In our post, How to (re)build a B2B growth marketing strategy that gets results, we outlined an approach to help you set the stage for reinventing your growth marketing strategy. Once you’ve set that foundation (your discovery work is done, you’ve got a unified story and brand, and you’ve updated your website), your next task is to determine how you’ll execute on your strategy.
BUILD A MARKET PRESENCE
Think of the initial B2B marketing foundation you’ve built as a stage that you’ve set for production, with a screenplay that’s been fine-tuned and perfected. Now you’ve got to train your actors and start broadcasting your show!
Here are 3 key steps you’ll need to take to get ready for showtime.
B2B Growth Marketing Model: Phase 2
Build a presence
1. GIVE YOUR SALES TEAM THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO SELL YOUR STORY
A strong brand message combined with a set of unique, relevant products won’t go very far if your salespeople aren’t prepared to deliver that story in a meaningful, consistent way.
Align your sales process – confirm the process that you’ll use to develop and nurture leads as they make the journey through your sales funnel. Discuss this process with your sales staff to identify and resolve any potential gaps, and address any questions they may have.
Build a sales collateral library – use the key messages you identified in your foundational work to re-shape your product marketing materials. Evaluate and revise existing product sell sheets, videos and sales presentations to ensure they’re on-message. Develop new pieces as needed.
2. DEVELOP A GO-TO-MARKET APPROACH
Now that your salespeople are ready to deliver on your brand promise and product differentiators, this is a good time to prepare for the final act in your performance – product launch!
Establish a product launch blueprint – develop a clear roadmap to guide your product launch and implementation efforts.
First, assess the competitive landscape and audience for each product, and determine the resources required for launch.
Next, develop a product marketing plan to amplify your message, and then activate it with internal training and an external launch plan.
Finally, determine how you’ll collect data to measure your progress and analyze results against your launch goals.
3. BUILD INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMER AWARENESS
The stage is set, your actors are ready and the production process is in place. Now is the time to promote the show and get an audience in place.
Create your event strategy– determine which industry conferences and tradeshows align best with your sales opportunities and start planning how you’ll engage with prospects at each show. Add in any other opportunities for events led by your company (client conferences or webinars).
Start digital and social advertising– use paid media tactics including digital banner ads, paid search and sponsored LinkedIn posts, for example, to get in front of your target audience and start generating leads for your sales staff.
Spread the word through earned media– complement your paid advertising efforts with a strategy to leverage the marketing channels you own, for free! This includes planning regular posts on your social media pages, and identifying story-pitching and press release opportunities.
Understand how you’ll measure results– identify what metrics and benchmarks you’ll use to measure the success of your marketing efforts. This will likely include data such as event attendance, ad impressions, social likes/shares, press mentions or articles, etc.
Here at GrowthMode Marketing, we’re experts at helping our clients plan and execute these marketing activities so they can achieve their growth goals. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help you take these steps to implement your B2B growth marketing strategy.
