of business. With the right marketing strategies in place, you can drive business growth and achieve your goals.
