Ten “Under the Table” Tips for Creating Your Best Ever B2B Marketing Plan

Part 3 of 5: 50 Bookmark-Worthy Tips for the Ambitious B2B Marketer

When creating your B2B marketing plan, move through the following steps in sequence:

• Finding new customers
• Securing new business from existing customers
• Top-line revenue growth
• Product / service growth
• Industry segment penetration / growth

Never, ever start a marketing plan with tactics. You’ll just be stabbing around in the dark without understanding strategic goals first.

1. Assess your resources: Two types of resources are most relevant – people and dollars. In today’s world of modern marketing, B2B companies may need more talent to help create content and grow social networks and fewer dollars to spend on direct mail, sponsorships, advertising, and the like. Who will be contributing to your marketing efforts? What has your firm budgeted for marketing? Do not begin planning until you have a clear picture of resources!
2. Establish the baseline: Once your company’s goals are identified, evaluate how long the journey will be to the top. Where is your company today? How high does it need to climb? In general, a lengthy trek will necessitate a larger marketing budget.

1. Map your marketing infrastructure: Just like travelers need roads, bridges, and cars to get to their destinations, marketers need a solid infrastructure in place in order to do effective work. More specifically, you’ll need to have a:

• Clean email database
• Responsive website that offers an engaging user experience
• Blog (or multiple blogs)
• Growing social media network
• Brand that dynamically reflects your company
• Block of messaging that clearly differentiates you from your competitors

A marketing program that is missing any of these elements will be less effective and lower the potential for a high return on investment (ROI).

1. Define the ideal customer: Within each target segment, you will need to identify your company’s favorite customer. Attributes of an ideal customer might include:

• Size of firm
• Management / organizational structure
• Desire to sustain long-term relationships
• Purchase habits
• Payment terms
• Geographic location
• Ability to make quick decisions

• Title
• Demographics
• Challenges and opportunities
• Reporting relationships
• Communication preferences

Too many B2B companies haphazardly skip right over Steps 1 – 8 and jump straight into the design of their marketing communications. No wonder their marketing plans are not effective!

1. Develop a timeline: In order to make your B2B marketing plan actionable, you will want to create a timeline that specifies who is going to do what and by when. I typically do this on a rolling three-month basis and update it as progress is made.

Phew! Are you surprised by the complexity of the process? A solid B2B marketing plan often takes months to complete! Without this well thought out and researched roadmap, however, it will be very challenging to reach your destination. So don’t leave these “under the table” tips laying on the dirty floor with the crumbs and the forgotten umbrellas. Take them and use them to create your best ever B2B marketing plan. And remember, not a word to anyone… my shoe budget is really small — I swear — but I can certainly put a few dollars to good use every now and then.