The world of B2B public relations has evolved a lot in the last decade. Decision makers in many industries are now more informed than ever and likely to take the time needed to compare various vendors if they need a product or service for their business.
If something catches their attention, they’ll call the provider for more information. Sales calls are now much less effective at getting new clients, as 60 percent of businesses prefer to choose vendors through their own initiatives, rather than by getting convinced by a sales pitch.
While this might mean that B2B public relations has gotten more challenging, there are still many ways to build lasting and profitable relationships with other businesses. Here are some best practices recommended by industry professionals:
Use Online Resources to Keep on Learning
With the Internet, you now have access to a whole world of information resources about B2B sales and marketing, PR, business relationship management and many other related topics. Most of this information is available completely free to anyone with an interest in it.
If you want to find out more about what has changed in the B2B world and how this will likely affect your business and the way it does PR, there are plenty of online discussion forums, social media groups, blogs, online courses and email newsletters that you will find useful.
By participating in online discussions related to various aspects of B2B public relations, you will be able to exchange ideas with others, as well as get a better idea of what others have done that has worked and what hasn’t.
Put out Content That Makes Prospective Clients Want to Contact You
In today’s world, nearly 60 percent of business executives make purchase decisions before speaking to anybody. Obviously, they don’t simply pick a random vendor because their logo looks nice.
They look at what different vendors have to offer, compare them and get in touch with those that seem the most suitable for their needs to begin purchase negotiations.
B2B PR has changed from simply publishing news about what’s going on with a company to creating useful and relevant content that makes others want to do business with you.
Therefore, you should make sure that your website and other online assets contains enough information on the products and services that you offer, highlights their benefits and catches the attention of executives.
Have a Properly Designed and Executed Content Strategy
Public relations strategy in the B2B world doesn’t end at just selling your products. B2B companies can benefit from the power of online marketing to also find suppliers and various kinds of business partners. Obviously, the content that your company will have to publish to attract them will need to be a bit different.
This is why you need to have a content strategy that is well planned and executed. Segment your audience according to different categories and send them content that is the most relevant and useful. Doing so will get you the results you were looking for.
