Required Information on Which to Build Your B2B Marketing Strategies
When involved in the marketing strategy and planning process in any manufacturing or B2B Services business it is all too easy to focus on today's market and the short term rather than to step away and start with the basics.
It is too easy to focus on what the business offers today and its existing products and services rather than to consider what basic customer needs the business services.
Competitors may seem obvious, but do they really occupy the same space.
Are there other businesses who currently not perceived as a threat that may be the real competition of the future? To perform a strategic review correctly it is necessary to take a step back and to focus on the wider environment rather than get sucked into the day to day business of current products, customers and competitors.
It is important to answer some fundamental questions about the market in which the business operates as follows: • What does the business offer? • Who needs what is available from the business and why? • Who is able to offer the same products or services? • Why should customers pick your business to service their needs? • How will the business attract customers? What basic customer need does the product or service satisfy is a fundamental question to ask.
This may seem obvious at first but it is important to stop thinking in terms of products and services and to think instead about customer needs.
Only when the product or service has been defined in terms of the basic need it satisfies is it possible to move on.
Fail to answer this question properly and it is probable that marketing efforts will fail to deliver an adequate return on investment.
It should be possible to define what sets the business apart from the rest.
Where are the real strengths of the business? Are the unique selling points promoted to the market place or is the business simply promoting product and service features without ensuring the marketplace is aware of what makes the business stand out from the rest? Armed with information on basic customer needs it should be possible to identify which potential customers may need the product or service and why.
It may be that new potential customer groups will emerge.
It should also be possible to identify who are competitors, which ones are a threat and which ones could become a threat in future.
Only when the target market and unique selling points are identified it is possible to decide which promotional techniques will give you best return on investment.
It is necessary to identify what will work and what is a waste of time and money and this can only be determined with a top level (as described above) marketing strategy and planning process in place.
It is too easy to focus on what the business offers today and its existing products and services rather than to consider what basic customer needs the business services.
Competitors may seem obvious, but do they really occupy the same space.
Are there other businesses who currently not perceived as a threat that may be the real competition of the future? To perform a strategic review correctly it is necessary to take a step back and to focus on the wider environment rather than get sucked into the day to day business of current products, customers and competitors.
It is important to answer some fundamental questions about the market in which the business operates as follows: • What does the business offer? • Who needs what is available from the business and why? • Who is able to offer the same products or services? • Why should customers pick your business to service their needs? • How will the business attract customers? What basic customer need does the product or service satisfy is a fundamental question to ask.
This may seem obvious at first but it is important to stop thinking in terms of products and services and to think instead about customer needs.
Only when the product or service has been defined in terms of the basic need it satisfies is it possible to move on.
Fail to answer this question properly and it is probable that marketing efforts will fail to deliver an adequate return on investment.
It should be possible to define what sets the business apart from the rest.
Where are the real strengths of the business? Are the unique selling points promoted to the market place or is the business simply promoting product and service features without ensuring the marketplace is aware of what makes the business stand out from the rest? Armed with information on basic customer needs it should be possible to identify which potential customers may need the product or service and why.
It may be that new potential customer groups will emerge.
It should also be possible to identify who are competitors, which ones are a threat and which ones could become a threat in future.
Only when the target market and unique selling points are identified it is possible to decide which promotional techniques will give you best return on investment.
It is necessary to identify what will work and what is a waste of time and money and this can only be determined with a top level (as described above) marketing strategy and planning process in place.
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