Create A Successful Integrated B2B Marketing Campaign- How can you turn a small, sales-focused businessinto a B2B marketing powerhouse?
Consider Lincoln Financial Group, a traditionally sales-driven company that has completed a complete 180-degree shift in the last year. The over-a-century-old financial services, insurance, and annuity industries took off with an ingenious marketing effort that catapulted them into a significant media and marketing player. The company was just voted Communicator of the Year by the BusinessMarketing Association of New York.
Credit Jamie DePeau, the company's CMO, joined the team from TIAA-CREF about a year ago. She was definitely bringing a strategic marketing mindset to the table. DePeau introduced the integrated marketing mindset to PR, advertising, and social media, despite the fact that Lincoln had already begun moving down a new path before DePeau took over.
Lincoln Financial has previously conducted research that shows that the more control people have over some elements of their lives, such as their finances, the better they feel about the direction their lives are taking.
Lincoln Financial, in collaboration with its agency, gyro, developed a "Chief Life Officer" campaign based on the findings of the study. It is intended to instill confidence in customers by appealing to their optimism and capacity to control their lives. Lincoln, which sells its goods through middlemen like employers, consultants, and agents, used to focus on the middlemen rather than the end-user - the customer.
On the first day of their new campaign, everyone was promoted to CEO of their own life. DePeau described the post as the "Chief Life Officer." "It acknowledges that our lives are, in many respects, similar to businesses. We're in charge of making important choices, managing our budget, and maintaining a healthy work environment. The main message is that you are in command of your life, and Lincoln Financial is here to assist you. "
DePeau continued his studies after the launch. Consumers, particularly women, were more hopeful about their potential to impact their future than Lincoln Financial had anticipated. In fact, according to the MOOD of America Survey, roughly 75% of women feel positive about the future, compared to only 66% of men.Based on this data, Lincoln Financial developed an integrated campaign that included public relations, advertising, social media, and instructional material, all aimed towards women and Lincoln Financial.
"We have a tendency to feel that since we're communicating to a business or consumer audience, our advertising doesn't have to be emotionally charged," DePeau said. Instead of simply talking to the customer, you need to add the emotional component as well as assist in educating them.
"We thought it was the right time to try a new, more upbeat way of advertising, while others in the industry used fear in their ads."
The campaign, which included public relations, social media, and advertising, featured a film of women of different ages demonstrating how they take control of their lives. It also supplied instructional materials to assist women in doing so. The research findings inspired the public relations campaign. The "take charge, hopeful" idea was used in the Chief Life Officer ads and on social media.
What was the outcome of the integrated campaign? According to DePeau, brand recognition has grown after four months, and all major traits that impact consideration and purchase behavior have increased by double digits among customers who are aware of the campaign.
5 Tips From Jamie Depeau On Creating A Successful Integrated Marketing Campaign
Research-Centric Approach
Throughout the process, they investigated our target audience and observed their rivals to ensure that they fully comprehended Americans' post-2008 views and expectations for their financial services partner, as well as how toseparate a financial services brand from its competitors.
Emotion First
People's emotions, as well as their reasoning, may be used to persuade them. Finance is a deeply personal and emotional topic. "We weren't scared to approach it with emotion at first, and then give tools and instruction after that."
Integrated Campaign
Internal brand communications and public relations are equally as important as advertising.
Media Partnerships
They initiated and targeted, vertically aligned media relationships to expand reach while experimenting with new media platforms.
Inside Out
"We began with internal branding, with an emphasis on staff, in November 2010. We sought to engage employees across the country in the new campaign and turn them into Lincoln brand ambassadors."
B2B Marketing Campaign Ideas
Because the B2B industry is so competitive, utilizing numerous marketing channels is a no-brainer for enhancing your chances of success. However, without a well-thought-out strategy, conveying a consistent marketing message across all platforms may be tough. An integrated marketing campaign communicates a consistent brand message (or story) across all of your marketing channels. It offers a consistent message and a united consumer experience. Customers will be able to comprehend what your brand is all about with a reinforced message, and you'll be top of mind at the correct moment.
Know Your Audience
Understanding who your audience is is the only way to connect with them. You must be familiar with their motivating triggers, issues, and demographics. Through research, age, gender, yearly salary, interests, geographic area, and educational level may all be discovered. Targeted marketing initiatives are more effective when as much data as possible is collected.Depending on the marketing medium, your audience will react differently. As a result, you'll need to tweak the campaign message to ensure that it's delivered as effectively as possible. However, because your audience may see more than one of your marketing channels or campaigns over time, your main brand message should stay the same.
Crafting Your Message
Determine which stage of the client's decision process this integrated marketing strategy is addressing. Because you can brainstorm ideas at the correct stage of the marketing funnel, it's a terrific place to start. For example, at the top of the funnel, you would wish to focus on the customer's concerns or anxieties. You'll be focusing on the benefits and unique selling points of your product at the end of the funnel, not just price cuts.
Integrated marketing communications should pique your audience's interest before encouraging them to share it with their social circles. A compelling or emotional tale is a fantastic way to accomplish this goal.
Look for inspiration by looking at successful instances. "Always # LikeAGirl" is an excellent integrated marketing campaign that assists females as they transition from girlhood to womanhood during puberty. The ad aims to change people's perceptions of the phrase "like a female." Their message was delivered through a combination of social media, print, and television.
Actionable Goals
Increase your odds of success by 70% by using SMART goal setting. The following is a list of what this entails:
Specificthis stage is all about having clear answers to the "w" questions (who, what, why, where, and when). Being precise means that you have a goal to work toward and that you can measure your progress. Members of the team can see their objectives, which helps them to go forward.
Measurablein order to achieve a goal, it must be possible to measure it. This may be tracking the number of new email subscribers you obtain or the number of YouTube sales you create for marketing videos. It's also beneficial to track across several channels.
AttainableUnattainable objectives may be daunting, preventing individuals from taking action. To create realistic objectives, consider your resources, timeline, and staff. It may take some trial and error before you can create goals that you are confident will be met by the deadline. Consider establishing mini-goals that provide a sense of success to team members at regular intervals. Agencies can help you grow your efforts or bridge the skills gap between you and your in-house staff.
RelevantSet goals that will help you build your brand, expand your market share, and raise your profits. Your marketing staff may chase the wrong key performance indicators if you don't consider goal relevance. You'll wind up squandering moneyand time that may be better spent elsewhere.
Time-BoundGoals that take a long time to achieve might do more harm than benefit. Set a realistic timetable that reflects a consistent rate of corporate growth. Setting a deadline guarantees that action is performed as soon as possible.
What Marketing Channels Will You Use And When
In a perfect world, you'd be able to fully utilize every marketing channel available. However, because you most likely have a limited marketing budget, you must carefully consider your omnichannel marketing plan. This is when knowing who you're talking to comes in handy.
What media channels are they watching and where are they hanging out? When do people consume media—on their way to work or when they arrive home at night? The answers to these questions will aid in selecting the appropriate marketing channels and capturing attention at the appropriate moment. You'll get the most out of a restricted marketing budget, which is critical for small and medium-sized businesses.
Track Your Campaigns
Select the appropriate tools and software to keep a close eye on the development of your integrated marketing strategy. To extract data from all channels, you may use tools like Google Data Studio. Knowing what works and what doesn't help you concentrate on the areas where you can develop.
A client may read an email, click on a Google ad, view a video, and read a social network post before making a purchase. Making sense of the customer journey may be aided by an attribution model for conversion monitoring. The concept is more difficult to implement in practice than it is on paper, but the data acquired can provide a complete picture of which channels to concentrate on.
Don't forget to track the effectiveness of traditional advertising. The "before and after" approach may be used to compare sales before and after a campaign is launched. The restriction of this tracking approach is that only one campaign can be conducted at a time for a real test. Because purchases may be connected to discounts and campaign-specific phone numbers, code-specific promotions help measure results.
What Is An Example Of B2B Marketing?
An industrial pump manufacturer is aiming to advertise and sell its goods to an oil and gas company as an example of B2B marketing. It is a goal of a commercial construction business to sell and get a contract to build a law firm's office space.
What Is Campaign In B2B?
A business-to-business (B2B) campaign, sometimes known as a business-to-consumer (B2C) campaign, is a marketing program in which a firm sells its products or services to other companies rather than consumers.