20 B2B Technology Marketing Tips

February 16, 2022
B2B, Tips & Tricks

When it comes to business-to-business technology (also known as B2B technology), your marketing goal should be to target big businesses as your clients, not everyday consumers. In some ways, your marketing goals will remain the same: You still intend to showcase your product and use social media as a platform to promote it (or perhaps outsource your SaaS marketing to qualified third-party experts). Keep reading for our top 20 B2B technology marketing tips that can help you keep one foot in your customers’ doors.

1. Create original content

Your business needs original content in order to thrive, in all of your ads and on your website itself. A huge amount of content is created and shared online every single day, and you’re competing with it. Take your time with the content you produce, and if you choose to outsource your work, emphasize to the third parties you are working with just how much you value original content on your website and in your ads.

Original content feels more authentic to your audience; don’t forget that as a B2B company, you’re looking to sell your products to other businesses, not everyday consumers. If you think your consumers have seen an old-fashioned ad a hundred times before, don’t forget that it’s likely your business client has seen the same ad style a hundred times more, and possibly sat around discussing it, too. The last thing you want is for your potential consumers to roll their eyes the moment your ad starts playing, or the moment they click to a certain page on your website. Find your voice and let it permeate your work from start to finish.

2. Deliver valuable content

This tip goes hand in hand with the need to create original content. You should always strive to produce information from the mouth of your company to the ear of your potential consumers, and your consumer may not know what value you can offer them. Embed value in your ads by creating one that makes your audience think or by writing a helpful webpage (maybe this one!) that sticks in the consumer’s mind. Hook your audience and make them interested to seek out your website and learn more.

When possible, strive to get contact info from your consumers, such as by requiring their email in order to sign up on your website. If you can send valuable information to your consumer through email, you may be able to hook them into making more purchases.

Examples of valuable content:

Clean, detailed, helpful information organized on your site
Slides from a presentation
News about ongoing deals
Explanatory videos about your product
Free trial opportunities
Pages that feature tips on technology marketing strategies

Remember: providing valuable content can be the make or break point that pushes a business or consumer to the next stage of your digital marketing goals. Perhaps your goal is to make a purchase, maybe it’s to prompt a sign up that includes an email requirement. Consider the reasons WHY a consumer clicked on a video or page of your website. Provide them the information they need to decide whether or not they’re interested in learning more.

The more valuable content you deliver, the more your brand is perceived as an expert and as a business that offers high quality. In turn, positive feelings towards your brand are likely to increase the interaction your business receives, which can translate into more sales down the line

3. Watch your competitors and do what they do, but better

Your content does not exist in an empty void. Keep an eye out for what your competitors are doing to advertise their own products or build up their own websites. Mimic the steps they take by producing original content of your own. Find value in aspects of your products and services that your competitor is not already talking about.

4. Build credibility on social media with your content

Post frequently on your social media, and post accurate content. At some point, you may want to reach out to influencers, but influencers won’t be interested in working with you if they feel your content is low quality (or worse, full of lies). It only takes a small amount of time to check the accuracy of your sources, even if the source you wish to post is a research paper full of jargon. Prioritize quality on your website and you will receive quality from third parties, such as influencers in return.

5. Be honest and straightforward, not evasive

Technology marketing can be a challenge. If you are offering a technical product, such as your own software, for other businesses to download and use, then chances are high you are pitching a product to a business that is already tech-savvy. Be honest about your product and the benefits it offers. Don’t make up technical facts about your product. Become familiar with and confident in your product and be genuine when you pitch.

6. Direct people to your website

Strive to direct consumers to your website. Organic traffic will help your website continue to rank high in search engine results, which helps you remain competitive online. We also recommend starting a detailed FAQ or a Resources page for consumers to visit. A page like this lays out a wide variety of options for consumers to browse when seeking specific answers to their questions.

7. Be willing to take marketing risks

How many ads do you feel you have seen over the course of your life? Think back to ads that stood out to you. Did they have catchy jingles? Tell a story about characters in unique situations? Add a human face to a threat to emphasize how real and near to you it can be? Be willing to create ads and web pages that stand out from the thousands of similar ads and web pages we see every day, and you are more likely to catch your target audience’s eye.

As a B2B company, you are marketing to businesses. Those businesses may have marketing teams of their own. If you’re not sure who to target your marketing towards, imagine that the business has a highly qualified marketing team and your goal is to create something that exceeds their expectations and gets them excited about your product.

8. Create fun and useful videos about your product or service

Consumers enjoy video content. Videos can convey information more quickly and easily than huge text blocks on your website, and fun videos will stick in the minds of your consumers even after they navigate away from your page. Create educational videos that demonstrate your product or service. Those videos are more likely to be viewed and shared with your target audience than technical articles full of jargon.

This is especially crucial in SaaS marketing. Learning to navigate new software can be intimidating. The more help you can provide in demo videos, the more comfortable your consumers will be. Remember: you want to offer a product that’s not only helpful, but relatively simple to learn how to use.
If you have the budget, consider investing in animated infographics to explain your product. Animated infographics can be colorful and fun to watch. If you are not sure how to outsource marketing, outsourcing your animation can be a great start.

9. Create buyer personas to define your target audience

You may be a B2B company, but you are still trying to appeal to the people who run your target businesses. Define different faces within your target audience, such as a long-time tech-savvy consumer versus a consumer who is upgrading from pens and paper to digital software for the first time. Consider how you would pitch differently to these people. Target your ads and design your website accordingly.

10. Showcase client testimonials

Taking risks can be intimidating, which is why we as humans like to follow the crowd. Make positive client testimonials accessible to your target audience. Offer a range of examples of clients you have helped in the past. Odds are your client will find one they can connect with. They are more likely to take the plunge of working with your business if you can demonstrate that your product or service worked for someone of a similar business in the past.

11. Get influencers onboard

If you have built up a quality brand with a quality website and positive reputation, you are more likely to get influencers on board to showcase your product. Be well prepared with a clean, easy to navigate website before you even consider reaching out to influencers. Additionally, do your research to narrow down the influencers that are right for you and your product. Don’t waste your time or money if an influencer’s focus lies with the wrong audience.

Finding influencers in the B2B marketing sphere may be difficult. Not sure where to start? Consider products you have purchased for your company in the past. Was there a specific person who encouraged you to choose one product over a similar competitor? Start your search for the right influencer there.

12. Be prepared to attend conferences

Live events, such as business conferences, are full of influencers in the form of keynote speakers. Digital marketing is important, but don’t neglect face-to-face marketing. Make an effort to attend conferences and live events, and don’t skimp on the visuals.

If someone at a live event presents your product, try this strategy: allow the slides to become available, but only in exchange for one’s contact information. If your audience wishes to review what they saw about your product or service, you can email them and continue to market to them in the future with newsletters.

13. Continue building brand awareness

You should always be focusing on your brand image and making people aware of your company. It’s not enough to be a household name; popular products such as Coca Cola don’t stop taking out Super Bowl ads just because they have a recognizable product. Instead, such companies use ads to remind their audience that they exist and that their product is tempting and should be purchased. Similarly, you shouldn’t stop spreading awareness of your brand. Remind consumers what website they are browsing, who created the product that is being advertised, or what booth they are visiting at a live event.

14. Customer Engagement

Conferences and other live events allow you to be face to face with consumers in a casual environment. Use this time to engage with customers. Perhaps you can upsell them on your products, especially if you hear them out and can convince them that the upsold service will be beneficial to their specific situation. Take note of any critique they have. Engage with a genuine attitude. Use this time to sow seeds and improve the positive reputation of your company.

15. Remember to target your niche

Breaking into an industry is difficult. Find your niche and familiarize yourself with it. Are you competing at the low end of the market, or the high? What can you offer that other products don’t? Emphasize your selling points and become the #1 expert in your niche. If you can build your brand up as an expert and leader, consumers are more likely to seek you out to solve their specific issue when they know you can help.

16. Focus on lead generation

Pursuing leads is critical to success, as it offers you a foot in the door to selling your product, so take the time to gather quality leads. Seek out people who may be legitimately interested in your product. Collect contact information from your consumers when you offer subscriptions or meet in person at a live event. Strive to set follow-up sales appointments.

17. Find where your customers are and pursue them there

Many of us enjoy being online, and in marketing, it’s important that you don’t forget why people use social media in the first place: many use it as a break from reality, a place to unwind, and a place to connect. Social media also offers itself as a place to share thoughts about problems we’ve experienced and products that we like or dislike. Once you can identify your target audience, watch for them on social media. If you see complaints, strive to fix the issues going forward. Engage with people and watch what it says about your product.

Not sure where to start? We recommend focusing your efforts on platforms such as LinkedIn which are full of fellow businesses.

18. Provide education across the web

You are familiar with your product. It’s time to belt what you know to the world. Post regularly on social media, sharing facts and ways that your product is useful. Know your platform and tailor your marketing strategies appropriately. For example, Twitter should be used for brief messages like tips and tricks. Ensure your website contains plenty of information about your product. If your product is quality, there should be research out there to back it up, and you can feature those articles on your site.

19. Keep your website up to date and professional

When someone is considering a service or product, chances are high they will seek more information about it on your website. Ensure your company website stays up to date and easy to navigate. A website that is full of spelling errors, neon colors, or bizarre formatting is one that is likely to turn a consumer off your product. Keep your user interface friendly and design your website so your visitors know where to go to find more information and place their orders.

20. Invest time in search engine optimization (SEO)

Define your product category and produce content about that category and how your product or service can help people solve their problems. Posting regular, original content on your website helps it rank high in search engine results. The higher you rank, the more visible your website is to your audience. SEO works best when it is a long-term focus. Outsourcing to an experienced SEO company can help save you time on this phase of digital marketing, freeing you up to focus your marketing attention on the other ideas on this page.

If you are ready to scale your business and outsource marketing to a professional, reach out to our team at Megan Killion Consulting today and let’s start chatting about your company. After 15 years of market consoling, we know a thing or two about helping your company grow regardless of how early or far ahead you are in the process. Marketing doesn’t have to be intimidating. With our help, it can be easier (and more fun) than you think.