It can often be difficult to know how to handle your business’s specific needs. At INBOUND 2022, Rachel Clapp Miller, the VP of Marketing and Content of Ascender by Force Management, Ryan Burkett, a Sr. Partner of Stratagon, and Alex Moore, a Sr. Partner of Marketing and Technology of Stratagon, sat down to debate the best ways to handle making an impact on the market in a couple of scenarios. While the strategies often conflict with each other, it is ultimately up to you as the business owner to find what will work best for your company.
Scenario 1: A mid-market B2B professional services firm wants to make a splash in the market. They are new but well-funded. What is the best way to go about this?
Ryan recommends a focus on “speed to leads.” Rather than take a broad approach, his concern would be to pinpoint specific markets or individuals to get qualified leads as quickly as possible. Campaign towards those who influence buying decisions (social media influencers).
Alex disagrees. His focus would be on broad channel marketing. The key focus for him is on the audience. Leverage first-party data and embrace look-alikes so that you can spend less per channel.
Scenario 2: A well-established B2B manufacturing firm with thousands of customers that have been gathered through relationship-based marketing is wanting to start new marketing and communication tactics. Is this a good idea?
Alex believes this is a good idea, and one he’s seen many times. His focus would be less on using the information you have on current customers acquired through good relationships (though that is incredibly important and should be done anyway) and more on figuring out where to go from there to create growth. He recommends making sure your testing capabilities are up to date so that you can attempt to interact with other channels and new audiences to discover where your best fit is. It is also important to make sure you can accurately monitor your funnel to oversee the transition of people into your business.
Ryan agrees as well but offers words of caution saying that this relationship-based company would be a “difficult ship to turn.” When attempting to break into other channels and add marketing techniques your current customers aren’t accustomed to (from you), you can damage your relationships if you aren’t careful. Ryan’s goal would be to focus on supporting the relationships that have already been made while making micro-adjustments to your communication so that the shift isn’t upsetting or sudden. He recommends that you always keep “WIIFM” or “What’s in It for Me?” in mind. Be sure to express how these changes can assist your current customers. Make them feel valued by using these changes to personalize their experience without overwhelming them.
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