Marketing News: How to support stronger B2B relationships through your marketing team

Here we examine how marketers can boost their company’s ability to build strong and lasting B2B relationships:

Always aim to add value
There are times when you want to check in with your customers and potentially engage them about new products or services you have to offer. However, reaching out to B2B contacts out of the blue can be risky; you can annoy people and turn them off from your brand if you’re overly sales-focused. That said, one tactic to avoid this is to focus on adding value to the customer, not simply aiming to sell them your wares.

Sam Saltis of Core dna explains: ‘In every interaction, you and your staff should be listening for and discussing ways that you can continue to deliver value outside of the price of your offering.’

This means you should always look beyond the urge to simply sell, sell, sell, but instead offer great incentives that will entice consumers, you could consider free shipping or discounts on future purchases.

View relationship building as a marathon, not a sprint
It can be tempting to go in all guns blazing when a new B2B partner comes onboard and your marketing and sales teams will be eager to impress. That said, it’s important to remember that consistency in your level of service and ongoing support will often be appreciated above all else.

Strong relationships are all about earning the trust of the other party, so demonstrate your business can deliver on its promises before pushing to expand the relationship with new products or services.

Ally Delgado, Chief Marketing Officer at Merchology, explains: ‘Build your relationships over time. Prove you do the little things right before you ask for bigger things. Many more opportunities will follow if you can earn their trust.’

Be available when your B2B partners need you
Finally, and it may seem obvious, but a key way to develop stronger B2B relationships is the ability of your marketing team to make time for your clients.

According to Technology Advice, loyalty is built upon creating personal relationships and humanising your brand. This can be achieved in a number of ways, but the key to this process is making sure your B2B customers feel they are important to you. Their problems should be viewed as your problems and your staff should always make time to get back to their contacts quickly.

Your teams can use direct options like picking up the phone or sending an email to answer customer queries, but equally your marketing team can help by creating FAQ pages for your website or creating online reference materials that can provide help and support for common customer issues.

Further reading / sources
The Importance of Building Positive Relationships With B2B Customers. Team Support
B2B eCommerce: 5 Key Strategies To Strengthen Your B2B Relationships. Core dna
Building Trust With Your B2B Customers Through Advisory. Forbes
5 Business Practices that Build Strong B2B Relationships. US Chamber of Commerce
Improving the business-to-business customer experience. McKinsey & Co
3 Keys to Improving B2B Customer Relationships. Technology Advice