Inbound Marketing, which means customer marketing. Customer marketing refers to "the merchant passively, allowing customers to come to the door actively", rather than traditional marketing "the merchant actively seeks customers".
To C's mass communication advertising thinking will actually harm the brand value of To B; in addition to Inbound Marketing, three other things B2B marketing needs to do well?
outline:
- Inbound / Outbound Marketing? In the
- B2B scenario, do a lot of marketing and communication exposure really need to be exposed? Among the strategies of mass communication, probably only the "luxury" brand strategy is suitable for To B
- B2B The core thinking of marketing operations: "Product advertising"
- To B Marketing needs to do these three things well (what did we do?)
Inbound / Outbound Marketing? The previous article of
talked about the methodology of user growth & content marketing, and proposed some common models, as well as the integrated model I summarized in the To B field. I believe readers can simply summarize "operation" :
"produce content" through a series of steps. The purpose of is to improve the value of the product and increase the user's stickiness and activity.
operation can be divided into two stages:
- Leads, Users, and Payment Conversion (Active)
- User Management and Maintenance (VIP, Referral)
Last time this picture
However, this "a series of content production" can be divided into two methods (strategy):
1. Outbound: Traditional marketing methods refer to enterprises "actively looking for customers" to "actively go outward" through various advertising tools, such as TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, as well as telephone development, email marketing, etc. The purpose is to build a memory in the brain of potential customers so that when this customer has needs in the future, he will think of the product. 2. Inbound: commonly known as incoming marketing (make marketing)
literally means a marketing method that allows customers to "collection by themselves". For example, when customers have a need, enter keywords on Google and you will find the content of your company, or when peers pass on your word, you will mention your company's brand. It is not like traditional marketing that "merchants take the initiative to find customers", but "merchants passively, letting customers come to the door actively."
Simple illustration: Inbound Outbound Marketing
JANDI Taiwan I also tried Outbound Marketing
At the beginning, the Taiwan team also actively tried Outbound Marketing for a period of time, putting on a large number of advertisements, and calling cold call whenever we had the opportunity (our office is in Sanchuang Life, and almost every restaurant and store has been visited by us directly on XD).
However, this direct marketing method is actually not effective, and the cost (time and labor) is also high. Because Outbound Marketing is "regardless of whether the other party is interested or not, it just pushes the advertising message and wins with quantity." Even if the conversion rate is very low.
However, as mentioned in the previous article: the core difference between B2B's product and 2C lies in the "evaluation" in decision making.
In the current era of numerous advertisements and multiple bombings, if companies repeatedly push advertising messages to potential users, they will not realize that "he originally had this demand", and may even feel "irritable and disturbed"; In To B, a scenario that attaches importance to the "evaluation" process, we must let customers actively search for the relevant information when they "want to" get relevant information. What we want to see is - Inbound Marketing. In the
B2B scene, do a lot of marketing and communication exposure really need to be exposed?
Many people will say: "The purpose of marketing is to pursue exposure", but the "value" of exposure is what we want to discuss.
is good. After we roughly understand the differences in Outbound Inbound Marketing, what we need to understand is: "Why is the latter more suitable for To B marketing than the former?"
When planning marketing or operation plans, many companies set indicators that blindly pursue "quantity", but do not see the "damage" caused by these quantities. This is the biggest risk of To B products.(This is also a lesson for ourselves)
simple truth:
only thinks about how to spread, not what is spread, and what can our brand get through dissemination. No matter how much the reach rate or how crazy the number of sharing is, it is useless.
This is because the information we come into contact with in daily life is almost all To C marketing content, and then we will have an illusion - "It seems that everyone knows it? This advertisement is so comprehensive!", "This product is so discussed very well!", and it is easy to mistakenly think that "quantity & touch" is a kind of "success in marketing strategy."
However, over the past few years, as product scenarios are more and more segmented, consumers' time is becoming more and more fragmented. I found that "exposure" and "conversion" are getting farther and farther away, even To C.
For example, you may have seen a lot of "Quanlian's topical marketing that causes community communication" (Quanlian is a supermarket department store in Taiwan), but do you really realize your needs because of this and choose to go to Quanlian to shop? This kind of communication can only absorb sunshine but cannot convey user problem (demand) awareness, and even provides the transmission of evaluation points. I think it is just a kind of communication that feels very good, but is actually quite shallow in effect.
Among the popular communication strategies, probably only the brand strategy of "luxury goods" is suitable. To B
First of all, luxury goods never sell themselves, but choose to shape themselves, elevate their image to the top, and then let customers who appreciate it "independently" come to understand and evaluate, finally buy, and even spread (show off) to friends around them - this is the basic brand marketing strategy of luxury goods.
"Focus on branding, but neglect communication." - Inbound Marketing
For general consumer products:
has about 80% of the cost of "communication exposure", and 20% is left to innovative strategies, whether it is charity, offline activities, special plans, etc., to enhance your brand image.
For luxury goods, this ratio is the opposite:
You will find that they rarely do communication, but instead seek experts and celebrities from the target customer base "in the field" to stand on the platform. directly uses their products to speak out for these luxury goods products, so as to create a brand image - in order to meet the "evaluation" link.
The first step in luxury marketing is the red “Referral”
B2B The core thinking of marketing operations: “Product advertising”
Since there are differences between corporate users and general consumers in the consumption chain, it is difficult for mass communication to bring conversion to the To B brand (so the Outbound effect is very limited). The marketing operation strategy must be focused on "establishing a trustworthy brand image" and "continuously outputting values that conform to the brand spirit" .
When I first joined JANDI two years ago, I was still a case-taker. I also tried to introduce some creative ways to express products and do online marketing (such as lazy bags), and the reach rate was quite beautiful, but after a month or two, I found that the actual conversion rate was not as expected.
So we rethink: "What should we do? What should corporate users need?"
changed advertising thinking to product thinking, "product advertising"
Later we found that the focus of
marketing should be on products (scenarios, solutions, witnesses), rather than advertising (creative); operations should shape and accumulate brands through "things".
Simply put, if we just use advertising thinking, explain what JANDI is? What can corporate communication tools do? Or tell everyone emotionally why JANDI exists, which is actually not convincing enough for corporate users, because "has no reference point to evaluate" . If
is replaced with "Product (Things) Thinking" , it will be conveyed with several classic cases and themes: "Which industries have used JANDI, and what changes have been made after introducing corporate communication tools and changing the original communication and task allocation LINE?"
explains and shapes the brand through these cases and events, which is more convincing for corporate users than all creative advertisements.
To B marketing needs to do these three things well, and the others are basically not very important
In summary, how to do To B marketing?
's primary main axis is to master the core of Inbound Marketing.
. When budget resources are limited (unless you have endless funds, you basically don’t need to read this article, you can spend any money.)
again, there are three things that must be reviewed at all times: "industry case", "classic endorsement", and "brand values" . Other things are basically not important. The form of To B communication does not have to be too fancy and creative. I think the gameplay of fancy and creative is usually not for sales, but for team building.
1. Industry case
Like the picture above, like our JANDI's main paid users come from "advertising, marketing, retail, and e-commerce", so we will specially draw these industries and fields to write "industry cases" to tell corporate users in the same industry: "How many people in your industry are already using this service, what changes have happened, aren't you keep up with it?
If you say that the public is blind, you will feel that "you seem to need it too" when you see friends buying and using something; then the same is true for corporate users, but they are not following a single company, but the "group" they are in - "industry".
or even, making good industry cases will also give users who have paid a sense of belonging: "It turns out that companies in the same industry are also using this set of services, and I really have a good vision." This will affect the future Referral energy.
2. Classic endorsement
pick out some "authoritative cases" endorsement of their own brand. The simplest thing is like the entrepreneurial team will always post a news public relations article after taking investments from well-known companies and tell the public - My brand and service are recognized by this OO.
This is for those corporate users who are not in the same industry, but there is a kind of: "Oh? It turns out that this company and this unit actually use this service! Should I learn about it?"
and even, we found the "JCC" (JANDI Certification Consultant) plan . From our paid users, we select friends and business owners who are also interested in "work productivity" and are willing to promote "better working methods".
asks them to promote cloud-based work techniques and work collaboration methods in their industry, and even if we have offline physical activities, they will invite them to share their personal experiences. In this way, participants can directly feel our VIP users coming forward to share their personal experiences, not just talking to themselves.
3. Brand Values
To B's brand conveys values to corporate users is also an important thing, not just a commitment, but also a kind of "demonstration".
The entire enterprise has personally practiced the demonstration of the brand's values, which is the best trust given to corporate users.
For example: It is obviously selling OPPO, but it is so good that OPPO is, but it holds Vivo in hand. This is the most unhealthy demonstration. (XD)
For us JANDI, our slogan is: cooperate easily and work happily.
emphasizes productivity in all aspects, not only at work, but also life (time management, mental management, task management... etc.), so we have a blog series that share this issue. The team members present it to the outside world, and they must be a group of happy work and can produce efficiently.
On the other hand, we also need to think about it:
What other "application situations" can our "brand values" besides our own products?
So we also participated in the sharing session of "long distance collaboration" and "long distance work". In addition to sharing experiences, we can also share the methodology of the tool use. This makes our brand values stronger. After all, we need to have a good work concept to manage a team that works remotely, which is also a situation of application of work productivity.
Conclusion
Finally, we can know that the market is becoming more and more segmented, and the competition between time and speed is becoming more and more obvious. Enterprises' demand for SaaS services that improve efficiency for themselves will definitely be higher and higher. However, how can marketing communication be transformed in this choice? There is an "evaluation" scenario in the user decision chain of
- To B. We must ask the customer to actively search for the content we want to see when he or she "want to" get the relevant information. That is - Inbound Marketing.
- In the consumption chain, corporate users and general consumers are different. The mass communication method is difficult to convert To B brands (so Outbound effects are very limited), and the marketing operation strategy must be focused on "building a trustworthy brand image" and "continuously outputting values that are in line with the brand spirit." When communicating and marketing
- , you cannot just think about how to maximize communication, and not think about what is communicating. We should focus more on "What can our brand get?" instead of pursuing "quantity", what To B should pursue is "conversion". The marketing communication of
- To B can refer to "The Strategies of Luxury Brands" - They never sell themselves, but shape themselves. Elevate your image to the top, and then let customers who appreciate it "independently" come to understand and evaluate, finally buy, and even spread it (show off) with friends around you - emphasize branding and neglect communication.
- In terms of marketing strategy, in addition to the core of Inbound Marketing, there are three things that must be reviewed at all times: "Industry Cases", "Classic Endorsement", and "Brand Values" .
This is the second article in the series I shared with 2 years of experience in JANDI (Transnational B2B New).
Hi! Thank you for seeing the end!
If you like the content shared by everyone as a product manager, please click "Like (Like)", reward, and give me a reply and share with more friends in need! This will be the source of energy I continue to share, thank you!
Related Reading
B2B Product Methodology: From product to content, user operation
Author: Hou Zhisao, WeChat ID: raymondhou0917, Feng Ying: www.linkedin.com/in/hou-raymond
This article was originally published by @Hou Zhisao, Everyone is a product manager. Reproduction of
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. The title image is from Unsplash, based on CC0 protocol
