B2B Marketing · 5 min read

A B2B marketing strategy does not need to be complicated.

It needs to answer a few important questions:

Who are we trying to reach? What do they need? Why should they choose us? How will we reach them? And what are we trying to achieve?

Get those right and the rest becomes much easier.

01. Start with the business goal

Before you think about LinkedIn, SEO or content ideas, ask:

What actually needs to happen?

Maybe you need to:

• Generate more qualified leads
• Build pipeline
• Increase revenue
• Enter a new market
• Launch a new product
• Generate demand
• Increase brand awareness

Your strategy should connect to a specific business outcome.

For example:

“Increase brand awareness” is vague.

“Increase awareness among UK HR leaders at businesses with 500+ employees and generate 100 qualified opportunities this year” gives your team something to work towards.

The clearer the goal, the easier it becomes to make decisions.

02. Get clear on who you are talking to

B2B marketing gets complicated because you are rarely marketing to just one person.

You might have:

The user
The person who uses your product.

The decision maker
The person who signs off the purchase.

The influencer
The person helping make the case internally.

Ask yourself:

• Who are they?
• What do they need?
• What problem are they trying to solve?
• What influences their decision?
• Where do they look for information?

You do not need to target every business that could buy from you.

Get specific about the customers you actually want.

03. Understand how they buy

B2B purchases rarely happen after someone sees one LinkedIn post.

There might be research, internal discussions, a demo and budget approval before a decision is made.

Think about what your audience needs at each stage.

They have a problem
Help them understand it.

They are looking at solutions
Show them why your approach is worth considering.

They are ready to buy
Give them the information and evidence they need.

Your marketing should support the whole buying journey, not just the final conversion.

04. Give people a reason to choose you

Ask:

Why should a B2B buyer choose you?

Get clear on:

The problem
What are you solving?

The audience
Who are you solving it for?

The value
What does the customer get?

The difference
Why choose you over another option?

You do not need a clever positioning statement. You need one that makes it obvious who you help, what you do and why it matters.

05. Choose your channels

Now decide where you will reach your audience.

Your options could include:

SEO · LinkedIn · Email · Paid Search · Paid Social · Content · Webinars · Events · PR · Partnerships

You do not need all of them.

Choose the channels where your audience is paying attention and where you have a realistic chance of getting results.

A simple way to think about it:

Audience → Objective → Buying Journey → Channel

Do not choose a channel because everyone else is using it. Choose it because it makes sense for your audience and your goal.

06. Turn the strategy into actual work

A strategy is only useful if your team knows what to do with it.

Turn your channels into specific activities.

SEO
Create content around questions your target buyers are searching for.

LinkedIn
Share useful insights, customer stories and opinions.

Email
Nurture prospects who are not ready to buy.

Events
Meet potential customers and continue the conversation.

Content
Create guides, case studies and resources that help buyers make decisions.

Every activity should have a purpose.

07. Decide what you can spend

Start with what you can realistically invest and decide where that money is most likely to make a difference.

For example:

You do not have to spend equally across every channel.

If something is working, put more behind it. If something is not working, stop and rethink it.

Your budget should support your strategy, not become the strategy.

08. Decide how you’ll know if it’s working

B2B marketing gives you a lot of numbers to look at. You do not need to track all of them.

Focus on metrics that connect your marketing to the business.

Depending on your goals, that could be:

• Qualified leads
• Pipeline generated
• Conversion rate
• Cost per lead
• Customer acquisition cost
• Revenue
• Marketing sourced revenue

Thousands of website visits might look impressive. But if they are not turning into qualified opportunities, they do not tell you the whole story.

Ask:

Is our marketing helping the business grow?

Keep it connected to reality

Your marketing strategy is not something you write once and forget about.

Things change. Your audience changes. Your competitors change. Your market changes.

Review your strategy regularly. Talk to sales. Listen to customers. Look at what is working.

Then adjust.

A good strategy gives your team direction. It should not stop you from changing course.

So, what should a B2B marketing strategy include?

At its simplest:

Objectives → What are you trying to achieve?
Audience → Who are you trying to reach?
Positioning → Why should they choose you?
Channels → Where will you reach them?
Activity → What will you do?
Budget → What can you invest?
Measurement → Is it working?

That is enough to give your team a clear direction.

Ready to build your B2B strategy?

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