Business-to-business (B2B) companies, sell their products or services directly to other businesses instead of selling them to customers, which is the B2C model. Having a B2B business model can be very profitable as they have higher order values, but they’re also harder to operate.
The sales cycles are much longer than for companies with the B2C model, usually lasting even several months. This can be very challenging, and a lot of B2B businesses are looking for ways to speed up that cycle and improve their sales. If you’re facing this issue, you’ve come to the right place.
Invest in local SEO
It’s almost impossible to find a person who hasn’t heard of search engine optimization. Both B2B and B2C businesses are always on the lookout for SEO tips that will increase traffic and conversions, but something not many people focus on is local SEO. A lot of people and businesses use Google to search for businesses in their area by adding a phrase such as “near me” to their internet search. The places that come up in the results are all from businesses that have performed local SEO. There are a few factors that Google takes into account for local SEO:
- The proximity of your store. Google uses GPS technologies to calculate how close the person who’s searching for your business is to the address you listed in your Google My Business profile.
- The popularity of your business. When there are multiple similar businesses in one area, Google will use their popularity in both the online and offline world to decide how high it should be ranked. Another factor it will use is customer reviews.
- How relevant the search is to your business. Depending on the keywords the person who is performing the search uses, Google will decide whether your business classifies as a relevant search. The search platform will use your data from Google My Business as well.
If you don’t want to bother with local SEO optimization yourself, you can hire a company in your area that will optimize your website. For example, you can hire a company that does Orange County search engine optimization if you’re located in Orange County in California.
Be present on LinkedIn
Social media marketing is a big topic among businesses, but since you’re selling directly to other businesses and not everyday customers, your social media strategy needs to be a bit different. To be precise, you should create a social media strategy that is tailored to other businesses.
This is where LinkedIn can help. This business-oriented social media platform has 810 million members and while it’s not the most popular platform out there, it’s exactly what your B2B business needs. Here are a few tips to help you succeed on LinkedIn:
- Connect with your leads. Look for business professionals who are working in an industry that might be interested in your offers and send them a request to connect. Once they accept you, you will be able to see their feed, which will allow you to learn more about the lead.
- Send a warm and honest introduction. When asking to connect with the lead, send them a short but custom invitation. And when they accept it, send them a message in which you introduce yourself.
- Use the sales navigator to nurture relationships. Premium LinkedIn users have access to a feature called the sales navigator. You can use this feature to get information on the company you’re interested in, find out key events, and everything else you need to nurture a good relationship with your leads.
To simplify making connections on LinkedIn, you can use a LinkedIn lead generation tool. It comes with a plethora of useful features that can help you grow your network, and if you’re not sure you want to commit to a paid plan right away, you can download the free trial app to understand how this tool can be beneficial.
Make sure you only focus on qualified leads
Not all of your leads and prospects will be equally important. Businesses need to know how to filter their leads and know which ones are more likely to convert than others. And since the average cost of a lead is $43 in the B2B niche, you need to choose your leads carefully. The best way to focus on qualified leads is to be completely sure what your target market is and what buyer segments are most likely to buy from you. Nurture and target leads whose problems you can solve and who match your customer profile. To do this, you can eliminate those leads that don’t belong to your key demographic and who don’t have the same pain points as your current and previous customers.
Final thoughts
The B2B industry is far from what it used to be when it was first created. Thanks to numerous businesses with similar offerings, B2B customers have a lot of choices and can take months to make a purchasing decision. So make it easier for your business and apply the tactics you read about here.
