The world has changed dramatically over the last year and a half, and a bit of reorganizing is in order for every marketing department. As the world begins to open up again, this summer presents an excellent opportunity for B2B tech firms to tackle a few initiatives that will ensure their future growth. Here we take a look at a few key summer marketing initiatives for B2B tech firms.
Host An Online Event
While in-person events are starting to come back, there is still a great deal of value in hosting your own online events. Developing webinars, conferences, dinner meetings, and half-day briefings in the digital arena will enable you to offset the loss of business from major in-person events and build your brand even further. Marketing your online events using a multi-channel approach will help you reach a broader yet more refined audience. Teleprospecting, email, social media, blogging, video, and your own website can be leveraged to bring awareness to your event and gain registrations.
Run An Appointment Setting Campaign
As social media platforms and email boxes become increasingly flooded, our old friend, the telephone, has become even more effective. Appointments set through teleprospecting efforts tend to be more qualified and are more likely to result in a successful sales call. There is still no substitute for a live conversation, and teleprospecting integrates very well with social media and email campaigns. Any leads gained through digital efforts should be qualified over the phone and turned into solid appointments before being passed along to sales.
Humanize Your Brand
Showing the human side of your company has never been more important than it is today. Posting about any volunteer work your employees have done, donations made by the company, and any other community involvement not only brings attention to these causes it can help humanize your brand. Some other things you can do to humanize your brand include publishing fun and entertaining social media posts and blogs, engaging with your customers online, and hosting online events. Showing off your brand's personality has always been important, and treating your prospects and customers as people is critical in today's climate.
Expand Your Social Media Network
With the large majority of marketing dollars being spent in the digital realm, it is important that your brand and marketing team as individuals do not fall behind. Create a block of time each day dedicated to expanding the reach of your company pages as well as your personal network. Follow the accounts of your target audience and engage with their content. Share helpful information and educational pieces with them as they become relevant in your conversations. Join discussion groups and participate in the comment sections of popular articles. Reach out to colleagues past and present and be sure you're connected. Building your online audience is only going to become more critical and challenging as time passes.
Prioritize Sales And Marketing Alignment
Marketing campaigns need to be efficient, and one of the best ways to get there is by prioritizing sales and marketing alignment. Take this time to get on the same page and find a middle ground on topics of debate. Clearly outline your process and ensure messaging is consistent. Refine your lead criteria and agree on what constitutes a suspect, prospect, marketing qualified lead, and sales qualified lead. Be sure to consider these qualifiers when building out buyer personas and developing campaigns. The more closely aligned your sales and marketing departments are, the better chance you have of achieving a closed-loop process that allows you to maximize your funnel.
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