![\"B2B](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/b2b-funnel.png\" "\\"B2B")
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If you\u2019re a business owner, you don\u2019t need to hear that you need a marketing plan.<\/p>\n
What you may not know or not had a reason to believe until now: if your marketing strategy is developed by people that understand your business and executed effectively, marketing can take you much farther than even the best salespeople \u2013 though marketing is meant to align with the sales team and make selling easier. The result: maximum business value when it comes time to sell or pass your business on to the next generation of owners.<\/p>\n
Marketing is a way to increase the value of your business \u2013 often more so than your sales team, though effective marketing is meant to serve sales and make their job easier.<\/em><\/p>\n The right marketing strategy can substantially augment the business valuation of B2B companies. Communicating the problems you solve and the unique value you bring to your target markets will create and capture demand, build your brand, establish customer relationships and ultimately \u2013 grow the value of your business.<\/p>\n Below are eight ways to ensure that your marketing will generate and capture demand, drive leads, increase sales, and maximize your business value for your company.<\/p>\n The most effective strategies start with your goals\u2014revenues, customer acquisition and retention, margins, new target markets, new solutions, and even your exit strategy\u2014and then work backwards to the present day. We call it the Merlyn Principle<\/a>.<\/p>\n A solid marketing strategy is both holistic and customized, and is far easier to craft with an agile marketing partner<\/a> who takes the time to learn and understand your business.<\/p>\n It starts with understanding what truly differentiates your company. What problems do you solve and what is the real value underlying what you offer your clients?<\/p>\n The brand story process<\/a> represents a repeatable and proven process for quickly and comprehensively surfacing all of the value you provide, your differentiation, and other important parts of your story. As part of the brand story process, it’s essential to collect input from team members who interact with customers and external partners, and to understand the personas of buyers and influencers.<\/p>\n Exploring Blue Ocean Strategy will help you identify where the value you provide will attract non-customers and those not even looking for a solution but would find great value in what you provide if presented in a way that resonates with them. This will help you move away from saturated, highly competitive markets (red oceans) to carve out your own space (blue ocean) where competition becomes irrelevant<\/em>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s critical to develop messaging<\/a> that clearly conveys your value, the problems of your market, the opportunities that arise from these problems, the ROI from these opportunities, your unique process, and your tangible evidence of success through case studies and testimonials.<\/p>\n This is best executed by copywriting professionals that really understand your business \u2013 ideally those that go through the brand story process with you, or even lead it for you.<\/p>\n Demonstrating your thought leadership is important but not enough. It\u2019s imperative that you also provide evidence of your credibility in the form of testimonials and, ideally, case studies that clearly articulate the challenges your customers faced, how you solved their problems, and what impact that has had on their business (and them personally).<\/p>\n When happy customers review you on platforms like Clutch<\/a>, Google and other relevant sites, your business value grows even further.<\/p>\n For those prospects actively searching for solutions you provide, it\u2019s important to pull them in by boosting your online visibility. This is best achieved by optimizing web pages, blogs, and other content with search engine optimization (SEO)<\/a>.<\/p>\n If your organic rankings need improvement, it\u2019s important to evaluate paid search options like Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and LinkedIn \u2013 if you can\u2019t earn your way to the top of search results, you can buy your way there.<\/p>\n And, considering that Google stacks the deck of search results by placing up to four paid ads before any organic results are displayed, it\u2019s sometimes critical to play the Google Ads game whether you like it or not.<\/p>\n For those prospects NOT actively searching for solutions you provide but who could derive great value from them (i.e. your target market living with the status quo), it\u2019s critical to go to them with messaging that will resonate with them in mediums they pay attention to.<\/p>\n Email marketing is the fastest and most cost-effective way to do so but is an uphill battle on a good day because everybody and their brother does it. We target 10-20% open rates for B2B prospecting emails. If you get below that, it\u2019s not working well \u2013 unless you get enough people to respond.<\/p>\n Direct mail can yield 50% conversation rates when followed up in a timely manner with a call \u2013 just make sure that the person you\u2019re sending these to is still employed there and will receive it. Then only send 5-10 per week so that you can follow up with each one within 1-2 days of receiving what you sent. Sending postcards and hoping for a response never works unless you send them as often as Bed, Bath & Beyond, though look what happened to them<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n Other mediums worth considering: highly targeted events with email\/direct mail campaigns before and after, industry associations and publications, Vistage with its community boards, and other mediums where your target market is active.<\/p>\n Prospects need two things to solve their problems: an understanding of how<\/strong><\/em> to solve them and then who<\/strong><\/em> is best to solve them.<\/p>\n To answer the \u201chow,\u201d it\u2019s important to provide your thought leadership on how your company solves them but also acknowledge other alternatives and the pros and cons of each \u2013 doing so increased your credibility.<\/p>\n To answer the \u201cwho,\u201d it\u2019s important to fairly compare different types of alternatives \u2013 not specific competitors, but other types of alternatives including the prospect doing it themselves. With marketing for example, you can hire freelancers, generalist agencies, niche agencies, or you could do everything on your own perhaps supplemented with outside resources to a lesser degree.<\/p>\n Creating tools like ROI calculators, webinars, and product demos will help them evaluate your solution to see if it\u2019s optimal for them. Educating them on how simple you\u2019ve made the purchasing process will also reduce buying friction.<\/p>\n Results-driven marketing plays an undeniable role in increasing the valuation of B2B companies, but executing effective strategies is easier said than done.<\/p>\n As a game-changing partner<\/a> for B2B businesses, Innovaxis works as an extension of your team to strategize and execute a custom marketing program<\/a> to elevate your business. Innovaxis clients experience double digit revenue growth and a 300%+ ROI within the first 18 months<\/a>. Over time, Innovaxis clients grow and thrive, and in some cases, are made offers they can\u2019t refuse \u2013 even when they weren\u2019t for sale.<\/p>\n Innovaxis services include:<\/p>\n An objective, external assessment is often what businesses need to identify gaps and areas of opportunity. Innovaxis marketing audits<\/a> provide actionable insights, pinpointing where you are falling short in your current marketing efforts and where you could make the most impact.<\/p>\n This foundational service dives deep into the DNA of your company. By engaging in a Brand Story Workshop<\/a> with the Innovaxis team, your foundational messaging will be redefined to ensure that prospects understand your unique value, quickly and powerfully.<\/p>\n Imagine having a comprehensive, custom marketing program<\/a> managed and executed for you, targeting all of the points above \u2013 and more.<\/p>\n The best part? All of this is available to you for less than the cost of hiring one marketing employee<\/a>. It’s an investment that not only prevents unnecessary overhead but also increases your business valuation.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t settle for marketing mediocrity. Partner with Innovaxis to gain a new competitive advantage and increase the value of your business.<\/p>\n1. Craft a Comprehensive Strategy<\/h2>\n
2. Establish Your Value<\/h2>\n
3. Develop Your Message<\/h2>\n
4. Showcase Your Expertise & Credibility<\/h2>\n
5. Capture Existing Demand: Inbound Marketing<\/h2>\n
6. Generate New Demand (Outbound Marketing)<\/h2>\n
7. Educate Prospects<\/h2>\n
8. Leverage a Marketing Partner for Maximum Impact<\/h2>\n
Marketing Audits<\/h3>\n
Brand Story Workshops<\/h3>\n
Custom Marketing Programs<\/h3>\n