B2C marketers do not know how good they have it.

Although the definition of "the modern consumer" is always changing—and marketers are forced to change along with it—B2C marketers have a vast array of channels, methods, and approaches at their disposal to satisfy any number of marketing objectives.

B2C marketers expertly wield their tools and watch conversion rates jump and awareness efforts create demand. B2B marketers do not have the luxury of the large number of advanced tools that B2C marketers enjoy, because the two target audiences are so different.

Creating demand and generating leads in a B2B context requires extreme messaging precision—with a much-slimmer margin for error.

Direct Digital

What B2C marketers have as a distinct advantage is access to direct digital marketing—an addressable digital marketing method that delivers relevant marketing communications to specific individuals through the three primary digital channels: email, the Web, and mobile.

Traditional direct marketing efforts use a postal address to engage an individual while direct digital marketing uses an email address, a Web-browser cookie, and a mobile phone number.

Though direct digital marketing has evolved out of consumers' increasingly multichannel media consumption and technology-adoption habits, the basic principles and tools that comprise direct digital marketing function just as effectively in a B2B context.

Executing a sound direct digital marketing strategy yields tremendous value for B2B marketers because the discipline naturally gravitates toward the fundamental requirements of the B2B marketing environment: message relevance and multichannel marketing automation.

Traditionally, B2B marketers must do a great deal of heavy lifting to create a one-on-one interaction with a prospect. Generic email blasts, cold-calling, and direct mail are the most common tactics used to generate interest and move a prospect along the sales funnel.

Direct digital marketing leverages a connected multichannel prospect experience for improved engagement, while robust measurability enables sales personnel to skip steps in the sales cycle by qualifying prospect interest based on email interaction and website visits.

The signature characteristics of effective direct digital marketing are increased sales, brand loyalty, and customer retention. Each characteristic is a primary marketing objective regardless of the targeted audience.

A common multichannel direct digital marketing campaign sends a targeted email campaign to several distinct segments, sets a Web-browser cookie from the email, and then enables the sales and marketing organizations to evaluate how each segment interacts with the message. The evaluation informs improved marketing campaigns in the long term and drives real sales results in the near term.

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Direct Digital Marketing: Powerful B2C Tools for B2B Marketers

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Josh Gordon is the editor-in-chief of the popular direct digital marketing blog The Lunch Pail (lunchpail.knotice.com) and director of marketing at Knotice (www.Knotice.com), a direct digital marketing solutions company. Contact him at jgordon@knotice.com.