Kathy Floam-Greenspan is the President of Pomerantz Marketing, a full-service B2B agency supporting regional, national and global SMBs.
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After a restrictive and disruptive pandemic year, a lot of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are ready to grow, expand and differentiate their customer base. As a result, many SMBs are upping their marketing game, investing time, talent and financial resources to attract new customers, expand to new locations and embrace new markets.
According to Accenture, two-thirds of SMBs investing in marketing services are motivated by organizational growth. Meanwhile, we see a lot of B2B SMBs straining their resources to achieve these outcomes. With many owners doubling as marketing managers, it's no wonder that so many people in the B2B marketing space are perpetually overwhelmed as they embrace misguided priorities, practices and outcomes.
That's why, whether you're an in-house marketing professional or collaborating with an agency, it's important to operate with the right expectations in mind.
Here are five marketing misconceptions that can derail your efforts rather than enhance your brand.
1. We're the target audience.
This common misconception often keeps B2B SMBs from crafting appropriate target personas that generate new leads.
What's more, defining your target audience isn't just about creating a list of potential clients. Instead, SMBs should identify decision-makers and influencers, allowing their marketing materials to speak directly to those in charge and those who influence the sale. Influencers, who are often tasked with shopping for various products or services, balance decision-maker preferences with organizational needs, requiring B2B marketers to speak to both audiences at once.
For example, B2B marketing agencies like us frequently connect with marketing managers looking for help with their enormous to-do lists that can never be achieved in-house. They want an accessible marketing partner that can provide everything from strategic insights to proofreading services, but decision-makers can be ambivalent about these priorities. Instead, they consider ROI, analytics and metrics before signing a contract. Highly effective marketing materials can account for the concerns of problems and solutions for both audiences.
The best way to start is by using your current customers to develop a framework for potential personas. Think about your clients and pick a few that are pretty different from each other, including size, structure or even the main point of contact.
Meanwhile, stay current with evolving customer trends. It's easy to allow past assumptions and experiences to drive decision-making in this category. However, organizations are constantly evolving, so it's critical to take time to assess your audience and ensure that you're speaking to all of them in the most effective way possible.
Develop a compelling group of three or four individuals who represent your client base and develop marketing personas based on these parameters.
2. Increased brand visibility happens right away.
Increased brand visibility can take 12-24 months of consistent effort to see a return on investment. Especially for B2B SMBs, evolving from a small fish in a big pond requires significant financial resources or a focused, committed vertical strategy.
While B2B SMBs commit to a marketing strategy, they need to nurture the opportunities already in front of them. For example, following up on leads from your website is a free and easy way to leverage existing marketing initiatives to generate new business opportunities.
3. Customer reviews are a waste of time.
B2B and B2C buyers are uniquely attuned to customer reviews. According to one survey, 92.4% of B2B buyers are more likely to make a purchase after reading a trusted customer review.
In addition, customer reviews create a continual feedback loop between companies and customers, producing updated analytics that can inform future product development and marketing decisions.
4. Expertise is obvious.
People are tired of talking head videos, but customers still want to know that your product or service is predicated on a foundation of expertise. Case studies are a readily available way for B2B SMBs to demonstrate excellence and expertise.
Partner with your sales team to identify potential case study clients and develop a framework for working with clients to create compelling case studies that demonstrate brand efficacy.
5. Success is inevitable.
While constantly updating and changing your marketing strategy is a waste of time and resources, sticking with a bad approach can be equally problematic.
Instead, make a plan to regularly assess the performance of your current online presence, including your website and social media channels. Be sure to consider the:
• Design: Review your site design to make sure it’s engaging, customer-centric and modern.
• Content: Enlist the help of someone not close to your website to evaluate their experience with your site and identify any trouble spots.
• Performance: Ensure that your web, blog and content are conversational, skimmable and supported by a well-researched keyword strategy.
• Analysis: Make sure you have Google Analytics running on your website so you can evaluate incoming web traffic and site performance.
At the same time, audit your competitors' online presence and fine-tune your efforts to establish a competitive place in the online market.
Conclusion
Marketing can play a critical role in helping businesses grow after a stagnant and uncertain pandemic year.
Unfortunately, its impact is limited when decision-makers take the wrong approach or embrace the wrong expectations.
Whether deploying an in-house marketing strategy or partnering with a marketing agency, avoiding common misconceptions allows leaders to make the most effective marketing decisions while positioning their organizations for growth and maturity.
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