The Top Marketing P's of B2B Brand Growth
Remember the OG of Marketing - the 4 P’s, aka “the mix”.
Product (Service) – A product can be either a tangible thing or an intangible service that fulfills a need for clients. Whether you sell software programs or provide civil engineering services, it’s imperative that you have a clear definition of what your product/service IS and what differentiates your brand offering.
Price – Price determinations will impact competitive advantage, profit margins, supply, demand, and marketing tactics. Similarly, products/services brands need to be positioned on a basis of varying competitive price points, while price elasticity is an additional consideration
Promotion – Promotion includes elements like digital marketing, traditional advertising, public relations, social media, SEO, video, and podcasts. Each touchpoint must communicate a consistent brand story and be appropriately positioned in order to maximize ROI.
Place – Being in the right place at the right time is paramount to product/service success. Therefore, it’s crucial to evaluate where the ideal locations for new client conversions. Today, the first place your targeted clients are engaged and converted is online.
However, for Professional Services B2B Marketing, a more focused list of P’s is essential to building brand value and capture market-driven relevance. These Top P’s are scaled to level up your brand and create a steady flow of revenue outcomes while building solid relationships of long-term committed clients.
Perception - Clients, not companies, own brand perception. Brand perception is what clients (and their stakeholders) believe a product or service represents, not what the company owning the brand says it does. Brand perception comes from client experience, deliverable quality, design, reputation, and word of mouth referrals - on social media channels as well as IRL. Until target clients have experienced your service, believed your brand promise, and developed sufficient trust, your brand will not grow. When a brand delivers or exceeds client expectations, the perception in the marketplace has a greater degree of long-term success.
Programs - Marketing plans and strategies have been around forever. With the intense growth and availability of digital marketing as well as the necessity to continue to implement some conventional marketing tactics it’s important to shift marketing plans into brand programs. Brand Programs can be tiered, integrated, or isolated based on need. For example, if a capture strategy is in place for a specific client or project for a short time frame, an existing social media program or public relations program can be pulled off the proverbial shelf and customized for that situation with appropriate branded content. Similarly, with business development activities like creating proposals and qualifications. Design assets can be programmed to address a variety of situations and showcase brand consistency throughout the proposal. presentation, and social media. The Program application works well for brands that have diversified services and client types. High-quality brand programs drive client perception.
Personality - A brand personality drives the brand story. It’s vital that each person that is client-facing in a company represent the personality of that brand story. The people part of this attribute is in large part the delivery. In professional services, people are what make a difference in perception. It’s so important to weave a common thread throughout every individual on a team that resonates with clients and partners. Finding common ground among teams is key to the sustainability of the team. Projects can go on for years, including projects that are delayed for years but the teams stay together. Whatever the brand story is make sure it has a voice and personality that the service can deliver because it will differentiate, it will be recognizable and create an emotional connection with the client.
Predictive Analytics - How are brands measured in the digital world? How can marketers track the brand value as well as make projections on marketing activities? Tracking the data. Drawing conclusions from client behavior online, and validating with the services and client satisfaction. This requires some AI tools to implement so marketers have what they need to justify their marketing costs, validate their brand messaging, and grow the targeted prospects. Here’s a great article on how big brands are using PA. If you haven’t already, Google Analytics is a great place to start. It may seem overwhelming at first but it’s easier than it looks. Once you start tracking the data, you’ll have more confidence in evolving your brand story and visuals.
Partnerships - This is my favorite so I’ve saved it for last. I’ll be doing another post on this topic along. Marketing tactics and techniques are always evolving. And as technology advances, so do the ways how businesses advertise their products and services. Partnership marketing is one of the fastest-growing marketing strategies. If you’re ready to increase brand awareness and drive sales, partnership marketing cannot be ignored. To boost your brand presence and increase sales, here’s what you need to know about partnership marketing.
Partnership marketing is a collaboration with another business to create a marketing campaign that benefits both parties. Partnership campaigns are mutually beneficial and help both brands reach their objectives.
Types of partnership marketing include:
Event sponsorship (for recognition as the “official” product of a large event, such as a sporting, professional association, or charity event)
Partnering with charities in the communities where the brand provides services.
Project Teaming on large projects in prime and subcontractor situations. Raising the chances of winning new projects.
Joint venture partnerships, involving collaboration with a partner brand to create a co-branded product deliverable. There could even be potential for Tri-venture partnerships as well.
Content marketing partnerships (to create co-branded content such as articles, whitepapers, sharing links, or creating joint videos, webinars, or podcasts. This can really showcase a firm’s subject matter experts and pair them with other SME’s to advance brand messaging.
Licensing agreements (to allow one company to produce products under another brand’s name)
What do you think of these Marketing P’s? How can I help you start, plan, implement, and yield results for your brand?
