Small Business Advice

Business Marketing Advice

B2B or Business to Business Marketing is the process of promoting your products or services to another company or business.

Your business marketing is a little different to consumer marketing as the target market is different. You may need to investigate how and what avenues there are available to market business to business. Ultimately you want your products and services to be used and you need to find ways to get your products or services into people’s hands.

With consumer marketing you has only one client the customer. They are not a business but an individual. With business marketing you have four areas for your clients. The first is purely other companies who use your products and services, the second are government agencies, the third is institutions such as schools and hospitals, and the last but not least are resellers.

If you sell parts to an auto shop this would be an example of the first type. If you supply products or services to hospitals, government institutions and other agencies for their day to day running this would be the next couple of types. Then the last one is when you list your products with businesses like Amazon that then resell your products or services.

If you are in the consumer market you may realise you are dealing with individuals on a regular basis. The business market may require you to deal with one person within an organisation and their purchasing may be irregular however may be a higher quantity rather than smaller requests.

If you have a small market this could be a good thing for your business. It will be easier to work out who your target market is then also your marketing will be easier. Use company branding and advertising opportunities to create awareness in your business area.

There are a few different networking events you can utilise to benefit in business. Trade shows are one with you clients looking specifically for your products or services. You can also go to business networking events to brand your company and also meet others that want to build business relationships.

You have a few direct ways you can market your business. The first is by direct mail. This enables you to put your product in front of the clients and businesses that you wish. Develop a mailing list of potential leads and put your promotion, leaflets or brochures in front of them. The second direct way is telemarketing. Again you’re targeting the clients or businesses you need and your are directly offering your services to them.

If you want to add credibility and reputation then Public Relations (PR) or media marketing is for you. Publications, magazines and other media opportunities can help create awareness and build a public image for your business. Make sure it’s newsworthy and it may go viral overnight.

If you want to promote your products and services 24/7 and worldwide the internet is for you. With options of press releases, social networking sites, articles, classifieds, and an online website your customers can shop anytime instantly. Using these avenues can add revenue plus enable your business to grow overnight.

By creating a few different types of marketing ideas you can see which one works and which one is more beneficial to you. If it works just magnify it by 10 times and reap 10 times the benefit.

Learn more about our Sales & Marketing Training.