Marketing to other business owners can be somewhat of a challenge. Their needs are different from those of private consumers, so your approach should be tailored as well. Since

B2B is a specialised marketing niche

, there are several concepts to keep in mind if you want to target your audience successfully.

Different approaches to B2B versus B2C marketing

Not all marketing approaches are created equally. Marketing to consumers requires appealing to their emotions and offering solutions to common pain points. They like simple messaging that highlights benefits and solves their problems.

Business owners have pain points, too. Lots of them, as any business owner could tell you. However, the products and services that appeal to business owners are based more on logic than emotions. They want solutions that are tailored toward efficiency and resource conservation.

You’re still marketing to a person, but that person is responsible for making cost-effective purchases that can affect a company’s bottom line and ability to serve their own customers. Ask yourself “What could help this business grow, and how can I become a part of making that vision a reality?”

Business concepts for B2B marketers

No matter if your business caters to fintech pros or large enterprises, each client requires a strategy that’s tailored to their industry and business goals.

The focus these days is on startups, with some

500,000 new businesses opening each year

. The average job creation rate of new businesses is between 2.5 and 4 million new jobs.

That’s a substantial market to tap into, and new entrepreneurs need solid advice about remaining competitive in the digital age. There are concerns about everything from

data compliance regulations

to creating a more inviting workspace.

1. Embrace joy in the workplace

Business is hard work, and that’s especially true when you’re building your brand and trying to make your mark. However, it’s also fun to plant a seed and watch it grow as you serve new clients and solve problems. When you look at the workspaces at Google or the lifestyles of entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, you’ll see that

having fun at work

also supports creativity and innovation.

Remind your clients to carve out a slice of time each day for themselves and their team to relax and reignite the passion that led to founding their startup in the first place. This can be leveraged into a

marketing platform

that steers their brand to a particular lifestyle or demographic.

2. Learn to recognise opportunity

Some people wait for opportunity to come knocking. Successful business owners are able to recognise and seize opportunities where others only see challenges. Creating new business opportunities can be as simple as finding a new way to solve common problems,

obtaining customer reviews

through a targeted email marketing campaign, or turning a hobby or side hustle into a thriving business.

When using a targeted email campaign, it is important to pick the right email marketing service for your needs. There are options for businesses that send out multiple emails a week all the way to options for medium sized businesses that need more marketing tools and not just a basic email service. Part of being a successful professional means knowing what tools will help you achieve your goals.

As a marketing professional, you’re able to more objectively recognise opportunities for expansion or improvements and convey these to your clients.

3. Have a vision, a mission, and a plan

These three concepts are often lumped together or used interchangeably. However, they’re really different facets of a comprehensive business strategy. Your vision is an ideal of the type of business you want to create. Who are your customers, and how will doing business with you positively impact their lives?

The mission is your overall objective for turning that vision into a reality. Say, for example, that your vision is to help clients cut costs, which will improve their bottom line and enable them to invest more in expansion and upgrades. Your mission creates a framework for the reasons and beliefs behind why you want to help clients become more financially viable. Your plan consists of concrete steps and milestones for reaching your business objectives, and your strategy is how you will put that plan into action to realise your vision in a way that’s in line with your mission.

4. Focus on building customer relationships

B2B markets are ripe for attracting long-term, loyal customers, if you know how to reach and retain them. It’s about building mutually beneficial, personal relationships. Marketers spend

five times as much attracting new business

as they do keeping their current customers happy. Yet, up to 85 percent of their revenues are generated from upselling, cross-selling, and incentivising their existing client base.

Through strategies like

account-based marketing (ABM)

and incorporating digital marketing technology, you can create highly targeted, personalised campaigns that are designed to bring in specific clients and serve them well. This provides a much higher ROI, and clients who know and trust you are likely to spend more. 

Keep in mind, when building customer relationships, trust is a big part of it. Make sure you take all cybersecurity measures to ensure all customer data is protected and safe. A cyber attack where

customer personal data ends up on the dark web

and stolen can destroy your trust and reputation in a matter of seconds. 

Above all, keep the golden rule in mind when building customer relationships: Treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself.

5. Remember the value of time and use it wisely

Time may be a man-made construct, but that doesn’t diminish its value or the sense of urgency that’s created when you’re running up against a deadline. Of all the resources we could squander, time is one that’s non-renewable.

Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.

Consider all of the missed opportunities because you lost track of time, all the hassles, and aggravations. Manage your time wisely by planning your days, weeks, months, and years, setting goals and milestones. This will help you become more efficient and effective while allowing you to let more joy into your work and daily life.

Remember, your goal is to be successful but also have balance in your life. If you can use your time wisely, and create a business that turns a profit, you can then use your wealth to catapult yourself into using your profit for multiple earnings. You can use your time management skills to learn

how to trade wisely

and create an extra source of profit. It all starts with proper utilisation of your time. 

If you don’t have great time management skills, there are

tools and apps

that can help you get it together.

Final thoughts

Your business is your brand. When you’re predominantly engaged in

B2B marketing

, you have to approach each client how you would want to be approached. Although there is a science to digital marketing, it still involves human touch that reaches customers where they live. Our focus is on providing you with timely, actionable information and resources that will make your marketing efforts produce measurable results.