Regardless of what industry we come from, all marketers are interested in building customer bases for their B2B business. B2B marketing teams want quantity as well as quality. Knowing how to acquire new B2B customers can help you to thrive, not just survive. Most B2B marketers want to market their services and products to everyone. Nobody has a problem with more sales, do they?
Learning how to acquire new B2B customers will help in capturing the attention of more people. Larger audiences mean more sales and profits. On an everyday basis, B2B marketers are trying to reach out to people who may be interested in what they have to offer. However, there are a few ‘unreachable’ prospects for every business.
Who are the ‘Unreachables’ For My B2B Business?
Unreachable prospects are called so because they cannot be reached effectively using your usual marketing methods. Every service or product has a specific target audience. Based on their age, tastes, needs, and other factors, people are qualified to your target audience.
If you sell medical equipment, the chances are that a meat-processing plant chain won’t be your target. Your unreachables are all those people who may never buy from you. However, some prospects who are unreachable right now may not continue in the same vein forever. A seemingly unattainable prospect becomes so, owing to deciding factors. If a deciding factor (age, income bracket, need, and so forth) changes, you might be able to sell to them.
Identifying Your Unreachables: An Example
Let’s take the example of a retirement insurance seller. In spite of offering an incredible product and excellent service, he can’t hope to sell to some groups. Septuagenarians and octogenarians have crossed the limit for buying the product in question. Young children don’t yet qualify for a product purchase. People below a specific monthly income bracket may be out of bounds.
However, even the most unexpected prospects can become your most prominent advocates. Learning how to talk to such groups is very important. When you communicate well, you can learn how to acquire new B2B customers from unreachable groups.
How to Acquire B2B Customers: Reaching Out to Unreachable Customers
Now that we’ve spoken about the untapped potential of your unreachable audiences, you might be curious. Here’s how to acquire new B2B customers among groups that were previously unreachable.
Meticulously Do your Homework
Excellent and effective marketing doesn’t happen without planning. Accidentally gaining marketing success is a rare phenomenon. For understanding how to acquire new B2B customers, you will have to prepare meticulously. You will have to do your homework.
Before you can try to reach out to this gold mine of untapped potential, learn who they are. Is this a necessary step? Hell yeah!
You may think that you know the market correctly. Marketers tend to think that they understand prospects like none other. However, with unreachable customers, may or may not be the usual suspects. Your group of unreachable prospects may not be who you think they are. It is for this reason that research and surveying are essential steps in the process.
It is wise to start by evaluating your current demographics for website visitors and on social media platforms. This analysis helps determine which audiences aren’t connecting well with you. Engagement statistics can be compared against those of our competitors to see if they’re engaging with people you aren’t able to connect to. Additionally, you can conduct interviews and send out questionnaires. These activities help in gathering additional customer information and answering key questions.
When you’re looking at how to acquire new B2B customers, here are some questions to consider.
- Why are these people not interested or informed about my business?
- Why are some customers uninterested and uninformed about the products and services my business offers?
- Can these people be informed that the products and services I offer might be a want or need?
- Is there a way I can approach them to communicate my business’s worth?
Customize Communication to Cater To Unreachable Groups, Not Current Customers
Understand that your existing customers and your unreachable customers are different. In this step of how to acquire new B2B customers, planning is a constant. When you think of how you will communicate with this untapped prospect group, brainstorm for a new approach.
A new approach is instrumental in reaching out. Because what works for your existing customers is not going to work for this group. Your current customers will be attracted to messages that might not hit the mark for unreachable ones. Even if they are well-received, they may not be as effective. In this scenario, it is essential that you put yourself in the audience’s shoes to see how you can place your brand in their sight.
A successful example of a B2B brand taking this approach is Philips. The global electronics and lighting company aims at reaching out to previously untouched groups with Innovation and You, their newest branding effort. With this campaign, they have catered their message to be more conversational and digitally sound. This has appealed to younger sections of audiences who were previously unaware of the brand. Decision-makers who were not even aware of the brand have become interested.
All in all, a new approach to communication speaks to a broader audience, helping you acquire new B2B clients.
Demonstrate How Your Offering Can Be Their Perfect Solution
Marketers take pride in their service offerings. Well, they should do so for sure.
A great way of reaching out to difficult prospects is by positioning one of your offerings as a solution. Let’s take the case BizProspex, our B2B data solution firm. We offer solutions right from CRM system cleaning services to lead lists solutions. If we had to reach out to our unreachable audiences, we would evaluate which of our services solve the prospect’s problem. We would answer the questions stated above to see what the client needs from us.
No matter what your organization offers, there is always a chance to position yourself as a potential solution. Maybe your B2B firm offers widely-needed services like the services we provide at BizPropex. Perhaps your products are more niche. In any case, you’ve got to be the solution!
Most unreachable audiences are unaware of what you can offer. It is highly possible that you can handle multiple problems and provide solutions. By demonstrating your utility, you gain their interest. Some people might not know that they need you. In such cases, tell them!
Position Your B2B Business Positively
Most marketers have come to believe that unless you’re actively sought out, customers won’t entertain you. However, this is not true. Most people will like to know how you can help them. Even if they’re not currently seeking your services. Piquing customer interest has many layers.
Learning how to acquire new B2B customers is easy when your business comes across as confident. You have to position your B2B business positively. Start by communicating actively about your capabilities. Make use of the appropriate language, design, technology, and messaging to convey your organization’s realities without putting down the competition, talk about what you will offer.
Highlighting your USP or unique offerings can help. Don’t forget to talk about achievements and awards, if any. Anything that helps boost your credibility and reputation is best included.
Showcase Consistent Credibility
In the age of social networking and constant connectivity, testimonials and reviews are necessities. These are powerful tools in showcasing your competence. Testimonials from satisfied customers can help portray your organization’s effectiveness as a solution. Unreachable customers are more likely to convert when they see you solve someone else’s problem. Always remember to be truthful in your communication. Never self-aggrandizing.
Here are a few other tips to help you learn how to acquire new B2B customers via a show of credibility.
- Talk about any noteworthy accreditations, awards, and certifications. On your website, incorporate these as badges. Social media platforms can have links to information about your achievements.
- Support a local charity, underprivileged community, or noble cause. You could display information about your social awareness and service endeavors on all platforms.
- Mention your efforts to be greener or more eco-friendly. Do you recycle? Is yours a zero-waste workplace? Do you make any environmentally sustainable efforts worth appreciating?
- Showcase your success stories in the form of case studies and tangible results. The numbers never lie. A well-written document that talks show how you solve client problems is likely to convert even the toughest of unreachables.
These tips are sure to appease your unreachable audiences. Moreover, they also act as reassurances to your current customer base. Customer credibility and reliability gets reinforced by seeing these markers. Even those who don’t need your business right now might think of you when they finally are looking for a solution.
How to acquire B2B Customers: Reaching Out With Content
Content marketing research report states that around 88% of B2B companies use content marketing regularly. However, only 30% believe in its effectiveness. Almost a decade ago when marketing books were introducing content marketing as a B2B concept, it was a novel thought. However, now it has become a marketing staple for B2B marketers. It the changing face of content marketing and its impact what can you do to hit targets?
Some B2B marketers have expressed difficulty in producing content for audiences that elicits the appropriate response. They may argue that B2C content has more scope for bringing in returns. However, that isn’t true. The differences in the two industries demand a different approach. You’re marketing to individuals in both. It is easy to get swayed into believing that since more people are involved in the purchase, B2B content doesn’t target individual people.
Here are some practical tips that will teach you how to acquire new B2B customers using content marketing.
Building Trust and Offering Value
Research shows that putting your audience’s needs first is paramount. The biggest mistake you can make is generating content without any forethought. The purpose of what you’re saying isn’t solely to show what you know or to coax someone. Having your content shared, consumed, discussed, and actioned on feels fantastic. But how will you get there?
If you want value from the right people, find a way to fulfill their needs. Statistics lead us to believe that organizations viewed as credible or trusted resources by audiences are usually successful at marketing content. However, the aim is, to be honest, and forthcoming.
The digital experiences you create must focus on showcasing your integrity, and inherent worth. Personalized approaches to your communication are usually sufficient. After you’ve identified your unreachable audiences, sending them customized communication is an excellent way of reminding them about your brand.
In the case of some unreachable prospects, a unique approach to content might help them convert. Even if they aren’t looking for your service right now, keeping in touch is essential. Who knows when they might lookout for your services? Having your brand’s name in the back of their mind will help considerably at this point.
In short, if you want your brand’s content to help you in reaching out to unreachable audiences, focus on adding value. Consistency is key. Be easy to engage with and have an approach that puts your prospect’s needs first. Tools like this one can help identify what your audiences might want regarding content.
Have a Multi-Channel Approach
You’ve not been successful at engaging with your unreachable prospects for a reason. People today access a variety of social, professional, and informational channels on a regular basis. In the case of many unreachable prospects, you might need to get the channel right.
Podcasts are an example of newly popularized media channels. Email marketing has always been a B2B marketing favorite. While there are some established communication channels that your business relies on, don’t get stuck in a rut. People are using a variety of new channels for their viewing, reading, listening, and informational needs. It is very possible that not keeping up with this change has alienated some people in your focus.
If you do your homework well, you’ll find opportunities in unexplored places. Your content marketing strategy should never be one-dimensional. Mastering how to acquire new B2B customers is realistic when you have a multi-pronged approach. Experimenting would help if you tried out different channels to see what connects.
A mix of, let’s say, press coverage, social media, podcasts, free webinars, and maybe even a print newsletter might pave the way for communication. If you don’t try, you’ll never know. Changing things up with your content marketing channels might get through some percentage of your unreachable audience.
Involve Industry Experts
Good B2B marketers know the benefits of featuring experts in their content. Getting such experts involved in producing that content is even better.
The idea is to partner with big names in your industry and create content with them. Maybe all you need is a quote. Will an interview with this person make a difference to your audiences? Can they write a guest post or guest blog for you?
In most cases, all you have to do is ask nicely. Most niche industry experts are happy to help. By consciously involving big names in your content, more people are going to engage with you.
Interacting with the social media profiles of the people you want to partner with is a good start. Using services like HARO can also help. This tool, initially designed for journalists, can help you gather quotes for content. You may not always find experts, but the resource can go a long way in helping you create valuable content.
Final Thoughts
We hope that this BizProspex guide on how to acquire new B2B customers helps you reach out to new groups of untapped potential. By making some changes in your approach to new markets, your business can grow as you’ve always wanted. Remember, that nothing is an impossible task. However, when it comes to reaching out to so-called unreachables, a good database is essential.
BizProspex can help you take your customer acquisition game to the next level. We offer a variety of services(list building services, B2B lead generation, skip tracing ) that can help you with your marketing efforts. If your campaigns aren’t as successful as you’d like, maybe it’s time to connect with us.
Reach out to us and see how we can help your B2B business grow!