Internet Marketing for B2B: How to Develop a Strategy
The main complexities of the sphere and the principles of a competent business promotion strategy.
Companies in the field of B2B do not work with ordinary buyers, but with other companies – they sell industrial equipment, advise, and develop dealer networks. This type of business can be successfully promoted on the Internet, but there are pitfalls here. In the article, we will figure out what the difficulties of the sphere are and how we in “EasyClick Studio ” bypass them, building an Internet marketing strategy.
Difficulties of promotion in the field of B2B
Possible problems in promotion are associated with the peculiarities of the B2B sphere – the principles and conditions of doing business here are not the same as, for example, in an online retail store.
Why is it more difficult for B2B companies to promote on the Internet:
- They usually offer a specific product. Commercial equipment, security systems, financial audit – such goods and services are needed not by a wide audience, but by a very limited number of other companies (which, moreover, may be heterogeneous). To sell such a product, it is not enough just to set up contextual advertising and optimise the site. It is important to work on brand reputation, create expert content and build an information field around your product – all this will help the company gradually gain authority in its niche.
Example of a B2B product – Power Generators.
- Decisions are taken for a long time. The cycle of concluding a deal between companies is long: an agreement can be concluded only six months or even a year after the first contact. This is due to the fact that on the client’s side, the purchase decision is usually made not by one person, but by a chain of employees – from the secretary to the top management. During the “maturing” of the transaction, it is important to maintain contact with the potential client and not rely on a quick result.
- Instead of direct sales – deals with dealers. Many B2B companies do not do retail sales. On the one hand, it is easier for the company: there is no need to be torn between production and sales. But there are also difficulties, because the efficiency of work and the conscientiousness of dealers must be monitored. It is also more difficult for B2B companies without direct sales to build a website, web analytics and a promotion system in general.
- In the end, communication decides everything. Multimillion-dollar deals are not made blindly, based on the materials on the site. The client will definitely communicate with the manager, and this is the most important link in the sales chain. Therefore, in the field of B2B, it is especially important to control the quality of the work of sales managers.
- The goal of online promotion for B2B is not always sales. Sometimes it is worth focusing on something else: to make the brand recognisable, attract new dealers, announce a new product on the market, etc. Therefore, it is wrong to judge the effectiveness of Internet marketing for B2B only by the actual profit. Even with a small number of applications, the benefits of promotion for the company can be large.
Read How to attract more clients to your medical business
Features of Internet Marketing Strategy in B2B
A strategy is a comprehensive marketing plan for the near future, which is developed for a specific company.
- There is no separate way to draw up a strategy specifically for a B2B company; in any case, you will need to go through the standard steps:
- Conduct a market and demand audit;
- Analyze all aspects of the business – transaction cycle, product, geography of work, website and much more;
- Study the closest competitors;
- Determine the target audience and find places where it can be concentrated;
- Analyse all available advertising channels;
- Setting specific goals and making a plan – we have already talked about this in detail in our blog.
- The principles of working with dealers should be indicated in one of the sections of the site, if the openness of the conditions meets your policy.
- Segment the target audience: it is in B2B companies that it is most often heterogeneous. For example, a building materials manufacturing plant can sell bricks in bulk to individuals and at the same time cooperate with construction companies, architectural bureaus, and also build a network of dealers. If several different groups of consumers are interested in a product, each should be taken into account when promoting.
- Be sure to find out who the final consumer of the product is. End consumers are people who purchase goods from your dealers. They do not make a decision to buy from a supplier and may not know about it, but in product development, you need to focus specifically on their interests, expectations and needs.
- Find sites with target audience outside of search engines. This is especially important for the B2B sphere, because the product is most often specific and potential buyers are a rather narrow circle. Thematic groups in social networks, industry forums and portals, blogs and other communities can serve as gateways to the target audience.
Email Marketing for Medical Practice
Email Marketing for Medical Practice
You should collect the base from different sources:
- Make an appointment on the site.
- Question to the doctor.
- Blog subscription form.
- Landing pages dedicated to promotions.
- White Paper (useful and interesting content in exchange for a subscription).
- Subscription via social networks.
- Offline subscription (data collection in clinics).
Each channel gives you a different audience by interest and loyalty. Therefore, use different engagement tactics for each segment.
For example, subscribers to White Pages send a series of letters highlighting all the possibilities and advantages of the clinic; those who were interested in a specific service – narrow recommendations and reviews; and from those who have already become a client, collect reviews.
Segmentation of client bases of medical clinics is the main condition not only for profitable email marketing, but also for maintaining reputation and customer loyalty.
1st segment: subscriber
Find out as much as possible about your followers. Among the first is to send a letter with a questionnaire. To determine gender, a name is enough, so in the survey you can find out about the age, place of residence, the presence and age of children, services that are of interest to a potential client, topics of newsletters, the desired frequency of mailings. You should try to offer ready-made answers. The questionnaire should be interesting and short, guarantee a bonus for participating in the survey.
Create separate mailing lists by gender, city, area of residence, services of interest. Eliminate irrelevant segments when planning bulk emails. Determine the nearest clinic by area of residence and use its details in letters for specific subscribers.
2nd segment: new patient
When the subscriber has become a patient of the clinic, enter the information on the order date, category and name of the service into the database. Use this for related offers, upsells.
Exclude from mass mailing lists those whose services contradict the promoted ones. For example, do not offer physical therapy to clients with cancer. Even if you plan to launch a promotion that meets the interests of all customers (general prevention), exclude from the lists those who have recently taken advantage of this offer. Pay special attention to the letters you send to VIP clients.
3rd segment: regular customers
Clients who are already undergoing treatment with you can be segmented by diagnosis, stage of recovery, and treating physician. Do not use direct information about the client’s problems in emails, do not interpret research data in emails, keep the right to confidentiality, but consider this information in your strategy. By segmenting the database based on patient symptoms, you can offer the most relevant additional products and services of the clinic, as well as useful content about new technologies, equipment, and medical practice in a particular area.
4th segment: recovery
Be sure to consider the recovery stage. For example, if a patient has overcome an illness, make sure that he does not receive letters about his treatment. Refocus his personal content on rehabilitation and prevention.
Pay close attention to your content strategy. Share useful expert information with subscribers. Use video content. Make the newsletter bright, interesting, but not inconsistent with medical paradigms. Remember to consider your symptom data. For example, if you are planning a mailing list about pediatrics, exclude from the list of patients who cannot have children.
We can help to get more visitors emails and set up email marketing campaign.
Develop tactics to reactivate inactive readers, as well as clients who have not visited the clinic for a long time. Emphasize the importance of prevention, offer serious bonuses.
7 Tips to Improve Your Google My Business Listing
Our Easyclick Studio online marketing agency can help you to start with your Google My Business.
Location, location, location. These are the three most important considerations in starting or operating a business. Consumers aren’t going to go out of their way to visit back alley shops when there’s a perfectly good store on the main avenue. Online, the same principle applies. Businesses need to be visible to invite traffic and convert them into sales. That’s where Google My Business (GMB) comes in.
Google My Business: The Basics
Google My Business: The Basics
GMB is a free and user-friendly tool that helps business owners manage and improve the business’ online presence across Google (search, maps, etc.). GMB allows customers to find businesses; boosting their sales and recognition in the process.
There are a number of benefits in using GMB, including:
- Allowing business to update their profile and manage the information customers see when they search for the business;
- Allowing businesses to interact with customers through reviews, comments, and media.
- Giving businesses access to information to help them create targeted campaigns and track their performance.
Setting Up Your Google My Business Listing
Setting Up Your Google My Business Listing
If your business is not listed in Google Business yet, follow these simple steps.
- Go to Google My Business and click Start Now.
- Enter the name of your business in the search box. Click on your business listing if it appears in the suggested matches. If not, select “Create a business with this name.” Click Next.
- Enter the business address.
- Choose the most appropriate business category.
- Add your business phone number or website.
- Verify your business.
- Confirm your business and follow the next steps to present your business online.
There are a number of benefits in using GMB, including:
- allowing business to update their profile and manage the information customers see when they search for the business;
- allowing businesses to interact with customers through reviews, comments, and media.
- Giving businesses access to information to help them create targeted campaigns and track their performance.
7 Most Important Point how to improve Google My Business listing.
1.Keywords
Use most most relevant and successful keywords for your company Google My Business description. Write a brief description of your business.
2. Compete all information what Google asks for.
Photo gallery, new services, contacts, facilities (for example, you can add to the restaurant card that you have a toilet for disabled people or a ramp);
3. Set up Appointment and Menu url.
Your business listing can include links to specific actions such as online orders or reservations. Insert your contact page or Menu on your main website on the Google My Business listing. Beauty shops, fitness centres can take advantage of the Reserve with Google service, which allows customers to book appointments directly through Google.
In order to join the program, businesses will need to add and update their daily schedules with a third-party scheduling site that has a partnership with Google. If your business want to make reservations through Google Partners such Bookatable or Mindbody check this link.
4. Answer on the reviews.
Avoid negative reviews. Read how to fix bed Google reviews
Online reviews are critical to the success of a local business, with nearly 90% of consumers only considering purchasing from a business if they have a star rating of 3+
Responding to online reviews is another critical piece in not only building a positive online impression, but also in encouraging other consumers to leave their feedback and engage with your business.
5. New content.
Add new advices, posts, menus to Google Business page.
6. Make 3D Tours.
How 3D Tours Can help your business:
- Increases click-through rate by 50% on Google search results. Google, by 30% increase reservation.
- Potential customers between the ages of 18 and 34 are 130% more likely to make a reservation after viewing the tour.
- Pages of companies with a virtual tour attract customers 2 times more often than all the rest.
In 44% of cases, when searching for information about a company, users use maps and in 41% of cases, the search ends with a visit.
Official Google study: https://goo.gl/99uVKf
What is 3D Tours
This is a way to walk through the streets of the city, apartment, hotel room, gym, cafe, restaurant, shop and other places directly from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Do not confuse the concept of a virtual tour with an ordinary photo or video! Here you can not just walk – the user gets the opportunity to look where he wants, to enter the door, which he considers it necessary to open, to look into those parts of the institution that he wants.
Why do you need it?
Imagine that soon you intend to go to another city, say, on a vacation or a business trip, and the first thing the traveler focuses on is a hotel room, apartment or hostel. Here he comes to the aid of Booking, where you can find out basic information: prices, location and photo of rooms and / or TripAdvisor with guest reviews.
There are a lot of systems! But today this is not enough – users are spoiled by new technologies and they need to be surprised. – How? Order a 3D tour ➾ place it on the site ➾ place on print products using a QR-code ➾ tell about it on social networks – use the new tool to attract customers to your business! And now your profile on Google Maps and Google Search will get a lot more views, which means more clients, now your potential client will not view photos in the gallery, now he will walk in a virtual way.
7.Add social media links to google my business page
If you don’t know how to add social media links on your Google Business listing page please read Google instructions . Like in the example above. You can add it by yourself or ask your developer.
How to Fix a Bad Google Review.
Hey, it happens. No matter how good your products are or how hard you and your staff try; it is only a matter of time before you receive a bad review. It could be caused by a slip-up on your part or someone sabotaging your business; but bad reviews are the bane of your business’ existence. The worst part is, today, it only takes a few clicks to make negative reviews go viral.
The critical key to keeping customers truly happy and loyal is effectively managing, responding, and acting on a customer’s bad review. Read on to learn how to fix a bad Google review.
First, Let’s Talk Numbers
Here’s the bad news: customers who had a bad experience with a business would share their stories to anyone who would listen. In fact, researchers from the University of Nottingham say that 100% of unhappy customers will tell approximately 10 to 20 people about their bad experience.
The worse news: These studies were from before the internet made it very easy for anyone to give businesses a bad review. These studies also don’t account for the people who get a kick out of sabotaging businesses.
What can you do?
How to Fix a Bad Google Business Review
Remember, when customers leave a bad Google review, all they essentially want:
- is for their problem to be easy to report;
- is for their issues to be acknowledged; and
- for their concerns to be dealt with quickly, sensitively and fairly.
Almost all kinds of bad reviews can be fixed in 5 Steps.
- Anticipate – It’s not about whether or not you will receive a bad review because you will. The key is in anticipating it. If you anticipate it; you will not be surprised. And if you are not surprised; you will not act react emotionally. Emotions can make people do unfortunate things that can ruin the business’ reputation forever.
- Investigate – Analyse the situation. Attempt to contact that customer to try to find out the cause of the bad review. Ask the customer to provide you with details. This will encourage them to shift his focus to the facts instead of his/her feelings, helping you move towards a more rational conversation and eventually, a solution. If the review is fake, do a thorough investigation.
- Acknowledge – The most common response to a bad review is a defensive one. Don’t forget the customer’s basic need to be acknowledged. You must respond in an empathetic and clear manner; even when the review is fake. Responding serves two purposes: making the customer feel heard and understood, and; showing prospects that you care about your customers and that you respond to customer dissatisfaction promptly and compassionately.
- Assert – We can’t help it. Whether it’s a competitor, or someone you’ve wronged in the past, or just a troll without a fun past time; the internet is a haven for fakes. If during your investigation, you find out that the review is fake; then it is your right to flag the review, report it to Google, and ask them to take it down.
- Act – On the other hand, if the bad review is from a real customer who had experienced real dissatisfaction; then you must rectify your mistake. Act on the information you gathered and resolve the issue. If possible, work towards a solution with the customer herself/himself to make sure your expectations are aligned.
Despite sufficient marketing, the best products, good deals, or the best employees; things can go wrong. Products don’t meet expectations, deliveries arrive late, details can get lost, and humans make mistakes. Bad reviews are a part of any service activity but bad reviews are not the end of the world.
If you want to know how to fix a bad Google review; follow these simple steps. Used well, these steps can help boost not only customer satisfaction but customer loyalty. Read our recommendations how to improve your Google Business listing.
Botnet of Infected WordPress Sites Attacking WordPress Sites
Website security WordPress plugin
The Defiant Threat Intelligence team recently began tracking the behavior of an organised brute force attack campaign against WordPress sites. The hackers has created a botnet of infected WordPress websites to perform its attacks. The bots attempt to get access to WordPress privileged accounts.
Five million attempts in 30 days!
In the last 30 days Wordfence plugin have blocked more than five million malicious authentication attempts associated with this attack campaign in the last thirty days alone.
The requests pass through the proxy servers and are sent to over 20,000 infected WordPress sites. Those sites are running an attack script which attacks targeted WordPress sites. The diagram below illustrates the attack chain.
What Should Site Owners Do?
To protect your website from potential threat it is valuable to implement restrictions and lockouts for failed logins.
The Wordfence plugin features help you to protect your website and the IPs launching the attacks are automatically blocked for Premium Wordfence users with access to the real-time IP blacklist.
If you believe your site is could be infected ,please consider making use of EasyClick Studio specialist or cleaning services. We will help you with your website security and search engine visibility.
More about Hackers attacks read here
This entry was posted in Research, Wordfence, WordPress Security on December 5, 2018 by Mikey Veenstra