A sample B2B marketing campaign for IBM on Digital Communication Solutions. Thie deck lists their products, key performance indicators, suggestions for target audience and strategies they can incorporate into their marketing plan. It also includes an analysis of their social media presence. There is information on tools like microsites, podcasts, webinars, cause videos along with a suggestive campaign calendar.

1. D I G I TA L C O M M U N I C AT I O N
S O L U T I O N S
B Y
H A R S H A G U P TA

3. B 2 B M A R K E T I N G

4. • What? B2B (business-to-business) marketing is marketing
of products to businesses or other organisations for use in
production of goods, for use in general business
operations (such as office supplies), or for resale to other
consumers, such as a wholesaler selling to a retailer.
• Why? With everything changing in the marketing
environment,it is important that even B2B marketing sheds
of it’s image of being dull and boring.There lies a strong
need for inspiring and creative marketing content for
brands in the B2B space.
• Where? Digital.Today the digital platform is gaining
momentum in the business environment.Being present on
the digital media implies that the brand is active and open
to change.Social media campaigns helps to connect with
the business consumers in a more optimised and
personalised manner .

5. I B M B 2 B C L O U D S E R V I C E S S O L U T I O N S

6. • With Digitisation and automation on rise, today every
organisation,big or small is in need of software and
digital solutions for effective handling of it’s daily
business operations.It helps them in integration across
internal and external partners.Thereby improving the
overall efficiency and quality of work.
• IBM Sterling B2B Cloud Services solutions securely
connect and rapidly build your partner communities
using B2B cloud solutions. IBM Sterling B2B Cloud
Services solutions range from on demand to fully
managed solutions and provide you with the flexibility
to quickly adapt as your business needs change and
evolve. Clients can take advantage and benefit from
the fast implementations and lower start up costs
provided by IBM Sterling B2B Cloud Services
solutions.

7. • Benefits:
-Improve responsiveness by supporting any data type
or format with over 300,000 pre-connected trading
entities
-Boost profit margins by reducing capital costs and
removing the burden on internal resources while
automating business transactions with partners of any
size or technical capability
-Grow your business with our cloud based, scalable
B2B infrastructure and support services to respond to
business demand for more partner connections and
collaboration

8. F E AT U R E D P R O D U C T S

9. • Sterling Community Development Services
Onboard partners faster, automate document exchange quicker.
• Sterling Data Synchronization Manager (US)
Synchronize product information across trading partners for a competitive advantage.
• Sterling Fax Conversion Services
Automate to reduce errors and cut costs.
• Sterling Information Broker
A single, secure and reliable connection to all your business partners.
• Sterling Managed AS2 Gateway
• Simplifies the setup and management of AS2 connectivity.
• Sterling Web Forms
Customizable Web forms for improving supplier and customer document exchange.
• Sterling File Transfer Service
Integrate file transfer with your other applications.
Sterling B2B Integration Services Plus
Helps increase capability and profitability in your B2B operations.

10. B U S I N E S S O B J E C T I V E S

11. • Today startups are on a rise and so is digitisation. However many
traditional and modern organisations working on small/medium
scale are unaware of the digital cloud services solutions available
at affordable prices.
• The primary goals of the campaign would be :
• Increasing Brand Awareness amongst the target audience
• Informing and Education (business consumers) about the product /
service provided
• Growth of over 10% in the first quarter in sales
• The Secondary goals would be:
• Generating leads and
• Consumer contacts for follow up

12. K P I ’ S F O R T H E C A M PA I G N

13. • Sales Growth: Sales revenue is one of the best methods of
measuring the success of a campaign.
• IBM-For this campaign, objective is to have a growth in the sales
by 10 % month over month for the quarter.
• Leads:Leads are opportunities to sales.The more the leads,the
more are the chances of growth in terms of sale.However it is
important to define metrics for (MQL) and (SQL).
• IBM-The objective is measure the leads generated during the run
time of the current campaign and compare it with past ones as
well the upcoming ones.

14. • Cost of Customer Acquisition: The cost of convincing a
prospective consumer to buy the product/service is known as the
cost of customer acquisition.It helps in determine the number of
new customers the company is aiming for during the campaign as
well as in setting the budgets.
• IBM-the objective is measure the cost of customer acquisition
during this campaign to set budgets for the future campaigns
• Measuring the sales response time:This is a very important KPI as an
understanding of this helps in improving performance and increasing
levels of customer satisfaction.The quicker the sales team responds to
leads,the higher are the chances of sales.
• IBM-The objective is to measure the sales response time during the
campaign to understand the current standing,drawbacks and areas
requiring improvement.

15. • Website lead to Marketing Qualified Lead Ratio:This helps in
understanding the quality of leads generated by the campaign.
• IBM-This will help in understanding how successful the campaign has
been in terms of reaching the target audience .
• Website traffic: This can be measured via Sessions ,Users ,Page
views, Page per Session, Average Session Duration , Bounce Rate.
• IBM-This will help understand consumer behaviour with respect to their
interaction with the website of the company and it’s content.

16. • Website traffic to website lead ratio:This KPI will help IBM in
measuring 2 important elements:
• The quality and quantity of the website traffic
• The conversion rate

17. • Social Media reach and marketing engagement:This helps in
distribution of content across platforms and interaction with existing as
well as potential customers.
• IBM-It will help the brand to maintain it’s growth
trajectory.Example ,no.of followers on twitter or Likes on Facebook.It
will also help in building analytics and gaining insights on consumer
behaviour.
• Email Marketing Performance -The performance of email marketing
can be measured by- Delivery Rate, Unsubscribe Rate ,Open
Rate ,Click Through Rate Conversion Rate ,Forward/Shares.
• IBM-This will help IBM understand it’s key areas,consumer interest and
the effectiveness of the current communication strategy.

18. • Inbound link building-Links are very essential to the SEO strategy.They
build up on credibility and authenticity of the site and brand.
• IBM-Quality links from reputable websites will help the company’s website
improve it’s quality score and Ad rank.
• Blog post visits-Knowing the performance of the blog posts is a good
way to gauge what the customers like to read and don’t like to read, as well
as when they like to read. This, as a result will help IBM build on it’s brand
equity and give it an opportunity to further create content around what it’s
customers want and need.
• These KPIs established along with tracking tools available will help in
gauging the success level of the current campaign as well as suggest edits
for future campaigns.

19. TA R G E T A U D I E N C E

20. • The target audience for the following campaign are:
• Startups:Startups are a rage these days.They come with a modern
approach and are open towards IT and automation.They look for
affordable services which improves the efficiency of their operations
and cuts down their costs.

21. • Small scale and Medium scale organisations:Cloud services
solutions are comparatively cheaper and affordable.Since many small
and medium scale organisations lack the financial resources,Cloud
Service Solutions are highly beneficial for them.However since many
of them come from traditional backgrounds the problem lies in
making them understand the need for such services and it’s benefits.

22. S T R AT E G Y T O A C H I E V E T H E K P I ’ S

23. • Categorisation and Segmentation: This helps in identifying who the
target audience is.Today digital metric and advertising tools helps in
defining and reaching the right target audience. Understanding and
defining customer personas help in optimisation and personalisation of
campaigns.
• Comprehend: Before adopting any social media platform it is important
to understand how the platform works.For example the kind of content
that needs to go and the manner of engagement that should be
adopted.
• Converse: Conversation is very important,specially in b2b marketing.
Answering customer queries/enquires is of crucial importance for lead
conversions.

24. • Collaborate : Social media is a platform where the company can directly
connect with it’s target audience. It helps in personalisation and building
relationships with the customers which can further lead to positive word of
mouth marketing.
• Contribute : Sharing valuable information is always appreciated.The
company gains respect and a positive image when it adds value to the
society in terms of knowledge and information.
• Connect: Connecting with influencers and opinion leaders help in organic
marketing.It adds credibility to the overall marketing efforts of the
company.

25. • Community:Feedback from the community help in gaining
product/service insights.This is in return helps in developing
the quality of the existing products and services as well as in
developing new products.In the long run it ensures customer
satisfaction.
• Convert:Proper execution of strategy helps in achieving the
goals and objectives of the organisation.

26. K E Y S T R AT E G I E S F O R I B M

27. • Categorisation and Segmentation: Given the goals,IBM ’s primary target
audience will be startups and small/medium organisations.Using google and
Facebook adverts it can direct it’s communications to the potential target
audience.Also Linked-in profiles of the target audience can be used to
connect with them.
• Comprehend: IBM can start with a dummy campaign to understand the
function of each platform before officially running the campaign.It will help
them over come technical glitches and serve their customers better.
• Converse: IBM should appoint a trained team that functions 24*7 to attend
customer enquiries and queries.Also the option on live chat should be
enabled on their landing page so that customer conversations can happen
smoothly and timely.It will also help them in converting leads.A customer
friendly chat option will also help build a positive image of the brand.

28. • Collaborate : A market research team should be set in place who can
gauge the customer pulse and develop insights.Such insights will help
in understanding the customer needs and personalising the campaign
and communication.It will lead to a more effective collaboration
between the sales team and the customers.
• Contribute : To create and awareness and inform consumers,IBM can
take the task sharing valuable knowledge with respect to the benefits of
it’s cloud services.For example every week they can take up a category/
industry and via it’s social media platforms it can inform users about the
benefits they’ll have from using the cloud service solutions.
• Connect: IBM can create an online community of software and analytics
experts who can be given a trial version of IBM cloud service
solutions.Once they get first hand experience they can be asked to
share their feedback with the company as well as the target audience.

29. • Community: IBM can make use of multiple platforms like a section
on it’s website or a specific email address for consumers to write in
their feedback.A team should be pointed to manage these
feedback,analyse it and forward it to concerned internal department
for efficient customer management.
• Convert:The social media team should be equipped with software
infrastructure to constantly coordinate with all the internal
departments like sales,marketing,customer service,IT,etc.This will
help is forwarding leads and valuable information which can lead to
conversions and growth in sales.

30. C U R R E N T S O C I A L M E D I A
P R E S E N C E O F I B M

31. • Currently on Facebook, IBM is promoting it’s Watson
technology

32. • On Twitter, IBM posts updates about it’s products as well as
about current happenings.

33. • On Youtube, IBM is promoting it’s Watson on
Fashion video.

34. • On Linkedin,IBM has it’s own company
page,data analytics,links to website and other
connected pages.

35. M U LT I P L AT F O R M S O C I A L M E D I A
C A M PA I G N - ( PA I D & O R G A N I C )

36. F O L L O W I N G A R E T H E
P L AT F O R M S W H I C H I B M C A N U S E
F O R B 2 B M A R K E T I N G :

37. • ARTICLES
• BLOG
• CONTENT MARKETING
• EMAIL MARKETING
• E-NEWSLETTER
• LINKEDIN
• MICROSITE
• PODCASTS
• SOCIAL MEDIA (FACE BOOK,TWITTER)
• WEBINAR

38. A RT I C L E S

39. • Articles are a good way of sharing knowledge with respect to
the product/service offered and general problems faced by
the clients.
• IBM can publish articles on it’s own website,on related
websites,blogs as well digital magazines and professional
journals which is relevant to it’s target audience.
• The content of the article can be case history of the company
and stories of clients who have benefited in the past because
of IBM’s offering.
• The theme of the articles can also be industry specific , which
lists out the innovations, developments,future
scenario,economic condition and issues of an industry.
• Articles can also be written on marketing insights.

40. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the Articles:
• Simple,jargon free language
• Relevant topic
• Comprehendible to the target audience
• Credible sources
• Facts
• Crisp,clear layout and format
• Authentic information
• Links to relevant content on the company’s website

42. B L O G

43. As per the KPIs and strategies established, IBM can make use of it’s existing
blog to post write-ups on :
• The problems that starts ups and small/medium scale organisations face
with respect to operations,integration,data management etc.
• The solutions that are available in the form of customised cloud service
solutions
• New products that are launched along with it’s specifications and benefits to
consumers
• Expert opinions and views
• Testimony from existing consumers
• Latest development in the industry and innovations

44. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the Blog:
• Streamlined,vivid and simple
• Quality of images attached
• Clean and artsy Layout,Format,Highlighting of important points
• Search filter
• Archives
• Link to website,e-book
• Differentiation via addition of videos,podcasts,interactive media,etc.
• Addition of CTAs to drive further consumer engagement and interaction with the
brand

46. C O N T E N T M A R K E T I N G

47. • IBM is an old and well known company across the globe.As a result it can
leverage it’s history for the benefit of content marketing.
• A video can be shot with the following theme:
• Stories about the history of IBM in India with projects and trends 50 years in
the future can be paired.It can focus on where the company has been and
where it’s going.
• It can share first-person stories of real employees and events associated with
it’s history in India.
• This will help in creating brand awareness with respect to the mention
set of product/service.
• (The video can be posted on youtube, as well the company’s website.)

48. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the Content
marketing:
• Clarity on the concept of the video
• Proper script of the video
• Real stories,real people over fictional ones
• Quality of video (technical properties)
• Focus on the message of the video
• Addition of CTAs with the video

50. E - M A I L M A R K E T I N G

51. • A major pre-requisite to this is a sorted data base.A data base which lists
out the interest of the client as well the industry can help in personalising
the content.
• IBM can opt for weekly emails which could focus on industry specific
developments which would be useful for their consumers as well as
information about it’s products and services.
• They could also add features like i) content of the last e-mail and ii) idea
on content of the upcoming week
• CTAs can be attached to the mail. Like a section can be linked which says
‘Din’t find what you are looking for’ which would direct the reader to
the website.

52. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the E-mail
marketing:
• The content should be personalised
• Should be based on consumers viewing habits and interest
• Should provide some kind of benefit to the consumer
• should not be very lengthy
• language should be simple with an attractive layout
• Elements of market automation can be used

53. E - N E W S L E T T E R

54. • Apart from e-mails,e-newsletters could be used.
• Consumers who newly share their information can be sent a welcome mail
to make them feel a part of the brand.
• The e-newsletter could introduce them to the on going campaigns and
could also help them in choosing the type of content they would like to
receive in the future emails
• However focus should be given more on visual impact and layout.
• Highlighting the stand out content would help readers get an idea of what’s
in store for them.

56. L I N K E D I N

57. • LinkedIN today is an important social media platform when it comes to B2B
marketing.
• Earlier IBM has already used the ‘Smarter Planet Initiative to converse with
customers on broader and long term concepts.
• However with the focus on providing startups and small/medium scale
organisations with cloud service solutions another campaign could be
launched across the Linked IN platform.

58. Under this campaign the brand can leverage thought leadership to discuss the
following:
Industry Thought Leadership:
• Factors that have lead to success of small scale organisations an startups.
• Reasons startups fail
• Why digital presence and social media activeness is becoming important for
brands
• Latest updates,trends and forces shaping the market
• Innovative thoughts,insights,solutions.

59. Product Thought Leadership:
• Product/service specifications
• Tips and shortcuts
• How to do ideas
• Strategic road maps
• Benefits of the product/service
• New product ideas

60. Organisational Thought Leadership:
• Why is it important for brands to be responsible towards the society and the
environment
• Ethical values of the brand
• The brands hiring and firing policy
• The company culture
• What drives the company’s culture
• The company’s vision and mission

61. • IBM can use a combination of features like
SlideShare,
• Groups,
• Sponsored Updates,
• Company Pages,
• Showcased Pages and
• Publish.

62. • LinkedIN text Ads: IBM can use the text ad along with a small image
to promote it’s products and services.This will mostly promote its
product thought leadership.The text add can also be used to promote
the dates of webinars and live podcasts.
• LinkedIN Display Advertising:This platform will help IBM reach high
quality professionals who are constantly seeking insights and in-depth
information.It can be used to promote products as well as blogs and
articles.
• Sponsored Updates: This form of paid marketing helps a brand in
business demographic targeting.IBM can share it’s thoughts and ideas
and personalised content with a selective audience.

63. • Company Pages:This is direct source of information about the company.It
acts as the first impression.IBM can use this to showcase it’s thought
leadership.The page should also have links to latest
content,blogs,articles,etc.
• The company page can also be used to send out updates.For example
when the company publishes an article,the connections are informed of
it.As a result articles related to the company or product can be published
to increase consumer engagement.
• SlideShare:This platform can be used to convey information with a mix of
text and pictures.IBM can upload it’s catalogue on SlideShare or upload
content that talks about the company’s policies and culture

64. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to LinkedIN:
• The company should be active on LinkedIN to immediately respond to any
sort of queries and enquiries
• There should be a proper mechanism to transfer leads to the respective
departments
• Constant updates should be made to portray brand activeness
• Links to company’s website/blogs/articles should be mentioned
• Usage of Linkedin Pulse on an active basis to increase brand awareness
and consumer engagement.

65. • Today a lot of brands and top level professionals are actively participating on
LinkedIN.
• With it’s paid and organic features brands have a huge opportunity to reach
it’s target audience.
• The benefit of targeting the right set of audience helps the brand save on
costs.
• An effective use of the social media platforms along with LinkedIN can help a
brand stand out from it’s competitors and establish a strong connect with it’s
B2B partners.

69. Display Ads

70. Link to blog and other social media platforms on
LinkedIN

71. M I C R O S I T E S

72. • Micro site is great way of focusing on content that may be of more
interest to the consumers
• IBM can use it’s micro site to post content related to the cloud service
solutions.For example it can posts videos that tutor consumers on
usage of some of it’s softwares.Write-ups can be posted on common
technical issues faced by consumers.A storytelling approach could be
adopted on general topics related to the organisation.
• Topics that demonstrate a unique perspective could be adopted.

73. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the Micro
sites:
• Design elements of the main website could be used for the micro site
• It should appear more like a natural extension of the main website
• It should have a fresh look and perspective
• Should be more visual oriented
• There should be some differentiating element between the main website
and microsite

75. P O D C A S T S

76. • Podcasts are a cost effective,flexible and versatile way of
communication.
• IBM can make use of podcasts to communicate tips and shortcuts
related to the product/service.Often tips on usage are of great
interest to consumers as they help in saving time and making their
tasks easier.
• Apart from this a more detailed podcasts can done with weekly
updates on the industry as well on changes and launches of products
and services.

77. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the
Podcasts:
• The tone of the podcast should match that of the brand personality
• The content/idea behind it should be out of the box/innovative
• The podcast should be hosted on the landing page to help track
visitors and add credibility
• Could be uploaded on iTunes and links to the e-
newsletters,website,microsite,etc could be added.

79. W E B I N A R

80. • IBM can make use of webinar to address consumer concerns.For example a
theme could be set before every session which might either related to the
product/service, industry, brand,consumer issue,etc.Questions and queries
related to the theme can be invited beforehand.
• For the webinar experts,influencers,opinion leaders,company heads could be
called for a discussion.
• Interactivity can be ensured by asking the audience to post their comments/
questions during the webinar either on twitter or the webinar platform.This
will ensure multi-platform integration.

81. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the Webinar:
• The slide deck during a webinar should be clear,distinct and focused on the
brand.
• The visuals should be engaging
• Complex concepts could be simplified by using images,animations or short
video clips.
• Old customers could be brought in to add credibility
• Social media could be used to increase interactivity

83. S O C I A L M E D I A

84. • IBM can make use of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to
integrate them with their customer service.
• A trained and skilled team could be appointed to address troubleshooting
via these platforms.
• Being active on these platform will help build consumer trust
• Apart from this these mediums could be used to broadcast important
information,updates,news,etc
• They could be used a digital catalogue too.(Images of the products/
specifications can be posted on these mediums to attract enquiries).

85. The following points should be kept in mind with respect to the
Social Media:
• A light and friendly tone will make the content more attractive and
shareable
• Use of bright, colourful images will help draw attention
• Interaction would be real time and the brand can leverage it to
build on just one to one relation but one to many as well.

87. C A U S E V I D E O

88. • IBM in India can also extend it’s support to a social cause.
• For example it associate itself to the Swatch Bharat Campaign and shot a
video of how it takes care of the electronic waste generated by the
company
• The video could be shared with the clients,prospects as well as can be
posted on the company’s website
• This is help build positive imagery as well influence other companies to be
responsible of the waste generated by them and it’s environmental
repercussions.

90. C A M PA I G N C A L E N D A R

91. • An excel sheet has been attached with the folder which contains
the social media calendar.
• A snapshot of the same has been put on the next slide.

92. SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR FOR THE THIRD QUARTER , YEAR ENDING MARCH 2017.
Week1-133 Article Blog E-MAIL Content Marketing Linkedin Podcasts Webinar
Week 1-(1.10.2016-8.10.2016) Article on challenges
faced in
implementing IT
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Regular
update,Sponsored
Ad on Article
published
Live Podcast on Tips
and Shortcuts
Week 2-(9.10-2016-15.10.2016) How cloud service
solutions is helping
businesses grow
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Cause Video Launch Display ad on Blog
post
Week 3-(16.10.2016-22.10.2016) Success story of
startups
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Page Update,Post
on new product
specification
Week 4-(23.10.2016-29.10.2016) Cost effectiveness of
customised software
solutions
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Promotion around
the Webinar
Webinar on latest
tools,techniques,
analytics
Week 5-(30.10.2016-5.11.2016) Latest developments
in the IT sector
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Regular
update,Sponsored
Ad on Article
published
Customer
experience sharing
Week 6-(6.11.2016-12.10.2016) Benefits of
automation
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Company history
video
Display ad on Blog
post
Week 7-(13.11.2016-19.11.2016) Research behind
products offered by
IBM
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Pulse Article on
benefits of Cloud
Service Solutions
Week 8-(20.11.2016-26.11.2016) Company culture Industry
news,updates and
trends
Promotion around
Webinar
Webinar on CSR
Week 9-(27.11.2016-3.12.2016) Solution based
Cloud Software
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Regular
update,Sponsored
Ad on Article
published
Upcoming
trends,where
industry is heading
Week 10-(4.12.2016-10.12.2016) Importance of
meeting customer
needs
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Future of IT Display ad on Blog
post
Week 11-(11.12.2016-17.12.2016) Customer
experience
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Promotion around
live podcast
Week 12-(18.12.2016-24.12.2016) Quick and Easy Tips
on Troubleshooting
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Promotion around
Webinar
Webinar on
importance of
automation
Week 13-(25.12.2016-31.12.2016) What to look for in
the New Year
Industry
news,updates and
trends
Pulse Article on
Comanpy Ethics

93. T H A N K Y O U