Without strong marketing strategies, IT and technology company insiders in the B2B sector struggle to effectively sell their products and services, preventing them from increasing their sales opportunities. And falling short of company goals has a dramatic impact on the success of any business.
Be engaging
Look at marketing strategies and tools that address challenges within these industries. Once you determine barriers, you are better suited to develop unique, targeted marketing strategies and offerings that ultimately support your return on investment (ROI).
- Website content — Curated content is one of the strongest key components to tech marketing strategies. Before getting started, monitor what other companies in the industry are doing and look at the types of content they are producing. How is their content performing? What types of content are they sharing? Build trust with your audience by participating in conversations with other key influencers. Consider inviting influencers to write guest posts, co-host webinars, or become advocates for your brand.
- Social media efforts — Monitor social media platforms to can gain insights on what’s working and what isn’t so you don’t overcommit to ineffective efforts.
- Video — More marketers are also spending money to create original video content. By creating two- to three-minute videos, you have opportunities to sell solutions or products to your audience in an entertaining and engaging way. According to the Insivia article, video content should
- focus on great stories,
- be fun,
- provide useful content, and
- feature client testimonials.
Does that mean you need to include those four points in every video? No. Different video series can serve different purposes: You could have one series focused on client testimonials and another to educate your audience on a particular product or service — even without overtly selling. Don’t be afraid to experiment and find out what works for you.
You can also repurpose and share curated content. If you find a certain template for presentations, webinars, and emails works well for your company and your audience responds positively to it, replicate that template for future success. If you find something doesn’t work, revise as needed. Don’t reinvent the wheel if you can avoid it.
The phrase “timing is everything” is important to keep in mind. The tech industry is constantly evolving; be sure your content is timely and still relevant before posting. When you are curating content, do your research. If you are using data or statistics to support your strategy, they need to be current. Otherwise, your information could mislead your audience, which could eventually backfire. Best practices include avoiding using data more than two years old and running a disclaimer when qualifying data.
Be patient
Funneling content to prospects at all stages of the sales funnel is especially important for IT and tech companies. Why? Because the majority of B2B sales that occur in this space are big, expensive, and often require additional commitments such as training and tweaks to match company processes. You should not only be educating your prospects over time but also be nurturing those relationships. With big-ticket commitments comes the necessity of developing strong relationships. Sales cycles are longer, so be patient and personable — and use these tips to help you stay top of mind when prospects are ready to buy.
