B2B Article Marketing

Business-to-business marketing is unique in that the business buyer needs your product. He isn’t looking out for something he “might enjoy,” but rather he is coming to you with a specific need, so he is already on the verge of buying from someone. Secondly, the business buyer is more sophisticated and has the desire to learn everything about your product or service. He is willing to read longer copy and he wants to read a promotional article that is packed with facts and valuable information to help facilitate his decision making process. Business to business article marketing is designed to educate a discerning fellow business owner who wishes to learn more about your products and services.

A 2009 study conducted by Booz & Company and the Association of National Advertisers found three key attributes of the most successful business-to-business marketers. First, they collected loads of data, including customer’s buying decisions, purchasing history, financial position, marketing strategies, pricing strategies, buying motivation and business goals. Once this information was collected, they integrated this with product/service development. Second, they said their focus on brand management and separating themselves from the competition was one of their strengths. Third, they set prices based on market response and value to consumers, rather than internal cost-driven factors. Article marketing strategies fit well with the objectives of top performing companies. In essence, business to business article marketing can be used to create a brand identity and to track statistics.

Another important reason to add business to business article marketing to your overall strategy is the undeniable truth that search marketing is still generating the bulk of business-to-business leads. The 6th Annual B2B Marketing Benchmark Report 2009-2010 (conducted by Marketing Sherpa) sums it up by saying, “During the most difficult economic times that the search marketing industries has seen in its decade-long life, search marketers are more relevant than ever. The Web itself is getting ’smarter.’ Web 1.0 was mostly static with publishers communicating to consumers. Web 2.0 is two-way, with consumers talking back to publishers. Web 3.0 uses information from the consumer to tailor the experience to individuals.” A true article marketing expert understands current trends and knows just how to use programs that analyze online article submissions to see what keywords bring traffic to a website, as well as what keywords bring business owners who are most ready to buy, what messages are bringing in the most targeted traffic, what messages are scaring people off and where are they going and what are they looking for once they leave the site without buying.

Business to business article marketing is part of an $85 billion/year industry. The growth of business to business marketing in general is attributed to the increasing number of entrepreneurs present in this country. More retirees, students and stay-at-home moms are finding ways to bring in additional revenue through resale businesses or running their own companies. The freedom to set one’s own hours and pay rate is attractive for many individuals, which has increased the number of small business service providers that specialize in niches like article marketing services, search engine optimization, accounting, document preparation and social media advising.