Marketing, telesales, call centre, demand generation, internet, sales

1. The right target audience

Different “types” - knowing what “types” of people you’re marketing to, and the “language” they use (technical, financial etc) is crucial for effective B2B marketing. Who is responsible for the final decision, and are there other influencers? etc.

An example - if you’re selling a technical product, but the target audience is the marketing department, you might want to shift the focus from technical features to benefits and cost-savings.

2. Keep it to-the-point

Make it concise - when communicating to business professionals, concise but detailed copy always works best. Avoid the “fluff” and make sure that you provide enough information to keep the readers interested. Keep your copy direct, informative and professional.

Don’t be coy - always remember that you are communicating with someone who is a prospect – that is, someone who is likely to have a need for your product. If you’re not forthcoming enough, they may not take your eMail seriously.

Clearly outlining how your products or solutions can reduce costs or increase productivity in terms that the recipient can relate to is the best way to win new business.

3. Setting out the offer

Two-step offer - a two-step approach is extremely popular in B2B marketing. Offering something of value for free is common. You’re attempting to gain the trust of the companies you’re communicating with, and so far you’ve give them every reason to buy from you – now make them an offer they can’t refuse!

The free Best Practice guide you’re reading at this very moment is a good example of this approach – I have hopefully given you a flavour of our expertise and the services we can offer, whilst at the same time providing you with some new ideas, or simply food for thought.

When the time comes for you to consider an agency to provide online eMarketing and demand-generation services, you will (hopefully) contact eMarket2 for our creative, production, project management and technical resources!

The second step - after the initial marketing to get your prospect’s interest, the second step is to close the deal – free trials, free CD demos and free white papers are all good ways to bring your prospects to a point of confidence in your company and its products or services.

Giving away a free pen is not going to distinguish your company from the masses, but make sure that your add-ons are appropriate to your target audience – a technical white paper will not be of much interest to marketers!

4. Close the sale with an effective landing page

A landing page can be tracked - once your prospect clicks through to your website “landing page”, then that action, and further actions can be tracked (but only if you’re using a sophisticated eMail marketing system like our ePartner).

A quick summary - the landing page should highlight the features and benefits of your products or services – it should be presented as a quick summary or “overview” rather than a long and detailed description.

Use graphics - try using a graphic or a picture, and some highlights from your eMail content on the landing page to carry over the theme from the initial eMail message. You might also test different versions of your campaign with different landing pages to see which links or which pages seem to yield the best conversion rate.

5. Timing is everything

Although this subject is not directly connected with how to write B2B copy, I have added it in, as timing is so crucial – if you get it wrong, then there would have been no point in spending so much effort getting the content right!

Avoid Mondays and Fridays - on a Monday, your B2B prospects’ eMail inboxes are full, and they are not in the right frame of mind to consider new campaigns. On Fridays, their eMail in-box is not as important as getting that week’s work finished before the end of that week!

International holidays and time zones - don’t forget the time differences in different countries. Many people view eMails sent through the night as spam – send out your eMails during the working day.

International holidays vary from country to country – for instance, sending your eMails to the US on July 4th or Thanksgiving day would not impress your prospects.

Understanding budget cycles - different industries and different companies will have different buying cycles – for example April 5th may be a key date for many UK companies, signally the end of one financial year, and the start of the next one.

6. Use case studies

Case studies are testimonials - one of the most common questions is “what other companies do you work with?” Case studies not only answer that question, but they provide an insight into how you work, and how your products or solutions were received by the customer.

Positive comments from a customer who is in a similar industry as your prospect can be a great influencing factor.

Case studies are advertising - if you’re currently providing a valuable service or product to an organisation with a similar need, then you’ll want to make your prospective customer aware of this during the sales process.

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