In this post in our mobile marketing series, we’re talking about mobile marketing for B2B. Want to read more in our series? You can find them all at the end of this post!
When you think of the traditional B2B model, you likely envision a salesperson making cold calls or sending mass emails to prospects, following up again and again, offering demos, and otherwise driving the consumer towards the sale.
However, mobile has changed the B2B customer journey quite a bit. Today, most B2B buyers can find all of the information they want or need about your company on the internet. That means they don’t always talk to salespeople along the way to learn what they need to know.
Now, they wait until the last moment “ right as they’re ready to make a purchase “ to contact an actual person on your team. So, while salespeople may have driven the bulk of the conversations in the past, your marketing team is now front-and-center in shaping the experience prospects have with your business.
And with the rise of mobile in all walks of life, it’s becoming increasingly important that your marketing team focuses its efforts specifically on appealing to consumers who are doing business research on mobile devices. Mobile has the ability to speed up time to purchase by 20%, but only if you know how to use it. Here are the factors that go into creating a comprehensive B2B mobile marketing strategy.
Invest in Mobile Email Marketing
Email is still a great way to get in touch with business prospects. But the way that workers use their email today has changed the way you need to think about crafting marketing emails.
Today, consumers open most emails on mobile devices, and they have very little patience for emails that don’t perform on mobile. In fact, most will delete emails that are slow to load or look bad within just three seconds!
And these statistics don’t just affect B2C brands. Remember that many workers are checking email on commutes into the office. As remote work rises, more people are on-the-go throughout their workdays, passing from their home office to an in-person meeting at their client’s place to their desk at a shared workspace. And as they check their email throughout the day, chances are high they’re doing it on a mobile device.
It’s critical that you’re taking the mobile experience into consideration when you create your email marketing strategy. Make sure that emails load quickly on mobile devices. Use an email management tool that allows you to create templates with responsive design, which will guarantee your email displays correctly on any screen. And always send yourself a test email to make sure everything’s formatted properly across devices before you send it to your whole mailing list.
Use Tools to Understand Your Customer Across Devices
Today’s workers toggle between mobile and desktop to get their jobs done. But no matter where they encounter your brand, you want to make sure you’re providing them with a consistent experience.
That’s why it’s important to build up a universal customer view. When you track how each consumer is interacting with your brand across all their devices, you can build a seamless experience that impresses them and helps you win them over. A customer relationship management tool can help you avoid redundancies in your work and provide insights that allow you to get smarter in how you engage with consumers across all devices.
These kinds of tools can help you avoid a situation that might frustrate a prospect. For example, if someone’s already reached out via live chat on their phone to set up a demo, you don’t want to bombard them with pop-ups and advertising on their desktop asking them to try your product “ they’re already doing that!
On the flip side, it can also help you optimize your B2B mobile marketing strategy and stay top-of-mind in a positive way. If a prospect checked the product page for a specific offering on their desktop and went back several times to read reviews and watch your demo video, then you know they’re interested. But sometimes, particularly with B2B purchases, they have to speak with colleagues and get agreement before making the final decision.
You don’t want to lose them in the meantime! Targeting them with display or social ads on their mobile device for that specific product keeps them thinking about you until they’re ready to make their purchase.
Incorporate Video into Your Marketing
Video marketing is on the rise across the board. Consumers prefer to engage with video for all types of businesses and brands, but it’s especially important in mobile marketing for B2B.
Surveys have found that 59% of executives, when given a choice between text and video, would choose video. And it makes sense: These people are busy running a company!
These leaders don’t have time to sit down and pour over a long text-based product explanation or lengthy blog post. It’s much more efficient for them to watch a two-minute video and get all they need. Knowing that executives “ the decision-makers in B2B transactions “ prefer video content should be a strong signal to you that it’s time to start creating videos!
The great thing about video content is that it can be used anywhere. You can include product demos on your website that establish familiarity with your offers. You can build a YouTube channel with great informative, how-to content that demonstrates your industry knowledge. You can create video ads for social media that keep you top-of-mind with interested prospects. The possibilities are endless!
Rely on Paid Search
Paid search is a tried-and-true marketing tactic for any business, but it’s especially relevant for your B2B mobile marketing strategy. If a worker is on the move, away from their desktop, but looking for a business solution, it’s unlikely that social media will be the first place they turn. Instead, they’ll probably head to their internet browser to search for appropriate businesses.
Mobile devices are small, and there’s just not as much real estate on the screen as there is on a desktop. That makes getting your business’s name front-and-center in search results even more critical on a mobile device than it is on desktop.
Paid search allows you to do just that, making sure your business is listed ahead of organic results. With a campaign built around targeted keywords, a catchy heading and description, plus a customized landing page to drive consumers to the right information on your website, a smart paid search campaign can go a long way in the world of an effective mobile marketing strategy for B2B.
Mobile marketing has become increasingly important for all businesses over the past few years, and B2B companies are no exception. If you’re looking for guidance in getting your mobile marketing efforts off the ground, we’re here to help.
More from our Mobile Marketing Series
- What is Mobile Marketing & Why Should You Care?
- 5 Stats that will Make You Believe in the Power of Mobile Marketing
- Magnificent Mobile Marketing Strategies: 5 You Need to Know
- How to Get Started with Mobile Marketing: 5 Simple Tips
- How Local Mobile Marketing Can Help You Capture New Customers
- AR and Mobile Marketing: A Match Made in Heaven
- Can You Actually Drive Leads with Mobile Marketing?
