Ask marketers from a hundred different companies about their definition of B2B PR, and the chances are you will get a hundred different answers. As a general rule, B2B PR is all about building and developing relationships, often the kind of relationships that can be counted in years rather than months, based on a strong understanding of what the buyer wants and how best the supplier can provide it.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? In truth, however, it’s way more complicated than that. PR in general is fast-paced, immediately responsive and always ready to adapt. B2B PR is more immersive, in part because the tools used in B2B PR – the likes of blog posts, press releases, white papers and case studies – are more wide-reaching, and in some instances easier to aim specifically at commercial customers. The end result for the client is greater trust in the relationship with the B2B PR agency and, crucially, a stronger brand perception in the marketplace.
It’s not just what you say; it’s also how you say it AND who you say it to
Once the collaboration between the B2B PR agency and the client has tailored the messages, organising the spreading of those messages can take place. This is a vital stage in the process, and it’s one that will differ from strategy to strategy. Shouting from the rooftops while everyone else is also shouting from the rooftops only results in a sore throat, so the planning process takes on a huge amount of importance. Successful campaigns tend to follow strong guidelines right from the start, focusing on various platforms, the creation of new messages and the underpinning of existing ones.
Key factors at this juncture can be blog posts (regular and relevant blog posts, not just the occasional missive), high interest media stories, impactful press releases, engaging social media output and informative infographics. All these strategies and more can combine to create a B2B PR initiative that impresses current clients and draws the attentions of potentially new ones. Content and editorial plans that bring together the vital strands of market research, product awareness, planning, strategy, implementation and measurement can make a huge difference to the success of all clients.
Changing the world, one step at a time
And going back to the hundred different marketers that we mentioned at the start, the one thing they may all agree on is that B2B PR specialists can change the way that commercial customers think. They do this by establishing thought leader status, by adopting clear messages, by reinforcing positive perceptions and by aligning ideas to the specific identities of their clients. And the longer the agency-client relationships last, the more their goals and ambitions dovetail into a mutually beneficial – and ultimately beautiful – synergy.
In short, B2B PR is an essential weapon in any B2B marketing armoury in the contemporary business world. Whether your organisation is manufacturing batteries, bolts, bricks or boilers, it will have a message that it needs to convey to the world. And with the Rose Media Group team by your side, using all the latest, proven techniques to truly communicate, you have an opportunity to reach out to areas of the market that you may have previously thought unreachable.
B2B can rightly be seen as highly flexible in a business context. It can enhance the existing marketing plans of any commercial enterprise, for example, but if there isn’t a dedicated marketing plan in place it can be utilised as a stand-alone entity, adding value throughout its life-cycle. And while a B2C approach tends to focus on gaining as many customers in as rapid a time as possible, B2B by its very nature needs to have more of a drip-feed effect on the market.
Business buyers are generally purchasing to a fixed template, often decided by committee and implemented by more than one individual. Companies aren’t constantly buying all the time, of course; if they purchase a new set of laptops, for example, they won’t be coming back to buy laptops en masse for quite some time. Therefore, the tactics employed by a high-achieving B2B PR agency will have more emphasis on increasing brand awareness in order to remain in the collective consciousness, ready and waiting to then come to the fore when the customers are buying once again.
Contact the RMG team today to find out more about the benefits of high quality B2B PR.
