Business-to-business marketing (or B2B marketing, as it is commonly known) involves the sale of one company’s product or service to another company. B2B marketing techniques rely on the same basic principles as consumer marketing, but are executed in a unique way. While consumers choose products based not only on price but on popularity, status, and other emotional triggers, B2B buyers make decisions on price and profit potential alone. SalesCycle Agency (http://salescycle.agency/) helps SME companies with digital transformation and modernising their marketing efforts to get better ROI and Sales-Marketing team alignment.

1. B2B Content Marketing:
Demand/Lead
Generation

2. Pieter S Verasdonck:
Digital Marketing Consultant
Co-Run: Online Marketing Sydney MeetUp Group (2100+
Members)
Panel Judge: Growth Hacking Competition
Featured in:
• Industry Expert Roundups & Blog Articles
• StartupSmart Magazine
• SEMRush Webinars
Spoke at:
• Online Retailer 2015
• SMX Sydney 2014 - Bootcamp
• Advanced Online Marketing Events
• Numerous Meetups

3. Pieter S Verasdonck:
• 10+ Years in Digital Marketing
• 5 Years in Search Agencies:
• Croud Australia & Columbus - Aegis Media
• Areas of Expertise:
• Technical SEO & Website Redesigns
• B2B and B2C - Content Marketing & Outreach
• Social Media Marketing (Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare,
YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc)
• Marketing Automation Solutions (Marketo, Hubspot, Act-
On) & Lead Nurturing
• Training & Knowledge Transfer

4. Our team has experience
working with…

5. Agenda
• The Current State of the Industry
• What is the Role of Content for Brands /
Sales
• Using Content to Attract the Right Target
Market / Segment
• Combining Multiple Content Types for
the Best Result
• Content Marketing Examples

6. The Current State of
the Industry

7. B2B Content Marketing
Channels
Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

8. Effective B2B Content
Marketing Channels
Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

9. B2B Content KPIs & Challenges
Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

11. The Content Strategy Canvas
Audience
• Who are you targeting, and
why?
• What makes them tick?
• Where do they live, and when
are they most active?
Audit
• What have you already got
going on?
• Where are the gaps?
• What’s working well for your
competitors?
Brand
• What are your brand
guidelines?
• What should you definitely not
do?
• What tone of voice do you use?
Production
• Who is in your team, and what
do they do?
• Where does the style guide
live?
• Do you have a pre-publishing
checklist?

12. The Content Strategy Canvas
Formats
• Which content formats will you
be using?
• What do you need to start
creating content?
Workflow
• What tools will you be using?
• Have you produced a content
calendar?
• How will you manage your
evergreen content?
Distribution
• Where will you distribute your
content?
• Are you going to do any paid
promotion?
• Can your PR team help?
Stakeholders
• What does your boss expect
you to do?
• Who will be involved in the sign
off process?

13. The Content Strategy Canvas
• Goals
• What are the main goals for
your content?
• How will you measure success?
• Who needs to see the stats?
Vanity Matrix
• Number of page views
• Form submissions
• Content shares
• Content downloads
Core Matrix
• Conversion Rate
• Leads generated
• Content influence
• Customer Lifetime
Value/Average Order Value

14. Marketing KPI’s

15. The Role of Content
for Brands / Sales

16. Earned, Owned, Paid & Social
Media

17. Working Together: Traditional &
Digital Content Marketing
Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2227499/SEO-Content-Confusion-Clarity

18. Earned & Owned Media

21. Using Content to
Attract the Right
Target Market /
Segment

22. Psychology of Decision Making
& Purchasing Behaviour
Thinking Feeling
High
Involvement
Informative (thinker):
e-banking
Books
Financial services
Computer equipment
House
Automobiles
House Furnishings
Affective (feeler):
Jewellery
Cosmetics
Fashion Apparel
Luxury Watch
CDs
Low Involvement Habit formation (doer):
Food
Fast Food
Household Items
Shampoos
Self-satisfaction (reactor):
Flowers
The FCB Planning Model adapted from Belch & Belch. 2004. Advertising and
Promotion. An Integrated Marketing Communication Perspective. 6th Edition. Singapore

23. A hierarchy of B2B
sales/purchasing needs
Selling a product or service to a business--to a non-
owner--consider this hierarchy, from primary needs on
down:
• Avoiding risk
• Avoiding hassle
• Gaining praise
• Gaining power
• Having fun
• Making a profit

24. Customer Segments & Buyer
Persona’s:
Companies who segment customers into persona’s
benefit from highly targeted and successful strategies
for persuasive messaging, content marketing, product
or solution launches, campaigns and sales alignment.
Key questions to ask:
Who: As a (buyer persona)
What: I want or need to (goal)
What: The information I need (topic)
When: And is most helpful when (preference)
Why: So that I know or in order to (solve/value)

25. Segmentation & Targeting

27. Perceived B2B Customers
Buying Journey
Indentify a Need
Purchase Criteria
Initial Research Commercial
Investigation
Comparison
Justification
Product
Selection
Trail/Purchase
Evaluation/
Evangelism
Sales Rep InvolvedCustomers Research
Awareness Stage Consideration Stage Decision Stage

28. B2B Buying Process Can Be Long

29. Source: https://www.distilled.net/uploads/the-content-matrix.png

30. Buying Decision Process:
Supportive Content & Terms

31. Combining Multiple
Content Types for
the Best Result

32. Different Stages in B2B
Purchasing
• Awareness
• Scoping
• Planning
• Selecting
• Purchasing / Repurchasing

33. Campaign & Content Planning

34. Awareness Stage:
Questions to Ask
• What is my media strategy?
• Do I have a plan for influencer marketing?
• Are analysts discussing the problem my
solution solves?
• Are buyers talking about my brand?
• How do I meet buyers at the right time and
the right place?

35. Awareness Stage Tactics:
• Earned Media: Organic social media and press
traction add credibility and authenticity to your
integrated campaign. Ensure that you outline an
ironclad media strategy with a PR people keen to
get your news into the news.
• Word-of-Mouth, Forums, Q&A: Be there to jump
into the conversation and make an impression
from the start.
• Online Advertising: SEM, Sponsored Posts, Highly
targeted Banners.
• Targeting: Time to aim for the bulls-eye. No sense
wasting marketing efforts on buyers who just don’t
give a hoot. Ensure that you get the right message
to the right buyers by segmenting your audience
as granularly as possible.

36. Scoping Stage:
Questions to Ask
• What resources are subject matter
experts/pros turning to for their research?
• Is my Search Engine Optimisation proving high
rankings on search engines?
• Have I contributed to online communities to
help boost my credibility and traffic to my
site?
• Am I managing and monitoring my customer
reviews?

37. Scoping Stage Tactics:
• SEO/SEM: Don’t hack SEO by optimising
around the hottest keywords, because those
landing on your site won’t convert. Focus on
what you do well and optimise around that.
• Social Media Presence: Drive fans and
followers to your company or product page
within social communities. Your updates will
flow into their feeds, so you’ll be top of mind
when they’re ready to buy.
• Ratings & Reviews: Read them. Respond to
the good, the bad, and the ugly. Show you
care and they’ll show some love in return.

38. Search Marketing

39. Planning Stage:
Questions to Ask
• How can I easily show my product’s cost-
effectiveness and efficiency?
• Can my buyers calculate the ROI my product
will deliver?
• Now that I have their attention, is my brand
approachable, helpful and trustworthy?

40. Planning Stage Tactics:
• Content is King: The key during this phase of the
buyer’s journey is providing the right content at the
right time. Remember, lose the marketing fluff –
buyers want helpful, nitty-gritty techie info
• Infographics: Who doesn’t like a snazzy picture
that’s loaded with stats and quick takeaways? For
time-constrained IT pros, content that gets right to
the point (and has data-rich ammo to back it up) is
exactly what they’re looking for – plus it’s super-
simple for them to share on the world wide web.
• Email: Get it in gear. But be sure to focus content
and message on your target audience -- it’s also a
great opportunity to show off your brand.

41. Optimise Content Marketing

42. Selecting Stage:
Questions to Ask
• How do I differentiate myself from my
competitors?
• Where can I show my product in action?
• How can I highlight the ROI for my customer?
• What free offerings and product trials can I,
well, offer?

43. Selection Stage Tactics:
• Case Studies: People want to hear from those that have
gone before them. Pull together a case study that
features a customer that your target market relates to
and tells the story of the full purchase process, to
implementation to customer support.
• Webinars: The key to staying top of mind when it’s time
to buy? Deliver valuable content on the latest trends
and technology and give them the opportunity to have
their questions answered LIVE.
• Videos: Deliver engaging/teaching video content to
help inform your buyers - while providing a bit of
entertainment to separate your brand from the masses.
• Free Trials: They want to get behind the wheel and take
your product for a ride before signing on the dotted line.
Anywhere from 60 to 90 day free trial is plenty of time
for your potential customers to take your product for a
spin.

44. Purchasing / Repurchasing Stage:
Questions to Ask
• How are we merchandising our products
online?
• How and where we should be retailing our
product?
• What’s the ease of purchase like for the
purchasing department?
• What’s my support plan for customers?
• What am I doing to foster lasting relationships
with my buyers?

45. Purchasing / Repurchasing
Stage Tactics
• Intent: Get a clear read on where your buyers are in
their journey. Define and learn where the threshold is in
their purchasing process where they turn from an
inquiry to a marketing qualified lead, then continue to
track and optimise.
• Word-of-Mouth: Post-purchase support might be the
single most crucial stretch of road. Repeat business will
likely end up being the bulk of your business, and
attribute to the bulk of your new business.
• Community Accounts: Establish a social presence as a
brand rep in forums where your buyers hang out to
create a direct line of communication with a human
before, during an after purchase.

46. Optimising Content

47. SEO: Onsite Content
Most Important: Content
https://moz.com/search-ranking-factors
http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-
factors-infographic-2015/

48. Research of 1 Million SERPs

49. Research of 1 Million SERPs
http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-content-marketing/
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/developing-a-strategy/

50. Research of 1 Million SERPs

51. Research of 1 Million SERPs
https://contently.com/strategist/2015/08/04/how-often-
should-you-publish-moz-and-hubspots-new-experiment-gives-
a-surprising-answer/
Their benchmark strategy: (23 posts per workweek)
LVHC: Low volume, high comprehensiveness: (11.5 posts per workweek)
HVLC: High volume, low comprehensiveness (34.5 posts per workweek)

52. MA In Layman Terms!
WHO
Persona
Users
Needs
Business
Needs
Marketing
Automation

53. When to Send What Kind of
Emails
Awareness:
• Welcome email
• Follow us on social media
• Introduce research resources
Research:
• What are you interested in?
• Content that explains their problem
• Content that gives tactical advice and actionable insights
• Content that points to your solution and explains why it’s
the best solution in various formats

54. When to Send What Kind of
Emails
Comparison:
• Have time to talk?
• How can I help?
• Here’s a buyer’s guide
• Here’s what makes us different/better
• Here’s why our solution is perfect for you

55. When to Send What Kind of
Emails
Purchase:
• Thank you and welcome
• Everything okay?
• Product use guidance (product consumption)
• Best practices and pro-tips
• How did It go?
Retention:
• Support resources
• Q & A convo
• Newsletter

56. When to Send What Kind of
Emails
Satisfaction:
• Are you satisfied?
• Would you refer us?
• Here’s an incentive to refer us
• Please give us feedback

57. Examples:

58. Marketing Output Frontier:
Cost of Doing “all the things”
Credit: @DennisGraham7

59. Return on Marketing Effort:
Continued Cost Marketing Initiatives
What are “Continued Cost
Marketing Initiatives”?
Marketing initiatives that have an
ongoing cost associated with
maintaining a marketing presence.
For example:
• CPC / CPM marketing
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• Display advertising
• Affiliate programs
• Sponsorships & media buys
• Subscriptions (i.e. email marketing
platforms,
testing platforms, social
monitoring platforms)
• Retainers (PR, media agencies)Credit: @DennisGraham7

60. Return on Marketing Effort for
Inertia Marketing Initiatives
What are “Inertia Marketing
Initiatives”?
Marketing initiatives that DO NOT
have an ongoing cost associated with
maintaining a marketing presence.
For example:
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Conversion Rate Optimization
(CRO)
• Blogging / Content
• PR / Media coverage
The gradient of the Return on Marketing depends
on visitor volume and the effectiveness of the sales
process.Credit: @DennisGraham7

61. Media Effectiveness Review

62. B2B Marketing Campaign Blue
Prints

63. B2B Marketing Campaign Blue
Prints

64. B2B Marketing Campaign Blue
Prints

66. Xero: Acquisition Cost Estimates
Xero: Saas Accounting Software
Their CLV = $2,008 (95 month subscription)
Target CPA = $100 (5% of CLV)
Channels Acquisition Costs: (75% leads from Partners)
• Brand CPC: $5-15
• Non-Brand CPC: $100 - $200
• Display: $150-$200
• Remarketing: $50-$80

67. Q & A
eMail: help@salescycle.agency
Tel: 1300 88 54 28
@PSVerasdonck