For businesses renting or selling equipment to other businesses, the approach to marketing is and isn’t all that different from reaching out to consumers.
On the one hand, you’re trying to sell or rent products that other businesses require in order for them to sell to consumers.
The approach to marketing your products is typically in-step with how you would go about marketing to individuals, notably demonstrating why your products are the best around.
On the other hand, renting or selling to other business owners means you are marketing to many of whom do just that, market their own products and services. Such individuals are more likely to know a good marketing campaign from an average or even bad one.
With that in mind, are you renting the right marketing approach when going after more business with other businesses?
Use All the Tools at Your Disposal
Start off by reviewing your marketing campaigns of recent times, seeing which ones soared and which ones quite frankly failed to take flight.
Undoubtedly, some campaigns were just not meant to be, whether they were ill-timed or the audience wasn’t quite right. No matter what the reason or reasons for them not working, you can learn from each and every campaign.
With that knowledge in your back pocket, consider the following:
- Your audience – It is crucial that you have the right audience for each and every marketing campaign. Whether you are marketing real estate, office furniture or technology, pneumatic lifting bags, construction equipment or any other host of products or services, understanding your demographics can never be overlooked. If you spend time and money pitching the wrong audience, you have just wasted both resources;
- Your budget – Given the challenging financial times of recent years, it is understandable that some businesses have had to tighten their marketing budgets. With that being the case, getting the most for your marketing dollars becomes even more important. If you have to watch when and where you spend for marketing, target which campaigns are most likely to bring you the results you want. Depending on what you sell, look at the current trends in the market or markets you work in. If there is a slowdown in need for a certain product or service, adjust your marketing campaigns accordingly. Trying to market something when the market for that product or service is slow is not going to bring you the desired results in most cases;
- Your content – What you say (and don’t say for that matter) in your marketing pitches can go a long way in determining your level of success. It behooves you to be 100 percent sure of each piece of marketing content that you send out. Is it well written? Does it address the needs of your core audience? Does it offer a call to action? Will it be properly promoted on channels such as social media (see more below)? These are all questions you should be able to answer with relative ease. As for the content itself, never take a short step when it comes to this area. Along with any traditional marketing and/or mobile content you send out, it is important that your blog content is powerful too. Use your blog to help promote your brand, giving other businesses reasons to find your brand appealing;
- Your social interactions – With solid marketing content goes proper promotions on social media. Use the full powers of social media to get your branded content in front of as many eyes as possible. In doing so, you are basically getting free marketing and advertising on sites with millions and millions of members. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. all offer your business the opportunity to get noticed and make new sales.
In the world of B2B marketing, there are so many opportunities for your brand to shine.
Knowing how to reach the right audiences and give them what they want is crucial.
Whether renting or selling your products and/or services, be sure to have your marketing game firing on all cylinders.
If it isn’t, you stand to watch those business dollars go by the wayside.
Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com
About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.
