22 Types of Marketing Strategies for B2B Companies

CopyPress

April 27, 2022 (Updated: May 4, 2023)

A marketing strategy is your team’s plan for grabbing the attention of your target audience and converting them into clients or customers. With people’s interests and popular fads constantly changing, it can be a struggle to find new strategies that are interesting and effective. It helps to know what types of strategies are available and how to combine them to create campaigns your audience actually wants to see. In this article, we’re discussing topics like:

6 Digital Marketing Strategies
7 Traditional Marketing Strategies
5 Face-To-Face Marketing Strategies
4 Cross-Category Marketing Strategies

6 Digital Marketing Strategies

Image via Pexels by @shvetsa

Digital marketing covers all methods and strategies that deal with online media. If you use apps, websites, social media, or podcasts to promote your services, you’re using digital marketing. Strategies you can use to reach your target audience through these channels include:

1. Website Marketing

Website marketing is one foundation of online marketing. If you don’t have a website, where’s your audience going to land when you redirect them from places like social media or an email? Your website serves as a hub for all your content marketing. It’s also a place to share information about your business, like contact information, and the products and services you offer.

Increase your chances of getting noticed organically online by making sure your site is SEO compliant with the most recent best practices. You can also optimize a website for conversions, meaning that you increase the chances of people completing a specific action when they get there. Include interactive elements like forms and surveys to entice people to go from casual browsers to qualified leads easily.

2. SEO

Speaking of making your website SEO compliant, that’s actually a marketing strategy all its own. Search engine optimization works on tailoring both your on-page content and technical features, like sitemaps, to be more appealing to search engine bots and crawlers. And searchers themselves, by extension. Common SEO strategies include targeting keywords and generating backlinks. This is an easy strategy to combine with all your other marketing techniques to get the best reach and exposure from your content and channels.

Ready to get a leg up on the competition with your SEO strategy? Request your free content analysis report from CopyPress. This report compares your online content with that of your top three competitors. Within, you can find gaps in your content strategy. These areas highlight keywords and topics you can cover in your content marketing or on your website to better capture search intent and provide the information your audience is looking for.

“CopyPress gives us the ability to work with more dealership groups. We are able to provide unique and fresh content for an ever growing customer base. We know that when we need an influx of content to keep our clients ahead of the game in the automotive landscape, CopyPress can handle these requests with ease.”

Kevin Doory

Director of SEO at Auto Revo

3. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a form of direct marketing done online. It allows you to send messages to subscribers who have signed up or agreed to receive your messaging. Email marketing can be one of the most hyper-personalized communication strategies if done correctly. This strategy allows you to share more than just advertisements with your audience. Once you learn more about your subscribers’ needs and habits, you can tailor your email communications to include valuable information, resources, and free materials or discounts.

Plus, email marketing is one of the easiest strategies to track. Programs like MailChimp include built-in analytics for you to watch metrics like open and click-through rates and unsubscribes on every campaign. This information lets you see what your audience likes or doesn’t, and you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

4. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing lets you increase brand visibility with your audience on the channels where they spend time. For B2B companies, this may include platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Craft your social media strategy in a way that works best for your marketing team and your audience. Use these platforms to share content and resources, engage with potential clients, and answer questions about what you do. The information you share on your social media channels can link back to your website to combine both marketing strategies for more reach.

5. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a type of inbound marketing that uses written, visual, and interactive pieces to provide value to your audience. Digital content is a way to draw people to your website or other marketing channels by offering them something they want to see that solves a problem or meets a need. Content marketing helps establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry. This builds trust with your audience. Whether they’re looking to partner with you or purchase from you right now or later, content helps them see why your company is the right choice.

Developing content for marketing works with other channels, like social media, email, and web marketing. You can share your content on all these channels to encourage visits and engagement. The more eyes you get on your content and channels, the better chances you have to gain clients. CopyPress has everything you need to develop your content marketing strategy. Schedule your free call today to discuss your content marketing needs.

6. Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is any marketing campaign that you execute on a mobile device, like a smartphone or tablet. Popular examples include app development, push notifications, and SMS marketing. Mobile marketing is another type of digital direct marketing because you can access people right on their personal devices. With things like push notifications, you can choose the dates and times you want people to hear about your promotions or content.

SMS marketing works similar to email marketing, where people opt-in to receive communication. But you may have a better chance of catching them with a text message because people use their phones for both business and social tasks all day long.

7 Traditional Marketing Strategies

Traditional marketing includes all the strategies expert marketers used before the internet and digital marketing became popular. Despite a heavy focus on digital trends, offline marketing isn’t dead. For businesses with a local audience, or with an audience more resistant to technology, using a healthy balance of traditional and digital marketing methods helps increase your reach and visibility. Some of these traditional strategies include:

1. Print Materials

Did you know you can repurpose some of your best online content and turn it into print marketing materials? While it may take more time to get the layout right or more money to print physical copies of things like eBooks or white papers, it can be done. And you don’t just have to turn your digital content into hard copies word for word. Adapt them to fit print materials that are easy to mail or distribute, such as:

Business cards: Share your company name and contact information at events like trade shows or conferences so potential leads remember who you are and what you do.
Postcards and pamphlets: Send advertisements, discount codes, or brief content pieces through the mail or pass them out at community events to interested members of your audience.
Brochures: These print documents let you share more information about your business, products, or services through the mail or at in-person events. They can also include your website address, social media handles, and links to your online channels for even more connections among marketing strategies.

2. TV and Radio Advertisements

Getting your advertisements on the TV and radio waves are still viable ways to generate interest in your brand. This form of paid advertising lets you share visual and audio promotional messages with your target audience during their favorite programs or on their preferred channels. With the rise of media streaming services like Hulu and Spotify, you can also take advantage of sharing these same types of ads on those popular platforms.

3. Warm Calling

We know, you saw warm calling and your first thought was telemarketers. Then you cringed. But warm calling is more receptive than cold calling, and it’s a pretty easy strategy to use with both your digital and in-person marketing. Warm calling is actually similar to email and mobile marketing. Collect a list of phone numbers and names from interested leads and then call them to discuss their business needs and expectations for working with your company. Unlike cold calling, these warm leads want to hear from your company and know to expect a call.

4. Promotional Marketing

Promotional marketing materials are content, events, or swag that make people aware of your brand. They also offer your audience, leads, and current clients incentives to work with your company. Promotions are a popular marketing strategy because there are many different types that fit all budgets and industries. Some popular ones include:

Contests: Contests help bring out the competitive spirit in your audience. Give them a chance to test their luck or their skills to win a prize, such as a free trial for one of your services.
Discount codes: These promotions let your customers receive money off a product or service. Discount codes and coupons are a great promotion for companies with a smaller budget.
Samples: Providing free trials of your services, consultations, or samples of your products may help turn leads into clients or customers if they like what they try before they buy.

5. Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail marketing is the direct marketing that started it all. And it’s still useful today. When the internet came out, email was exciting because it was new. It was a novelty to receive a message online. Now, it’s the opposite. Especially when you consider that most tangible mail these days is junk and bills, if that. Direct mail marketing is a way to personalize content for your leads and nurture your current client relationships. Consider sending some of your promotions to your leads’ offices or headquarters. Send personalized birthday or anniversary cards to your clients. Sometimes, going retro can help your brand stand out from the competition.

6. Print Media Advertisements

If you’ve stood in line at the grocery store recently, you know print media is still alive and well. From newspapers to magazines and trade publications, sometimes people just want a break from the screen. And when they do, they turn to tangible materials like these for entertainment. If you have the budget for it, consider getting your advertisements listed in print publications. For businesses with a local angle, you may try to get listed in community magazines or regional newspapers for even more targeted marketing.

7. Press Releases

Press releases are a great way to promote your business in the media. Journalists, podcasters, influencers, and other members of the media rely on them to find out about new events, products, and trends worth covering. You can share press releases with websites, publications, and influencers in your industry. For businesses with a local audience, you can also share them with local television, radio, and print media outlets for coverage.

5 Face-to-Face Marketing Strategies

Face-to-face marketing strategies let you connect with leads and current clients on the most human level. Even if your online and print materials are great, something about a handshake and a genuine connection can take your marketing even further. Face-to-face marketing lets you build and maintain relationships in your niche, industry, and community. Try strategies like:

1. Networking

Networking may sound like a complicated business practice, but it’s not. We promise. All it includes is talking with people in your industry to share ideas and information. Networking is a brilliant marketing strategy for B2B companies. Why? Because your potential customers live within your niche. This strategy lets you share what your company does and why it matters with people who need it most. You don’t have to make a hard sell because these people are already interested in what you do. Other face-to-face marketing strategies include places and events where you can practice your networking strategy.

Though not face-to-face, you can also network online through social media platforms like LinkedIn, or through events like webinars or virtual roundtable discussions.

2. Community Involvement

Businesses with a local presence can earn face time with leads by participating in community events. Whether you sponsor a charity run through your town or run a booth at the summer carnival, there are plenty of options for brand visibility. Plus, working events like a carnival or a charity event let you talk to people in your town. This may help you learn what they want and need. This type of audience research can help your future marketing campaigns and help refine what your target audience expects from your company.

3. Event Marketing

Both hosting and attending events of your own is also a great way to invite your audience, leads, and clients into your space for face-to-face marketing. Attending conferences and trade shows is a marketing strategy with many benefits, like:

Increasing brand awareness
Providing in-person training or education on your products and services
Creating networking opportunities
Letting your company conduct market and competition research
Educating your team members about new products or processes in your industry
Encouraging lead generation and sales opportunities

4. Workshops and Training

Different from other events that take place in person or online, workshops allow for more hands-on marketing techniques. While you can offer basic demonstrations and training at events like conferences or trade shows, networking is more the central focus. Holding a training session for current clients about your products or services may help them feel more confident in using what you provide. These can also be a great way to let leads experience what it’s like to use your products and services before they buy.

5. Public Speaking

Getting some of your most charismatic team members to participate in speaking engagements is another good face-to-face marketing strategy. Who’s more knowledgeable and passionate about your products and services than your own employees? Nobody. These events let your company personality shine through in the presentation. Whether you sign up to speak at a conference or a local community event, any chance you can get up in front of your audience and showcase your brand with enthusiasm can help you gain leads.

4 Cross-Category Marketing Strategies

You’ve probably already noticed many of these marketing strategies may cross over through categories or work together to produce better results. Here are four more strategies that cross through digital, traditional, and face-to-face marketing bounds to get your best returns:

1. Relationship marketing

Every time you connect with a lead, you’re creating a new relationship. These relationships link both you and the lead through every stage of the sales funnel. Then, when they finally become clients, you work to maintain these relationships so they stay satisfied and remain clients over time. Companies that foster positive relationships with their clients may see more sales, more frequent sales, or higher referral rates from clients.

Relationship marketing doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming. Introducing incentives like client referral programs or personalized content may work in some industries. Others may benefit from sharing regular client surveys and asking for feedback, then implementing it into their business plan. For example, at CopyPress, we run our proprietary content management system (CMS), Dante, in-house. This allows us to take client feedback and make changes based on what our partners really need from the service.

2. Partnerships

Partnering with other businesses in your industry may open more opportunities for marketing across disciplines. Working with influencers may help increase your reach for social media marketing. Working with other local companies to host an event may strengthen the interest or economy throughout your entire business district. This may lead not just to more sales, but also to more job stability.

3. Digital Publishing

Thanks to digital publishing, it’s easier now than ever to create your own publications. Whether you want to create stunning eBooks online or a print newsletter, the options are available. Creating your own digital publications helps establish you as a thought leader in your industry. It may also be easier to do this yourself or work with a dedicated agency like CopyPress for your digital publication and content needs rather than paying for campaigns with other established outlets like newspapers and magazines.

4. Guerilla Marketing

The term guerilla means inventive and unconventional. In marketing, this type of strategy really forces you to be innovative to increase your leads and boost sales. Guerilla marketing tactics are often low-budget, creative, and draw sizeable crowds. They’re effective because they stand out. They’re different or amusing, and that often makes them memorable or a publicity draw. While guerilla marketing might not be something you do all the time, it is an excellent strategy to remember if you really want to make a statement.

No matter what marketing strategy or strategies you choose for your business, CopyPress knows how to help. Contact us today to talk about your individual needs and how our content increases your reach and lead generation.