B2B brands often hold their cards extremely close to the vest and that creates an uphill battle in attracting customers and growing sales. To build B2B credibility within your industry, you have to loosen up a bit.
Be more inviting, a little more transparent and step outside your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to pull back the curtain and give prospects behind-the-scenes access to your product development process.
Consider that celebrity chefs regularly demonstrate how to make their signature dishes on TV, showing every ingredient they use. They publish cookbooks with step-by-step instructions on how to replicate their dishes. But that doesn’t stop people from frequenting their restaurants. Just the opposite. These chefs become trusted resources. People want to taste their foods and learn more cooking techniques from them.
A technique much simpler than that, think about the free samples handed out at the grocery store or wholesale club. You are definitely more likely to purchase the product if you can sample the new wine or soft drink or taste the latest BBQ sauce. Some tangy sauce slathered on hot, grilled chicken will likely seal the deal.
Okay, so your product is definitely more sophisticated (and likely more expensive) than your next dinner, but you have to demonstrate how your latest product works.
You don’t want to give them the secret ingredients for your newest product offering, but you’d better get their attention by explaining why your product is better. And you don’t want to give away your trade secrets, but you’ll want to walk as close to that line as possible.
When you provide more insights and inside information you are not just helping to sell the product, but you’re positioning your company as an expert in the industry. You’re building credibility for your B2B brand and its products.
This begins to happen through your website – and with a strong content marketing plan.
A good place to start is to roll out a series of short punchy videos that demonstrate the biggest benefits of your product. But remember that it’s not all about the product benefits, which no doubt are amazing! You’ll also want to focus on how this product will make your customers’ lives better. You want them to believe they can’t live without your product, and when you accomplish that they’ll be hooked.
Now you want to build an ongoing conversation, assert your brand as an industry thought leader and reel those new prospects into the boat.
This conversation-building exercise starts with a strong marketing funnel. Digital ads drive traffic to the main landing page on your website that provides a behind-the-scenes look at your product. Then you build your conversation through remarketing ads and a content marketing plan rolling out industry insights and highlighting your newest product via social media.
If you’ve impressed them, delivered a hip user experience on your website and demonstrated that your product is superior, now you’re ready to close the deal.
After building multiple communication points with prospects, they’ll return to your website ready to fill out a form requesting more information – or to schedule a demo.
Next you’ll want to keep the conversation going, but play it cool. You’ll want to use your marketing automation workflows to send prospects timely follow up emails. These emails will be set up to provide answers to the questions you know they have based on their website activities. And you’ll want to make sure your efforts align with your sales team.
Don’t be too pushy as some sales cycles can take time. Along the way your B2B credibility score will gain points with prospects, who will eventually convert to customers and may even become brand ambassadors if you play your cards right.
If you’re looking to elevate your B2B brand into an industry thought-leader, Contact SWBR to see how we can position your company for greater success.
