Business customer acquisition - how to reach B2B customers?

B2B marketing, i.e. promotional activities aimed at other entrepreneurs, is governed by its own rules. Above all, the customer acquisition process will prove to be more demanding compared to the B2C segment. Below, you will learn proven methods for acquiring business customers and more about the path a lead must take to allow you to make money.

Business customer acquisition - how to turn leads into partnerships

Every marketer, but also an entrepreneur who cares about increasing sales, should be very familiar with the concept of a lead. This is the term used to describe a potential customer, i.e. a person or organisation that shows interest in a company's offer. However, if you are wondering how to acquire customers, you cannot just stop at generating leads.

There is still a long way to go from acquiring leads - i.e. obtaining contact details to establish a deeper relationship - to conversion, which is understood as taking a specific action, such as placing an order. Above all, a lead is not the same as a lead. You need to learn how to classify them in the right way in order to position potential customers in the right place in your sales funnel and therefore select effective customer acquisition techniques.

• Marketing lead (MQL - Marketing Qualified Lead): this group includes marketing content audiences who are still familiarising themselves with the company's offer and need more time and good arguments to make a purchasing decision. It is therefore up to marketing professionals to ensure that they get closer to conversion.
• Sales lead (SQL - Sales Qualified Lead): at a certain point, potential customers are already very close to making a decision and finalising a transaction. Sales action must then be taken, so it is up to the sales professionals to contact the prospective customer and make an offer tailored to their expectations.

As you can see, simply acquiring a lead is the start of a complex process that culminates in a sale. Obviously, the leads arriving in the sales funnel may already differ greatly in their expectations and readiness to buy at the very start. Cold leads will require what is known as lead nurturing. In the B2B segment, this can even take many months. Hot leads, on the other hand, can become customers very quickly. More often than not, however, this is backed up by a strong, consciously built brand. The key to success in each case is a well-thought-out strategy that takes into account activities at each stage of the funnel from the branding and need arousal phase through to taking action.

Methods of acquiring business customers

Nowadays, of course, online customer acquisition is the most popular. And no wonder. According to the e-Izba Report "A decade of Polish e-commerce", already 87% of Polish Internet users buy online. A significant role in online trade is played by the B2B e-commerce sector, the value of which has increased by as much as 3.5 times over the decade. [1] .

Digital marketing, as the broad field of promoting products and services online, has a great deal to offer. There are many tools and communication channels at the disposal of marketers and entrepreneurs who decide to go it alone, which you can adapt to your own possibilities or budget. Advertising Online, both paid and organic, is a key part of a digital marketing strategy to reach a wide audience and increase brand recognition.

How do you attract new customers? Here are six effective action models to include in your B2B marketing strategy:

1. Content marketing: in each case, an investment in quality content will bring results. You can create and develop a company website, publish expert blog articles, e-books, how-to guides or case studies. It would also be a great idea to start your own YouTube channel, where you will upload videos. This is a way to build an expert image and position your company against competitors in the industry.
2. SEO: most of us search for answers to our questions, including information about a particular product or service providers' offerings, on the internet. Of course, we primarily use Google to do this. In order to appear high in the search results for phrases that are relevant to you, you need to invest in SEO, i.e. search engine optimisation. This key action covers the technical aspects of your website on the one hand, and the optimisation of the content you create on the other.
3. Paid advertising: how do you acquire customers without having to wait for the results of other activities? Paid advertising comes to the rescue, which is available on many platforms and channels. It is a proven way of both attracting foreign customers in the case of internationally operating companies and local ones. The advertiser has truly expansive opportunities to present their offer and reach their audience.
4. Social media marketing: social media is still the ideal place to meet your customers. For the B2B segment, it is advisable to choose those platforms that are frequently reached by professionals. A profile on LinkedIn is an excellent support for building an expert image. However, this does not mean that you should not also develop other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, which is becoming increasingly popular especially among the younger generation.
5. Email marketing: emails can work at almost every stage of the sales funnel. Capturing the address of potential and existing customers will therefore allow you to increase sales, build long-term relationships and influence retention at a very low cost. A well-composed mailing will also be a great complement to other activities.
6. Affiliate networks and affiliation: referrals and recommendations from others, including trusted experts and influencers, are a good way to increase sales.

B2B customer acquisition strategy - why develop one?

Of course, the list of available tools and communication channels is far longer. In practice, the best result will, of course, come from a combination of different solutions. If you are considering how to acquire a business client, you need a well thought-out strategy that you can implement and then monitor its effectiveness. As part of this, consider, above all:

1. Market and competition analysis: understanding the market environment, competitors, trends and customer preferences is key. Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis to better understand your position in the market and prepare for different scenarios.
2. Target group: before you can figure out how to get customers for your services or goods, you need to answer the most important question: who they actually are. Without this knowledge, it will not be possible to create an effective strategy.
3. Communication channels and tools: choose communication channels to present your offer to your potential customers. Consider which tools will work best in this case.
4. Determine how you want to speak: to convince B2B customers to do business with you, you need to tell the story of your service in a thoughtful way. Develop a communication style, your brand values and create further content based on this.
5. Analysis and monitoring of results: you will not know if your strategy and actions are having the desired effect if you do not monitor the results and subject them to appropriate analysis. There are many analytical solutions to choose from, including free ones offered, for example, within the Google environment.

Measures to facilitate the acquisition of business customers

Once your strategy is in place (it's worth writing it down so you don't miss any details), you can proceed. However, it is worth creating a few more documents and procedures to answer the question of how to find customers. Beyond this, additional activities will play an important role. These can be helpful:

• customer segmentation: Your target group is not homogeneous. Probably exactly like your offer. Divide potential customers into smaller segments; you can use a demographic key, purchasing behaviour or needs. This will allow you to tailor your activities to specific customer groups.
• Create a persona: develop a detailed profile of your ideal business customer. Consider what industry they represent, their preferences and the business challenges they face. This will allow you to better understand your customers and tailor your communications. Also consider what the buying process is like for the companies you are targeting.
• Work on qualifying leads: the art of properly cataloguing the leads falling into your funnel is very demanding, but yields great results. Periodically analyse the effectiveness of your actions and learn more about your audience.
• Networking: making direct contacts is invaluable in the B2B segment. Attend industry events, conferences, trade fairs and other meetings to make business contacts, demonstrate knowledge and expertise, and acquire customers.
• CRM (customer relationship management): use CRM systems to effectively manage contacts, track customer interactions and manage leads.

What are some of the problems you may face in acquiring business clients?

Of course, sometimes even the most carefully prepared strategy fails for some reason. What can be the reason for this? Very often, the reason is incorrect assumptions, for example the wrong definition of the target group or the characteristics and needs of the market. Another factor you need to take into account in a B2B environment is the complexity of the purchasing processes.

While many B2B marketers and entrepreneurs wonder how to reach the customer, this is not always a well-posed question. In many organisations, several people are involved in the process: from specialists dealing with specific activities to their supervisors to the purchasing decision-makers. It can therefore turn out that the process is very drawn out and requires convincing completely different audiences at different stages of the funnel. How to avoid such a problem? The key is to understand the industry, but also the details of the organisation of the specific business. If you want to operate effectively in the B2B market, first of all get to know your potential customer well.

InPost advertising for business - use our potential and win new customers!

The bottom line: to reach new customers, you need to make sure your marketing materials are exactly where your audience is. And in this respect, what better place than an InPost parcel machine? After all, these devices are also used by many entrepreneurs - both for business and private purposes. Therefore, think about using them as an effective and impressive advertising space. Paczkomat InPost can be covered with your creation (over 21,000 locations nationwide are available).

Display advertising displayed on the screens of Paczkomat machines will allow you to reach up to 4 million recipients per month. Of course, you can also use the virtual space: just place a banner in the InPost app or Parcel Manager, which is commonly used by entrepreneurs. Want to know more and find out about our full advertising offer for businesses? Let us know via the form below!