Did you know? You can do 95% right things, but with just one wrong, you risk total failure.
Marketing is a broad term that has diverse meanings for different agencies. Customers' tastes and requirements are constantly evolving, as evidenced by the way marketing has developed over time, much like technology. It is often stated that a marketing strategy should be based on specific demographics and persona, but we often see people marketing their products and services in a way that is not focused on their customers.
As a marketer before you run any marketing campaign, you need to be aware of some detrimental mistakes that can ruin your results. Unless you want your visitors to be skeptical of your company, then make sure that you avoid these common B2B marketing mistakes:
Not Having a Buyer Persona
The first mistake that can break your B2B marketing campaign is not having a buyer persona.
A buyer persona is the definition of your ideal customer and the characteristics that define them. It's important to know who you're selling to because this will help you create content that resonates with them and gives them value. A well-defined buyer persona will also help guide sales pitches, so you can keep talking about what makes your product or service valuable without sounding like a broken record (which is how most marketers sound when they try).
Publishing and Distributing Irrelevant Content
Avoid publishing and distributing content that is not aligned with your buyer persona. Content that does not have a clear goal, call to action, or value proposition will likely be ignored by readers.
For example: if you run a B2B SaaS company and your target audience is CEOs of large companies, then avoid publishing blog posts about how to use your product in small businesses since this will not help you achieve your goal of expanding into the Fortune 500 market.
Additionally, if you want people to sign up for an email newsletter (and yes—you do), then don't publish content that doesn't include a clear call-to-action (CTA). Your CTA could be something as simple as “Subscribe now!” or “Get our free eBook” at the end of each blog post.
Ignoring your Target Audience
One of the most important steps to take in your B2B marketing campaign is to understand your audience. Keep in mind that you can’t market to a specific audience if you don’t know who they are. In order to fully understand your target audience, it's necessary that you have a clear picture of them in mind—their needs and wants, their demographics, and what they like and dislike about a particular product.
In addition to knowing how customers think about themselves and how this affects their buying habits, it's also crucial for marketers to be aware of current trends within their industry so that they can stay up-to-date on what resonates with consumers at large (e.g., new technology used in producing products) as well as which topics are more likely than others when communicating with potential buyers online (e-mail marketing vs. social media advertising).
Not Focusing Enough on Your CTAs
A CTA is a button or text that tells the reader what to do next. It’s your call to action, and it should be clear and specific—especially if you have multiple CTAs on one page. In a nutshell, call-to-action (CTA) buttons are critical to your marketing success. They’re what prompt a potential customer to take action on your site or in an email. If you don't have CTAs that work, you're losing out on potential revenue.
Poor Website Design
Poor website design can lead to lower conversion. You need to ensure that you have a responsive website that can be accessed on all devices, including tablets and smartphones. Good design is crucial for B2B marketing campaigns and it has been proven that when a visitor lands on your website and it looks good, they will be more likely to convert. If you are looking at ways of improving your campaign then we recommend investing in some great web design and development as this will help increase business!
Not Tracking Your Campaign
If you are not tracking and measuring the success of B2B marketing campaigns, it is difficult to know what is working and what isn't, meaning that you cannot improve upon your efforts or adjust them to meet your goals better. Tracking and measuring also allow you to see where the money is being spent, so that if there are areas where it may be inefficiently used (such as using content marketing when advertising would be more effective), then these can be changed quickly without wasting time or money.
Conclusion
The key to effective B2B marketing is crafting the proper marketing message that resonates with your target audience. Remember to build trust by having professional and credible business practices, as well as delivering on what you promise. Your marketing campaign is more likely to succeed when you avoid the above common mistakes.