Marketing B2B Telco: Six Steps to Help You Succeed in 2018

Marketing B2B Telco: Six Steps to Help You Succeed in 2018

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  SIX STEPS TOHELP YOU SUCCEED IN 2018 TODAY’S TELCO MARKETPLACE DYNAMICS MARKETING B2B TELCO 2.6% GROWTH With increased demand for mobile data and addressable IT services, the B2B Telco market could grow 2.6%.1 LESS THAN 10% of Telco marketers believe they are highly advanced and rapidly evolving when it comes to being more data-driven, customer-responsive and digitally adaptive.2 HOW TO BECOME A B2B TELCO MARKETING PRO IN SIX STEPS Recognize the Value of Thought Leadership1 9 IN 10 BDMs believe it’s important that organizations produce thought leadership.4 82% of BDMs say thought leadership increases their trust in an organization.4 Telco marketers are massively underestimating the impact that thought leadership can have on a buyer’s confidence in their company. ACT NOW: Produce thoughtful, relevant content that underscores your unique expertise. Embrace “Blockbuster” (Not Lackluster) Content2 50% of B2B buyers are disappointed with the quality of thought leadership coming from vendors.4 B2B Telco solutions can be complex. The “Blockbuster” approach allows you to portray your knowledge in building products or solutions that help navigate this complexity. ACT NOW: • Start thinking like a Hollywood movie machine, prizing quality over quantity. • Create your business topic and stick to it. • Leverage your content to create multiple customer touchpoints: Blog Posts Slideshare Social Media Website Q&A Maintain Touchpoint Consistency3 Only 14% of people can remember the last ad they saw.6 5,000 ADS The average consumer sees 5,000 ads a day (30 years ago, that number was only 500!).5 14% 8% Only 8% have any idea what company/product was associated with that ad.6 ACT NOW: Ensure buyers can recognize your content by branding it in a uniform way, then connect: • Buyers are 2X MORE likely to trust info provided by LinkedIn than by other social networks.7 • 3 IN 5 technology buyers want their reps to use LinkedIn for social selling.8 • Only 1 IN 4 Telco marketers always include LinkedIn in their media mix.9 • But 70% OF BUYERS expect to see Telco companies advertising on LinkedIn.9 When it comes to marketing and advertising, many Telco companies wrestle with mobile data and how to capitalize on it.3 Hail the End of Hypertargeting4 Hypertargeting buyers can prove detrimental to marketing efforts, leading to wasted impressions and exclusion of potential buyers, which drives up: • Cost per impression (CPM) • Cost per click (CPC) • Cost per lead (CPL) It also limits your reach – thereby limiting sales! ACT NOW: Don’t overuse targeting to the point of hyper-segmentation. Some companies were able to reduce their CPL from $300 to $10 by employing broader targeting. Make a Case for Cost per Connection5 Telco marketers must harness leading content distribution strategies to build trust and gain credibility: • Use social selling to build trusted relationships • Tap employees’ networks • Don’t forget about influencers ACT NOW: Utilize more sophisticated measurement that better ties to purchase intent, with online B2B metrics that correlate with offline B2B sales activities. Invest Resources Where It Counts6 What’s the current leading indicator of sales? Connection density (CD). You can influence CD by using account-based marketing (ABM) to “prime” buyers with content, then have sales reach out to those same nurtured prospects. ACT NOW: Here’s how Telco companies can allocate budget between top and bottom-of-funnel messaging: THE 60/40 RULE Invest about 60% of your budget in thought leadership or branding, and 40% in bottom-funnel messaging. THE 10:1 RULE $10 should be spent on distribution for every $1 spent on creative development. THE 80/20 RULE You’ll invest in a lot of content and a lot of channels, while keeping in mind that only 20% of your investments will deliver 80% of your returns. DIGITAL BONUS Telco companies can further build trust by: • Investing in omnichannel sales – expand digital sales to increase revenue by 30%.10 • Leaning into digital – be ready to use 360-degree data on individual customers to help personalize.10 • Dive into analytics – reduce customer churn and optimize network design.10 Get Started Now To stay ahead of the curve, Telco B2B marketers must form deeper connections with current and potential customers to establish a base of trust and take advantage of the digital evolution for years to come. For a more in-depth look at these Telco B2B marketing insights and how to put them into action at your organization, read our latest eBook. Sources: 1 bain.com, “How to Capture the B2B Growth Opportunity in Telecom,” April 2016 2 cmocouncil.org, “CMO Council Predicts Brand and Telco Partnering Will Drive Omni-Channel Marketing Effectiveness Globally,” August 2017 3 emarketer.com, “For Telecoms, the Ad Tech Opportunity is Massive,” January 2017 4 edelman.com, “How Thought Leadership Impacts B2B Demand Generation,” 2017 5 sjinsights.net, “New Research Sheds Light on Daily Ad Exposures,” September 2014 6 mediapost.com, “Banner Blindness: 60% Can’t Remember the Last Display Ad They Saw,” March 2013 7 LinkedIn, “LinkedIn Professional Consumer Survey,” 2014 8 LinkedIn, “The Future Tech Buying Committee: Millennials + Gen X Decision-Makers Achieving MORE, Together,” 2017 9 ResearchNow 10 mckinsey.com, “How Telecom Companies Can Win in the Digital Revolution,” October 2016