Being a member of a sales team is not easy, especially in the fierce B2B sector. Think about it- you’re not building relationships with a single customer, but with an entire group of decision-makers within one organization.
Also, the B2B industry keeps flourishing and new businesses are popping up every day. For you, this means more competition.
So, how to increase your sales and keep your revenue growing in such a fierce B2B landscape?
Here are a few proven tactics that may help you.
1. Segment your Target Customers
One of the most common mistakes B2B businesses make is targeting the wrong audiences. Increasing sales is not all about products or customer support. You first need to know what businesses are usually interested in buying from you, what their main problems are, what they expect from you, and why they chose you over your competitors.
In other words, by getting to know your target customers, you will be able to focus on those marketing techniques that resonate with them and can turn them into satisfied customers.
For example, you could start by listening to your customers on social networks. Knowing that their opinions matter, customers are eager to review brands and share their experiences on social networks. And, to track their conversations, you can use social media monitoring tools that let you identify both your direct and indirect brad mentions.
Your emails and chatbots can also serve as an amazing source of information. When reaching out to you, businesses tell you about their specific problems and expectations and this is a great opportunity to learn more about them and provide personalized customer support.
Finally, you can also ask for their feedback directly. Apart from various business directories and review sites you should sign up for, you could also create customer satisfaction surveys and send them to relevant people in your industry.
2. Provide Exceptional Customer Support
B2B companies generally have fewer customers than B2C companies. Precisely because of that, it’s important to provide them with exceptional customer support. This means offering high, 24/7 availability and responsiveness, across multiple channels.
Your B2B customers want answers fast, irrespective of their time zone, language, and location. And, stats back me up on that. Over half of customers say businesses should be available to them 24/7.
In addition to answering phone calls, social media messages, and emails, you should consider implementing a live chat with your site. The benefits of a 24/7 multilingual chat are multiple, from providing immediate customer support to addressing the needs of different markets. Most importantly, B2B customers love live chats. Research says that over 90% of customers are satisfied with the live chat services.
3. Harness the Power of LinkedIn
For B2B businesses, LinkedIn is the most powerful social network.
First, you can use LinkedIn Groups to build relationships with your potential clients and get your brand noticed. Many businesses use these groups to connect with each other and learn more about their niche. This is a great opportunity to get involved in relevant conversations, present yourself as a valuable and trusted resource, and inspire your potential clients to do business with you.
You can also use LinkedIn to advertise your business. This is probably the most effective ways to invest in B2B PPC, as most of your potential customers are already using this platform. With LinkedIn Advertising, you can increase your brand’s visibility and provide more personalized customer experiences. For example, you can target specific locations, businesses, industries, titles, and groups. Above all, LinkedIn has awesome analytics options, allowing you to test your campaigns to make sure that your messaging and calls to action are converting into dollars.
4. Increase Credibility with Relevant Content
Content marketing and sales simply go hand in hand. The customer information a sales team collects helps content marketers produce highly valuable and educative content that attracts businesses and builds trust with them. By boosting your online authority through content, you will also boost your sales.
Precisely because of that, you need to choose the right types of B2B content– ones that generate more leads and turn them into sales.
Start by publishing original, data-backed articles that address your customers’ problems and provide actual tips they can apply. No matter if you are a digital agency or you’re running an office supplies store, you need to do detailed research and take an original approach to every topic.
Case studies are among the most popular forms of B2B content for a good reason. Namely, the goal of a case study is to highlight the problem your client had, how this problem affected their business’ performance, and how you helped them resolve this problem. By publishing this form of content regularly, you will manage to demonstrate your value to the businesses facing similar issues and persuade them to hire you.
Research says that B2B customers rely on industry whitepapers, too. Whitepapers are supposed to be highly relevant and authoritative content pieces, packed with the latest industry trends, data, graphics, and statistics. Their goal is to inform and educate a potential customer, as well as to prove how knowledgeable you are.
Any type of visual content can also work for you, from infographics to different charts. These are easily shareable and link-worthy pieces that increase your online exposure, hook people’s attention, and inspire them to visit your blog for more fun content.
And, last, but not the least are videos. Videos have gained immense popularity over the past few years as an impressively powerful engagement and lead generator. Video content is a great way to provide actionable tips, present the latest product features, or elaborate on the latest industry trends.
Most importantly, you can use client testimonial videos, where your clients explain why they chose you, how you are different from the rest, and how you helped them. In fact, any form of social proof, from customer reviews to written testimonials on your site will help you gain customer trust.
Over to You
Sales teams vary. This is why there is no uniform strategy to apply to skyrocket your sales. Still, what we can conclude from the abovementioned examples is that increasing sales in the B2B ecosystem is all about building and nurturing customer relationships. So, make sure you target the right people, provide real-time customer support across multiple channels, write valuable content, and choose the same online channels your customers use.
Hope these tips will help!
