How to Reshape Your Company Through Digital Transformation

by with No Comment BusinessTechnology

Whether B2B or B2C, customers now expect seamless digital interactions. Any delay in service is viewed as frustrating and unacceptable  and, however strong the brand, customers will only put up with slow service for so long before they move to a competitor with a smarter offer.

In order to expand business opportunities and improve operational processes, every business should be looking to adopt a digital mindset. A recent survey conducted by Smart Insights found 34% of business already had a digital transformation programme in place, with a further 31% looking to launch a programme imminently. However, it seems Europe, in particular, is lagging behind: just 5% of manufacturers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea) are digital champions, according to a recent PwC study.

Many businesses delay the process due to fears around upfront investment costs and disruption to services. However, if this reluctance ends up costing a loss of business, the reasoning begins to wear thin. The tangible economic gains relating to efficiency, productivity, increased revenue and investment should be motivation enough for companies to consider their journey to digital.

The dawn of Industry 4.0 means that almost all sectors can benefit from a digital transformation.

However, companies should be wise to a few golden rules to achieve the most from the process.

The ‘Whole-Digital’ Approach 

The first way to make the most of your digital transformation is through the ‘whole-digital’ approach. This approach aims to convert all business operations to digital systems, rather than converting one-by-one over a period of months of years, and enables businesses to deliver a competitive process that leaves no gaps in service for customers.

For example, if you convert your warehouse supply chain system into a digital process but the finance department that processes payments are still using manual, paper-based invoicing, the efficiencies for business operations will only be partially realized. By converting all elements of the warehouse supply chain at once, simple integrations can be made at each stage to automate many more stages of the pipeline.

Full integration offers better oversight of systems and processes and reduces the risk of error- insights which are harder to spot when technologies across the business don’t connect. Additional software solutions and smart algorithms can also be applied, reducing the amount of time analysts need to manually sift through data. By taking this approach, businesses can hope to create greater efficiencies more quickly and catch up with digitally-native companies.

Maximizing the Return on Investment 

Companies worried about the high upfront costs associated with new digital technologies would be wise to understand how the process can actually generate savings in the long-run.

If applied to business operations correctly, upfront costs can be recouped in as little as one year, through an increase in overall productivity. Further savings can be gained by ensuring employees work on the specialist tasks that fit their expertise, no longer wasting time on fiddly processes and paperwork. Studies also show that digitally-savvy companies are better able to attract and retain top talent, all of which will impact the success of the business over time.

However, before rushing forward with a new digital plan, companies must be sure to plan carefully and wisely. Overambitious transformation ideas might sound exciting, but risk wasting time and money in the long-run. The best digital solutions fit the needs and the size of the company.

The Power of Change Management

Managing change always requires work and digital transformations are no different. The importance of keeping both employees and customers engaged and up to date with changes linked to the project should not be underestimated. In fact, companies that prioritize internal engagement can expect to see a 47% higher return on investment overall.

Company employees are the ones who will be facing the changes, daily, so their buy-in is essential. Clear communication and strong leadership helps to smooth the process as staff adopt new ways of working. Businesses should look for digital integration tools that support their existing infrastructures to reduce the impact of new development tools and processes.

Any changes to customer processes must also be planned and communicated well in advance to minimize disruption and the risk of disgruntled clients. By letting digital experts take care of the transformation process, your company can focus on the human elements of staff and customer satisfaction.

Planning for Industry 4.0 

Each industry will face specific challenges around business operations, data protection legislation and service delivery. Finding the right partner who understands the nuances of your industry should be the first, most important step on the journey to a digitally-minded company.

How to Create A Not So Boring B2B Social Media Strategy

by with No Comment Branding

When you start to make a list about all those companies that are killing it in the domains of social media, the first ones to come to your mind must be B2C (business to consumers) organizations. You can hardly name any IT or management company making it big on Instagram or Snapchat. But it does not translate to impossibility, B2B companies with successful social media strategy do exist, but they are in the minority.

For the most part, either B2B companies seem to struggle to grasp the concept of social media marketing, or they just flat out turn a blind eye to the strategy full of progressive potential. Despite the success B2C is collecting through social media marketing, B2B still heavily relies on the more of traditional methods like call calling or attending business network lunches. Don’t get it wrong, these techniques are also useful, but they should not be used instead of social media.

Action- Packed B2B Social Media Marketing Techniques:

Creating a social profile and then sending out a few tweets, B2B social media marketing is not just that simple. Any brand can do this, but this does not interpret a strategy that yields results. Every now and then we see a brand falling out of social media. Usually, because they fail to generate any engagement and scrolling through their page is just as exciting as watching the clock tick.

Build A Personality

The best way to fail at social media is to be a bore and insipid. Unfortunately, since several other B2B companies are going that way, you should steer clear. Since B2B consider social media as an added feature only, their post lack personality.

The fear of being too vexed usually keeps them from being creative. Not everyone can ace being sassy like Wendy. However, businesses to not have to be a troll to sound like a human. All you need is a conversational tone, engagement with users instead of just advertisement, a little humor and you are all set.

Know What You Are Aiming For

Be specific about what you want to achieve from social media, shooting arrows in the dark won’t do you good. Be sure of what you are aiming to achieve through it, whether it is branding you are interested in or you want to increase traffic to your website.

Know Who You Are Dealing With

With social media, you can easily reach the global audience relevant to your brand. Which is why the emphasis is on customers and not brand. Confused about how to find apt customers or conversations? Here is how you can do it, keywords, influencers, hashtags, and competitor’s audience.

Identify Your Social Media Platform

Determining which social media platform you are going to target plays a decisive role in whether your strategy will stay successful or not! For B2B, following four social platforms can play a decisive role, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. As an estimate, almost 93% of B2B market experts consider Linked to be the most potent lead generation site.

Undeviating Attitude

Consistent attitude is a must. Being steady and unvarying allows customers to recognize your brand. Plus post should be more frequent to reach a large volume of the customer without having to opt for paid methods. But it a lot harder then it may sounds. B2B marketers usually fail consequent to their lack of consistency.

Biggest Myth about Social Media Marketing

You must have heard of it from time to time or even think about it yourself, “Social Media won’t work for me because it not for boring B2B industries”.

Abolish this thought completely. Social media is not merely reserved for beauty and fashion brands. There are billions of people on social platforms, and you can bet that there must be a little chunk of audience interested in your brand. All you need to do is find them. There are various successful examples like Novartis, a pharmaceutical company, etc.

Ready to Formulate a Killing Social Media Strategy?

We are no longer at the point where we need to decide whether social media works for B2B or not, in this competitive era, it has become compulsory.

While devising a robust social media strategy, it always comes down to setting specific goals, planning, and understanding the nature of social media. Moreover, it is imperative to create content keeping your target audience in mind and also maintaining visual uniformity.

Marketing B2B: How to Succeed Online and Beat the Competition

by with No Comment BrandingBusiness

B2B marketing has changed drastically in the last couple of decades, taking the vast majority of activities from the real world to the digital environment. Today, social media gather over two billion daily active users, while there are more than 50 million business pages on Facebook alone.

At the same time, running a successful small business without a website or email marketing is unimaginable. But how can you combine all these channels to create a comprehensive B2B marketing plan? Are you really able to get the foot in the door and outperform competitors?

If you are not sure, keep reading to learn nine ways to craft an all-encompassing B2B marketing strategy.

1. Set Goals


Business goals set the foundation for the marketing strategy. Only 45% of B2B companies have a formal marketing plan in place, which is a great opportunity for you to step up and distinguish yourself from the biggest competitors.


Business goals set the foundation for the marketing strategy. Only 45% of B2B companies have a formal marketing plan in place, which is a great opportunity for you to step up and distinguish yourself from the biggest competitors.

The plan of activities depends on what you want to achieve, so think about your objectives. Is it to raise awareness, boost customer loyalty, generate new leads, or something completely different? The way you answer this question will tell you where to go and how to do it most effectively. At the same time, business goals give you key performance indicators (KPIs) that you can follow and measure the results of your strategy.

2. Design a Beautiful Website

A website is the first thing B2B clients search for when they want to analyze your company. For this reason, it is critical to design an attractive site that looks amazing and is easy to use. The structure of the B2B website must be simple because you want to allow visitors to find whatever they need with only a click or two. Of course, it is also necessary to optimize a site so as to be mobile responsive, improve page load speed, use the best visuals, and add all those little details that can make your company look fully professional.

3. Publish Quality Content

Do you know that over 90% of B2B buyers want content with more input from industry thought leaders? Genuine assignment masters interpret this stat as a chance to win over their audiences by proving that they have the skills and expertise to solve customers’ problems.

In the B2B universe, content creation is highly demanding because you have to discuss every aspect of the topic and support statements with data-driven insights. Don’t hesitate to use supporting files such as charts, graphs, infographics, and all other types of multimedia that can prove your thesis and make it sound more convincing.

4. Local Search Optimization

Small and medium-sized companies usually have physical branches or stores, so it’s always a good idea to optimize your business for local searches. That way, you allow users who search for your kind of products or services to find you effortlessly. The only thing you need to do is to create a Google My Business account and enter fresh business-related information such as address, opening/closing hours, and phone numbers.

5. Social Media Marketing

We already mentioned that social media have billions of daily active users, but this marketing channel demands further elaboration. For instance, YouTube is excellent for publishing video case studies, while Instagram is perfect for product-oriented organizations.

But while it can’t hurt to create accounts on these platforms, keep in mind that LinkedIn is by far the most important B2B social network. According to the research, 80% of B2B social media leads stemmed from LinkedIn in 2017. The platform targets industry professionals, so it’s up to you to take advantage of LinkedIn and post content that closely relates to the needs of your target audience.

6. Influencer Marketing

Most marketers consider influencers to be focused on the B2C niche exclusively, but the fact remains that popular industry figures can play a major role in B2B as well. If you can find a person who really nurtures the same style and values, you are good to go with influencer marketing. This mechanism is slightly different than standard B2C influencing, but it delivers just as successfully.

7. Email Marketing

Almost 80% of B2B marketers believe email is the most effective distribution channel for demand generation efforts. However, we strongly believe that email newsletter serves another very important purpose – it allows you to nurture long-term relationships with the clients.

Consistency is the key factor here because you need to send newsletters regularly. It can be once a week or once in 15 days, but it’s crucial to get the subscribers used to your content. Doing so, you will build a feeling of anticipation among potential clients and prevent them from forgetting your business.

8. Event Marketing

While it is true that digital content is dominating modern marketing, B2B companies should never underestimate the value of good old events. What makes this tactic so valuable? It gives you the opportunity to meet customers face-to-face, which is always the best ways to seal the deal. Besides that, it allows you to acknowledge regular clients, raise awareness, and build brand affinity. B2B events come in different forms, so you can organize exhibitions, road shows, VIP dinners, conferences, etc.

9. Business Analytics

The last tip on our lists rounds up the whole story. If you want to maximize the productivity of B2B marketing, you have to analyze the results of your strategy. Tools like Google Analytics, Buffer, Ahrefs, and many others provide users with real-time insights, so you can rearrange and adjust marketing operations almost instantly. But in order to do so, you need to come back to the business goals and KPIs (as explained in the first section) and compare it with the actual results of your marketing plan.

Conclusion

Running a profitable company without a comprehensive marketing strategy is almost impossible. If you want to stay competitive in the B2B niche, you just have to invest a lot of time and efforts into promotional activities.

But it’s never an easy task because your competitors definitely want to do the same thing. In this article, we showed you nine ways to design a great B2B marketing strategy that could make your business flourish. Keep our ideas in mind and don’t forget to leave a comment if you have other suggestions or questions – we would be glad to discuss it with you!