Ali Arslan Akbar’s Post

Here is how a B2B marketing strategy SHOULD look like (and how it actually looks in most B2B companies). 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐁2𝐁 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬: 1. Paid ads promoting product/demo 2. Automated email & LinkedIn outreach 3. Gated e-books to generate "leads" 4. Product pitching webinars 5. Low-quality blog 6. Occasional posts on the company's social pages 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 (based on the State of Full-Funnel Marketing research): -Miserable "lead" to opportunity conversion and endless debates about the quality of the leads - Missed revenue targets - High cost of acquisition - Extended sales cycle Usually, the core problem of these companies is a lack of marketing fundamentals or a clear GTM strategy. 𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁2𝐁 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞: 0. 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬. Goals should be based on your current resources, opportunities, and historical growth, not based on wishes or unrealistic expectations. 1. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. Segmentation is the first step in developing ICP. Different segments have different use cases, buying processes, and revenue potential. You need to select the focus segment. 2. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 (𝐈𝐂𝐏). Here are 5 ICP pillars. - Firmographics - Buying committee - Account segmentation (Tiers) - Qualification and disqualification criteria - Customer research 3. 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. During customer research, define what triggers the buying process, and what are the typical steps buyers take. But keep in mind that most customers are not actively buying. Try to figure out what channels they use for education, who they follow, and what content resonates with them and motivates them to learn more about specific solutions (demand triggers). Understand typical questions, concerns, and inhouse approval process. 4. Positioning and Value Prop. Both are part of your marketing message which communicates why your product is different and worth buying. 5. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧. Define programs to influence the whole buying process: — Awareness and demand generation. — Demand capturing and activation — Retention — Expansion — Sales and buyer enablement 6. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲. Last stage is often ignored, but without an efficient CS and advocacy, your company will deal with: - Lack of case studies and referrals - High churn Build a great relationship and minimize time to value with appropriate onboarding. Embed customer research in the process. Leverage the opportunity to create case studies and share insights with marketing and sales for further expansion.

Here is how a B2B marketing strategy SHOULD look like (and how it actually looks in most B2B companies). 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐁2𝐁 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬: 1. Paid ads promoting product/demo 2. Automated email & LinkedIn outreach 3. Gated e-books to generate "leads" 4. Product pitching webinars 5. Low-quality blog 6. Occasional posts on the company's social pages 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 (based on the State of Full-Funnel Marketing research): -Miserable "lead" to opportunity conversion and endless debates about the quality of the leads - Missed revenue targets - High cost of acquisition - Extended sales cycle Usually, the core problem of these companies is a lack of marketing fundamentals or a clear GTM strategy. 𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁2𝐁 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞: 0. 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬. Goals should be based on your current resources, opportunities, and historical growth, not based on wishes or unrealistic expectations. 1. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. Segmentation is the first step in developing ICP. Different segments have different use cases, buying processes, and revenue potential. You need to select the focus segment. 2. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 (𝐈𝐂𝐏). Here are 5 ICP pillars. - Firmographics - Buying committee - Account segmentation (Tiers) - Qualification and disqualification criteria - Customer research 3. 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. During customer research, define what triggers the buying process, and what are the typical steps buyers take. But keep in mind that most customers are not actively buying. Try to figure out what channels they use for education, who they follow, and what content resonates with them and motivates them to learn more about specific solutions (demand triggers). Understand typical questions, concerns, and inhouse approval process. 4. Positioning and Value Prop. Both are part of your marketing message which communicates why your product is different and worth buying. 5. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧. Define programs to influence the whole buying process: — Awareness and demand generation. — Demand capturing and activation — Retention — Expansion — Sales and buyer enablement 6. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲. Last stage is often ignored, but without an efficient CS and advocacy, your company will deal with: - Lack of case studies and referrals - High churn Build a great relationship and minimize time to value with appropriate onboarding. Embed customer research in the process. Leverage the opportunity to create case studies and share insights with marketing and sales for further expansion.

Stop Obsessing Over Lead Generation! B2B marketing continues to become increasingly complex. While lead generation is certainly an important aspect, it's crucial to remember that building a strong and trusted brand is equally, if not even more, important. Trust is necessary to generate leads, and even when you do, you'll need to close them. The attached MarTech article supports my marketing declarations that everything should be treated as an impression and helpful resource along the customer buyer journey. Here are key takeaways for marketing experts to consider when crafting their B2B marketing strategies. Here are the key takeaways from my marketing expert peers: B2B marketing is more art than science. It's not just about generating leads but also about building brand awareness and establishing yourself as a trusted advisor in your space. Focus on consistent messaging. Make sure your message is clear, consistent, and resonates with your target audience. Practice active listening to understand their pains and goals. Use their own words to build consensus and trust at each touchpoint. Show up for your audience. Be present where your target audience is and engage with them regularly. It's all about being in the right place, at the right time, in the right channel, with the right message. Don't rely solely on lead generation. While lead generation is important, it shouldn't be your only focus. Build a strong brand foundation to support your long-term marketing goals. Consider lead gen the output of your work from creating impressions that support the customer journey to earn their trust. By following these tips, you can create a more effective B2B marketing strategy that will help you achieve your business goals. Check out the article: https://lnkd.in/gnpzpNew Share your thoughts and insights in the comments below!

Pardon the soap box: As critical as lead generation is within B2B marketing, we are in danger of over-rotating on "activating names" that fit an ICP profile, while short-changing the need to build brand awareness & brand understanding. By generating leads without a focus on building brand understanding (e.g. what, why a company does what it does - and why it matters to the ICP), B2B companies end up with, yes, big lead and MQL lists that look good on a dashboard but with poor conversion, often left to the BDR or Sales teams to work and activate: a losing game for what is often a high-turnover team with minimal investment in ongoing training. Not to mention prospects who are very hard to engage "live". It's time to relook at how B2B prospects research and buy (hint: it looks a lot like B2C). Good article that highlights some of this:

Most B2B marketing plans fail because of one reason: Lack of clarity. Demand generation is not about running ads with ungated content. ABM is not about making a wish list of accounts, running display ads and automated emails. Lead nurturing is not about setting up an automated sequence of emails to promote the product. The list of "is not about" is endless. B2B marketing is not taught at schools. Most B2B execs and salespeople don't support marketing programs not because they don't understand marketing, but because they don't see: -Detailed campaign playbook that describes goals and objectives, required resources and budget, timeline, metrics, and basic forecast. -How the marketing program will help to grow revenue, increase ACV, close more deals, or shorten the sales cycle This is why many marketing initiatives are killed beforehand and B2B marketers become sales order takers. Not all B2B companies want to sink into the lead gen swamp. There are lots of them who want to get out but don't know how. Our goal as B2B marketers is to educate and help them. Here are 7 steps we use: 1. Provide revenue analysis from different markets and verticals, narrow ICP replicating the best customers, and explain how ICPs buy based on the insights collected from customer interviews. 2. Explain what programs can help us to drive awareness in a target market, and how are we going to measure them. 3. Show what programs we can run to generate demand for our product 4. Explain how we can identify warm-up accounts and activate them together with sales 5. Show what we are going to do to nurture accounts that are not sales-ready without being pushy. When you connect the dots, suddenly marketing starts making sense to everybody. 6. Next step: get feedback and listen to all the concerns about the program suggested. Come up with ideas on how to mitigate the concerns. 7. Prepare a detailed marketing plan that includes a detailed breakdown of the campaigns you want to run: - Clear goals, objectives, and revenue forecast - Leading indicators to measure campaign efficiency - Detailed action plan, timeline, and task distribution among team members

Most B2B marketing plans fail because of one reason: Lack of clarity. Demand generation is not about running ads with ungated content. ABM is not about making a wish list of accounts, running display ads and automated emails. Lead nurturing is not about setting up an automated sequence of emails to promote the product. The list of "is not about" is endless. B2B marketing is not taught at schools. Most B2B execs and salespeople don't support marketing programs not because they don't understand marketing, but because they don't see: -Detailed campaign playbook that describes goals and objectives, required resources and budget, timeline, metrics, and basic forecast. -How the marketing program will help to grow revenue, increase ACV, close more deals, or shorten the sales cycle This is why many marketing initiatives are killed beforehand and B2B marketers become sales order takers. Not all B2B companies want to sink into the lead gen swamp. There are lots of them who want to get out but don't know how. Our goal as B2B marketers is to educate and help them. Here are 7 steps we use: 1. Provide revenue analysis from different markets and verticals, narrow ICP replicating the best customers, and explain how ICPs buy based on the insights collected from customer interviews. 2. Explain what programs can help us to drive awareness in a target market, and how are we going to measure them. 3. Show what programs we can run to generate demand for our product 4. Explain how we can identify warm-up accounts and activate them together with sales 5. Show what we are going to do to nurture accounts that are not sales-ready without being pushy. When you connect the dots, suddenly marketing starts making sense to everybody. 6. Next step: get feedback and listen to all the concerns about the program suggested. Come up with ideas on how to mitigate the concerns. 7. Prepare a detailed marketing plan that includes a detailed breakdown of the campaigns you want to run: - Clear goals, objectives, and revenue forecast - Leading indicators to measure campaign efficiency - Detailed action plan, timeline, and task distribution among team members ---- Marketing template will be shared on Friday here: https://lnkd.in/dSje9cKc

This graphic shows a simple concept, but one not always adhered to - a great marketing plan relies on a clear objective ultimately driving measurable results. But it must also include a cohesive strategy consisting of both personal and non-personal channels creating an omnichannel experience. If you are not fully integrating your plan across channels you are missing the opportunity to truly optimize your efficiency and effectiveness. #omnichannel #customerexperience #digital

🚫 If your marketing discussion starts with channels, it’s planned to fail. 🚫 Successful marketing isn’t about choosing the right channels first; it’s about understanding your customers deeply, identifying their needs, and crafting a compelling strategy around that insight. Channels come later, as the vehicle to deliver your message effectively. Start with your audience, their journey, and the value you provide. The rest will follow. #marketing ---

A typical conversation highlighting the complexity of B2B marketing/sales that I seem to keep having: • We spent money on LinkedIn ads • We spent money on Google ads • We spent money on events But, we saw no results. So we've now cut our spend on marketing. W͟h͟y͟ ͟d͟o͟e͟s͟ ͟t͟h͟i͟s͟ ͟h͟a͟p͟p͟e͟n͟?͟ • Niche proposition, solving a very specific problem • Small or tight target audience, sometimes as small as 500 people world wide but even 10k is considered super niche • Usually a tricky target audience e.g. family offices, CFOs in enterprise businesses, or people not easily accessible via digital channels So, understandably, founders/CEOs resort to evaluating marketing with a short-term lens. After all how many months or years can you sustain spending money on something without seeing evidence of a return? Even if the LinkedIn gurus tell you it's all about building awareness, or that there's a funnel we need to nurture prospects through. CXOs are looking at their pipeline grimacing. So it's common I hear: • "If we only got 10-15 qualified meetings a month" • "If we could just target the right buyer who's actively looking for our solution" • "If only they understood the value of our proposition" But alas, this is not the way of the world. It's tough and often not viable to identify who's in market for a given solution when it's fairly niche. So marketing casts a wide net where only a handful of relevant buyers get through from seeing an ad all the way to signing a contract. This process necessitates massive wastage. Partly due to privacy, partly due to how search & social (Google, Meta, LinkedIn ads)  monetise. If your churn is greater than your new customer acquisition, you don't have an alternative if you want to grow (other than building a better product, but sometimes that isn't viable). If your churn isn't greater than new acquisition, but you're growing too slow for your liking via referral, then what other options do you have? Only viable option really comes down to account based marketing. Focusing on reaching a set list of companies and decision makers with a more personalised and well-researched approach. Marketing will increase the probability of you being seen, accelerating and supporting other activities in your sales motion. But if the expectation is that marketing will directly generate highly relevant ready-to-buy prospects in a short time frame that's easily measurable for high annual contract value deals then you're likely to be disappointed.

A successful **B2B (business-to-business) marketing strategy** focuses on targeting other businesses rather than individual consumers. The key elements of a solid B2B marketing strategy include understanding your target market, providing valuable content, and nurturing long-term relationships. Here’s an outline to create a robust B2B marketing strategy: ### 1. **Define Your Target Audience** - **Identify Decision Makers**: Understand who in the organization makes purchasing decisions (C-suite executives, department heads, procurement teams, etc.). - **Segment Your Audience**: Segment based on industry, company size, geographical location, business needs, and pain points. - **Buyer Personas**: Develop detailed buyer personas that reflect the goals, challenges, and motivations of the decision-makers. ### 2. **Positioning and Messaging** - **Value Proposition**: Clearly articulate how your product/service solves the specific problems of your target audience. - **Differentiation**: Identify what sets you apart from competitors (e.g., cost, innovation, customer service). - **Tailored Messaging**: Customize messaging based on the needs of different industries or job roles. ### 3. **Content Marketing** - **Educational Content**: Develop content that educates and informs (e.g., white papers, eBooks, case studies, webinars). - **Thought Leadership**: Position your company as an expert through blogs, industry reports, and speaking engagements. - **Content Formats**: Utilize various formats such as articles, videos, infographics, and podcasts to cater to different learning preferences. ### 4. **Lead Generation** - **Lead Magnets**: Offer downloadable resources, free trials, or demos in exchange for contact information. - **SEO**: Optimize your website and content for relevant B2B keywords to attract organic traffic. - **Paid Advertising**: Use targeted ads on platforms like LinkedIn, Google Ads, and industry-specific sites. - **Referrals and Partnerships**: Leverage partnerships and referral programs to expand your network. ### 5. **Lead Nurturing and Relationship Building** - **Email Marketing**: Use drip campaigns, newsletters, and personalized email sequences to build trust and nurture leads. - **CRM Integration**: Use a CRM (e.g., HubSpot, Salesforce) to track and manage leads throughout the sales funnel. - **Personalized Follow-ups**: After initial outreach, create personalized, valuable touchpoints based on where the lead is in the buyer’s journey. ### 6. **Sales Enablement** - **Sales Collateral**: Provide the sales team with the right tools, including case studies, brochures, and demos. - **Training**: Equip sales representatives with insights on buyer personas, value propositions, and objection-handling techniques. - **Align Sales and Marketing**: Ensure seamless collaboration between sales and marketing teams to ensure consistency in messaging and lead handoffs. #B2Bmarketing #retail