Shit, it’s already 2022. How in the hell did that happen? Just a few minutes ago, my wife and I were sitting down to watch the entirety of Game of Thrones to wait out the pandemic, and then Tiger King because it was taking a little longer than we thought it might… and then–oh, shit. That was two years ago already.
Damn. Okay, well it is indeed 2022, and you’re probably reading this article because you want to know how to increase your sales, and not how my wife and I waited out COVID without getting it (so far as we know).
Okay, fine. Here are a few quick tips for increasing your business this year.
But remember: nothing is easy. Starting a business is not easy. Getting sales and clients is not easy. Yes, these tips are “quick” but they are meant to be thought-starters–ideas. To get you going. You still have to do the work.
If you want to get more sales for your business or your clients this year, you need to have an overarching strategy before you start the sales process. Not just go into it willy-nilly, guns a-blazing. So in this article, we’ll explore a few ways to increase your B2B sales.
Create Engaging Content
These are in order of what I’m most interested in, but it’s not necessarily the order of preference for everyone. For example, one company may be all over video while another loves writing copy, while another really needs to work on their website functionality.
Nevertheless, content marketing is a key component of many marketing strategies these days, and I rarely come across a client or business that wouldn’t benefit from having a strong content strategy. So when you consider how to create engaging content, there are many things to think about, including the importance of voice, the audience you’re speaking to, and what you’re trying to say. Your content should have a clear point of view that engages your audience. You need to know what your goals are before creating content that will inspire others. Do you want to educate people and establish authority in the field, or do you want to drive immediate leads? Are you hoping to convince them to watch a demo video, or do you want to trash the competition?
In other words, don’t just start typing (or paying someone like me to start typing for you).
Give Your Brand a Distinct Voice
Understanding the essence of your brand is the key to creating memorable, effective, and long-lasting content. Without understanding your company’s style, your voice may sound like a copycat, or even worse, a cliché.
Content should align with your company values to tap into your unique selling proposition. Once you know what makes your business stand out, you can create content that will connect with consumers and help them feel like they are part of your world.
This world-generating, voice-driven brand building must then make it into your marketing materials, your email outreach, your presentations and sales decks. If it doesn’t seep in naturally, then considering calling a company like Mandel Marketing to help make it so. But the brand should be consistent, whether someone is reading an article about why your competition sucks, watching a demo of your product, or reviewing your proposal.
That’s why we use the word “shit” so much in our website, you dig? It’s not very professional, but it is on brand!
Pay Attention to Website Form + Functionality
A lot of companies I talk to have websites that were designed and built a few years ago and were left to, essentially, rot in cyberspace.
This is stupid.
In fact, it’s very important to design — and redesign, and rebuild — your website with your users in mind. This can be consumers, customers, readers, or B2B clients–but make sure you identify who will be using your website, and how. Maybe you wish your prospective clients would come to your blog and read all your witty, snarky articles, but in truth all they do is fill out the the brief contact form quickly and sloppily and move on to the next ad agency as soon as possible to get a quote from–well, you get my point.
Site functionality is how well a site can perform its tasks while being easy for people to navigate and find what they need. If your site isn’t intuitive, you’re likely losing customers and fans because they’re spending too much time trying to figure out what’s going on.
And if you can’t be honest and objective about it — perhaps because you wrote and built the site yourself, or you paid a lot of money to a company who did — then hire someone who will be (like us, maybe).
Educate Buyers About Technical Details… Or Any Details, For That Matter
In my many years of experience working with Chief Revenue Officers, Sales Directors, and all the individual contributors on the sales team, I’ve found that many, many sellers focus more on bells, whistles, or gimmickry than on the actual selling point of the product (or service). I’ve heard people say that the customer will save 15% on their next whooziwhatsit, or they’ll generate 20% more leads from the thingamagoo… but they don’t actually say what the hell the thing is, or what it does, or how it works.
In fact, businesses need to educate their buyers on the technical specs of their product, before a purchase can be made. The customer should be aware of what they will be getting and the price they will pay–whether it’s a car, a new software, or a sales team. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and angry customers, and it removes barriers to purchase.
Optimize for Mobile
Getting into more detailed advice, and less theoretical, let’s talk about mobile.
The mobile-optimized design is essential for businesses taking advantage of the mobile revolution. For example, pne of the most underrated aspects of mobile design is using a grid-based layout that provides easy navigation and content consumption. A grid-based layout should also be flexible and allow content to be updated and moved around as needed, including images, text, and multimedia formats.
This may sound simple, but many people I speak to don’t even realize that a huge percentage of online usage is on mobile these days. In fact, many companies don’t even know how much of their digital traffic comes from mobile in the first place!
If you’re one of these people–and I promise I won’t make fun of you–then give us a call. Right now.
Capitalize on Video Marketing
This last one is actually a piece of advice that Mandel Marketing can’t really help you with much, since we don’t really do video. Maybe that’s why I put it last. Or maybe by the time you read this we will get into the video space, and I’ll have forgotten to update this stupid article.
Either way, video marketing can help you reach your target audience better than text and image alone, whether your customer is B2C or B2B. It’s an increasingly popular way to share messages and ideas with customers. Using video marketing will help you to thrive in the competitive world of business. Whether it’s through TikTok posts, Instagram stories, Facebook, or plain old YouTube, you can use videos in many ways to get exposure for your company.
Just remember that video production can be costly–so use it wisely.
You Can Also Call Mandel Marketing
As you can see, it’s possible to increase B2B sales through a few different tactics. Increasing the number of marketing campaigns, improving customer satisfaction, and keeping marketing efforts unique can all help a company reach its goals. These are just a few ways that companies can increase B2B sales.
Or you can also just contact Mandel Marketing, and we’ll create a custom strategy for you.