Are your clients using the same types of ad media to target both their business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) customers? Big mistake. With B2C consumers, your client only has to consider what their individual needs and desires are. When it comes to B2B advertisements, your clients have more to consider when building their advertising strategy. Here are a few key details to keep in mind, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Are Your Clients Using the Right B2B Advertisements?

“Always On” Marketing

When businesses are looking for a new vendor, a trigger has usually been pulled. According to WSJ, common triggers include:

Growth plans (such as relocation, expansion or entering new markets)
Changes in their industry (including new moves by their competitors or disruptions in the industry)
Internal finances (such as budgets being added to)
Expiring contracts
Problems with their existing vendor

The list goes on and on, but all these triggers have one thing in common: The business needs to take action and fast. How are they going to know your client has the solutions they need? Advertising. But your client has no way of anticipating every time a potential B2B customer will experience a trigger like these. So, the solution is to practice “always on” marketing. That is, always having up-to-date B2B advertisements available for potential customers.

What Types of Media to Use

Practicing “always on” marketing is actually easier than you may think. B2B advertisements don’t have to be TV commercials that constantly need to be updated and renewed on multiple channels. On the contrary, B2B consumers care more about long-form advertising content that will educate them on your client’s products and solutions.

“There is a clear hierarchy in terms of the types of content B2B decision-makers rely upon as they search, evaluate and select new providers,” says WSJ. Those B2B advertising types include (starting with the most effective):

Case Studies
Online Videos
Thought Leadership/Research
Webinars
Testimonials
Infographics
Audio

B2B decision-makers prefer to access these types of B2B advertisements via:

The business’ website
Social media
Business news/trade media

Knowing which B2B advertisements to use is only the first step in the journey. According to WSJ, 73% of B2B decision-makers say that, “It’s reassuring to keep seeing/learning about a brand as I go through the buying journey.”

The B2B Buying Journey

Search

According to WSJ, B2B decision-makers in search of a new vendor will spend between two and 12 weeks searching for between two and four vendors as potential candidates to do business with. Because the window of opportunity to be noticed during this phase can be so small, your client needs to remain top-of-mind with potential clients. This means that they need to consistently be promoting their B2B advertisements on their social media and other channels and making sure their content can be found easily within the first few pages of search results for top key words.

Evaluation and Shortlisting

The next stage is evaluating and shortlisting the vendors that the buyers found during the search phase. They’ll spend anywhere from one to 12 weeks evaluating around three of the vendors they discovered during the search phase and then shortlisting only two of the vendors who make the cut. To make the cut, your client’s B2B advertisements need to be a part of an omnichannel marketing strategy that makes them easy to find on the potential customer’s preferred channels. Being available on multiple channels will also help with building familiarity and trust among potential customers, says WSJ.

Final Decision

The final decision will take between one to four weeks. When it comes to winning B2B customers, it will ultimately come down to the vendor the customer feels they can trust more. In order to achieve that, WSJ recommends expanding your B2B advertisements’ reach to include posts/mentions on other, trusted industry websites, networking at notable industry events and conferences and posting podcasts and audio. Basically, potential customers want to know that others can vouch for your client’s credibility. So, get those ads in as many credible places as possible!

More Media Info

For more information on B2B advertisements and placement, check out your client’s target audience’s profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel. There, you’ll be able to find more advertising information to create the best “always on” omnichannel marketing campaign possible.

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions