A lot of B2B companies wonder what communication channels they emphasize in the new year or for their next campaign.
The answer isn’t simple. In fact, to choose an effective online or offline communication channel, you must first establish a communication plan that can be defined after strategic marketing planning. It’s a process which, by analogy, is comparable to playing Russian dolls. In fact, the channels are not visible at first because they are the last visible part of the puzzle.
Analyzing and clarifying 7 marketing elements
Many things come into play. Before choosing a tool or channel to focus on, such as advertising, websites, email campaigns, flyers, or other social networks, it’s essential to analyze or specify the following:
- the product or service;
- the market;
- the public;
- the budget;
- the message;
- the strategie
- the evaluation
Evaluate past results to make the right decisions
An important step that is often overlooked in my opinion is the evaluation of previous campaigns. How can you make the right decisions and choose the best channels if performance indicators (KPI’s) for each of the tools are not measured and analyzed? This regular assessment will also adjust the strategy and change the course during the year or campaign.
After the obligatory passage in the perspective of strategic marketing, comes the choice of which means or channels. Actions or communication tools that are most relevant and most effective can also be selected and prioritized, based on the B2B company business objectives.
2015 B2B Marketing Budget Breakdown
A recent survey by Forrester Research shows that B2B marketing budgets of surveyed companies are divided between online and offline channels. However, while offline channel trade shows, conferences and events represents the greatest part of the budget, it remains stable for 2015, while the budgets allocated to online channels are up; a major trend in the market.
As you can see, I can’t tell you which is the best online or offline channel for your B2B business without using the Russian dolls approach to discover what it would be. So, what are you doing to determine the best channels to use for your business?
Do not go unnoticed…
However, if you are curious and want to see some of the tools created by the Exo B2B team for its B2B customers, I invite you to visit our online portfolio and give us your feedback.
Thanks for the good read Nathalie, it just goes to show that companies need an integrated approach these days to reach different parts of the markets and to support each of the approach’s. It’s a convoluded equation, but those who measure performance often realize that they can improve upon past performances and allocate budget to the activities that bring back the best ROI.
Thanks for your comment Mr. Noftall. ROI are the 3 most important letters indeed and allow marketers to make the good decisions.