The 2018 guide to B2B sales, Part 2: Segmentation, content, and nurtures

In Part 1 of this series, I broke down how to effectively use different channels for B2B efforts –  from demand generation channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest to get in front of highly relevant audiences to paid search to capitalize on audiences with intent.

I also touched on optimizing the landing pages/content you should deliver to these audiences.

In this post, I’ll cover creating smart segmentation, and making use of the right content for mid-funnel remarketing and your overall nurture.

Let’s start by assuming you’ve brought relevant audiences onto your web property, and they haven’t yet converted – but you have cookied them with pixels placed on the site, and you’ve built an audience for remarketing purposes. The first thing you’ll want to do is…

Create smart segmentation

If you’ve followed best practices so far, the users in your remarketing pool have hit different content and landing pages on your site, depending on what you deemed most relevant to them. And their entry points can be very useful in segmenting your remarketing lists.

Rather than just having a catch-all remarketing list for all visitors, create segmented audiences that can accommodate more tailored content. Here are some examples of how you want to think about audience development/segmentation:

• Industry-specific audiences (if you have landing pages or content relevant to certain industries)
• Type of content consumed (demo, whitepaper, lead form, etc.) – this allows you to ensure you don’t serve the same content to these audiences as you leverage mid-funnel remarketing to push them down the funnel.
• Intent level of keywords – are the users in the research phase? Ready to look for purchase options? The B2B purchase process can be a long one, so look for layers and ways to address users at different points of the funnel.

Employ mid-funnel remarketing

I’ll say it again: one of the most unique things about B2B products and services is the fact that the buying process is so long – often because of the high product price point and the level of impact of your service or offering.

B2B decisions aren’t made lightly, which is why I emphasize the educational process, the need to continuously convince the user why you are right for them, and the effectiveness of keeping your product/service top of mind as users move toward a decision.

With the your newly created segmented audiences, you can craft a more precise strategy to serve content and messaging that will push users down the funnel to help them become more qualified leads and, eventually, customers. Think about relevant whitepapers, testimonials, and case studies that show the impact of your offering/service/product to prove your credibility and value.

A final note about remarketing: always take a multichannel approach by leveraging both GDN and paid social so you can meet the audiences where they choose to go.

Always-on nurture

Your users won’t stop browsing the web, so your nurture efforts shouldn’t stop either. Segment your audiences by recency of their last visit to your site, and keep showing them different ads, content, and creative that educates them about your product or service.

Don’t just switch up the messaging; test different ads formats (Facebook video, YouTube, banner ads, text ads, etc.) to keep the creative fresh and engaging. And keep rotating in testimonials that speak to different value propositions that align with your audience’s needs – and lend you credibility at the same time.

 

In our next post, I’ll cover how to ensure you’re driving qualified leads, how to track events that lead most reliably to sales, and how to back into optimized bidding strategies based on your CRM data. Stay tuned!

source https://searchenginewatch.com/2018/02/08/the-2018-guide-to-b2b-sales-part-2-segmentation-content-and-nurtures/