We discuss online marketing strategies often, but what about offline marketing strategies? Specifically, what offline marketing tactics are there that B2B brands can benefit from?
Certainly, a perfect combination of online and offline marketing will lead you to a successful B2B brand. Here are few tips for effective offline marketing strategies.
What Is B2B?
Before we discuss offline marketing, let’s understand what B2B stands for.
You may often hear about Business to business or also called as B to B (B2B). B2B is a form of transaction between businesses, which involving a manufacturer and wholesaler or retailer.
Business to business stands in opposition to business to consumer (B2C) and business to government (B2G) transactions (Investopedia, 2018).
An easy example of B2B is an automobile manufacturing. They are producing a car where all of the parts are purchased from many companies.
B2B companies run a high volume of sales experience.
It’s different from B2C where most of the transactions are between a company and consumers who are the end-users of its products or services.
As B2B doesn’t interact directly with the audience, it’s really important to do different marketing strategies.
When you want to reach your customer directly, it will probably work out when you maximize the online marketing strategy.
For B2B marketing, we suggest you focus on the offline marketing. Here are some tips to do effective offline marketing strategies for B2B brands.
Donation or Sponsorship
Give a donation or sponsoring an event is still worth to try because they are an effective way to get your business online and reach more people in physical space.
By sponsoring an event, it will create a face-to-face interaction.
The message that you want to tell your target audience will also more easy to understand than to do it online.
Giving a donation can be done not only by giving cash but it also in In-kind sponsored like providing the tools or things that the event might need.
It could be one of your business services or products. Becoming a sponsor of an event will also make your brand reputation increase.
Related: Instagram Testing New Instagram Creator Account For Influencers
Physical Branding
Most of the B2C brand focus on online branding since most of the customers nowadays are purchasing everything online.
It will be great for B2B brands to work more on physical branding.
Based on Next Web, 90% visual information are processed by the brain.
Many brands have proven that the brands that stick in the mind are often placed by physical branding.
There are many ways to do physical branding, you can use your employee or customers to be a “walking billboard.”
Such as by giving them your company branded t-shirt, or other merchandise like a bag, notepads, lanyard, flash drive, or umbrella.
Don’t forget to maximize the role of posters, billboard, and brochures.
Getting your brand logo and name on physical products will surely create more attention from potential customers and clients.
Offline Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing is a collective term for the use of unconventional marketing.
This experiential marketing will create more brand awareness in a physical space.
There are many ideas that you can try to do Guerilla marketing.
It can be used to surprise and delight the potential or existing customers.
The reasons why Guerilla marketing still effective in this digital era is because we still need conventional ways to attract people.
No matter how often people go online, they are still a people who want to be inspired and to feel a heartwarming response to a piece of content.
There is still a high opportunity that could be waiting for your B2B brands on offline.
Here are some ideas to do your Guerilla marketing:
- “Accidentally” leave a branded pen on a public place
- Donate branded notepads to local libraries
- Leave sticky notes in random places like restaurant or coffee shops
Speak at Events
Events are a great way to broaden your network, meet new potential customers or clients for your business, and create brand awareness.
It will be more effective if you can be one of the speakers of a professional event.
Find some local events that related to your business or skills then come up with some educational topic to speak on those events.
Prepare a high-quality content to be given to audiences and include how you do your business on the talk.
This would increase the reputation of your business, as many people will pay attention to what you say.
But if you still don’t have any courage or haven’t found any events that would be relevant, just start by attending the events.
Business Cards
Most simple but yet still being forgotten is business cards. Business cards are still the most essential thing for your business.
It will create a professional and trustworthy image.
Make sure you always bring well-designed business cards as a representative of your business.
You can do more than just passing your business cards to people that you think will be potential to be your clients or customers.
Besides giving it directly to the new people, you can drop it everywhere.
For example, leave your business card with a tip when at a restaurant.
Another way, you can go to the local library and put your business cards in the books that related to your business.
Quick Tips For Offline Marketing
In addition to these offline marketing tips, there are some things that you need to know and uphold to when you are doing B2B Marketing.
Be human: A successful sales is the one who can define the problem of the customers and adjust it with the solution from their product.
As you are negotiating with the people from the company, you need to know how to speaks to them. Be flexible and actively listening.
Focus on target: Make time to set and segment your target audience well.
All of those tips below wouldn’t work unless you do it for the right audience.
Contributed by Gogoprint Singapore
Keep Reading
- How To Create A Website For Free
- SiteGround Review
- Bluehost Review
- Top Digital Marketing Trends This Year
- Instagram Testing New Instagram Creator Account For Influencers
