COVID has changed everything – especially the way B2B sales happen. 

For small and mid-sized technology companies, it has become harder to become visible to a highly specific target audience. 

• Face-to-face meetings with the exact stakeholders are not possible 
• It is difficult to establish the utility, relevance, and importance of your product/ service 
• It is also tough to demonstrate to decision-makers the true value of the solutions offered. 

You know there is business out there, but you are missing those opportunities.

What’s the solution? 

Leverage the power of content and social media marketing.  

Content:

Create regular content that demonstrates your expertise in the niche area. It will help you approach people who are looking for similar services. Content about tech trends and industry news with your unique viewpoints can amplify your experience and knowledge in the field. Create highly focused landing pages for specific industry verticals or functional areas will help channel your content towards the correct clientele. Create case studies and testimonials to demonstrate your expertise and impact 

Social Media:

Use social media channels like LinkedIn and Twitter to be seen as a trusted source of information in your niche. Share useful news and the latest industry updates. 

Personal Brand of your CXO:

Leverage your CXOs’ social channels to amplify the messaging of the company through authoritative, strong opinions or even contrarian stands.

The likely impact of your content and social media marketing efforts –

You can expect several benefits through these efforts, such as – 

• Increased visibility in the niche can help you occupy the high ground 
• Your target audience will become more aware of potential use cases and your ability to address those.
• You will be able to create greater confidence in the minds of your prospects about your expertise which could lead to quicker conversions and establish a good reputation.

Most large events were canceled in 2020. Conferences like Knowledge of ServiceNow, Oracle OpenWorld, Atlassian Summit, and others moved to the virtual mode. 

If you are a partner of ServiceNow, Oracle, Microsoft, Atlassian, IBM, SAP, or Google, this has posed a big threat. 

• Your single largest source of new prospects has become highly ineffective.
• The association of you, as a partner, with the Principal companies is not as visible. 
• Your buyers don’t have any obvious means to know about the latest solutions by you or your offerings. 

That said, Principal companies are also actively searching for co-marketing opportunities with partners in the form of speakers for webinars, providing funds for marketing, promoting partner content, etc. 

Your aim is now to make yourself visible through such activities and establish a clear connection to the Principal company.

It’s time to up your marketing game – 

We recommend that you take a 3-pronged approach to your online marketing- 

Content:

Demonstrate your expertise through high-quality, thought leadership content like whitepapers or eBooks. These will help you inform potential clients about your services and packages in a concise manner, while also helping amplify your brand.

Creating content that strongly associates you with the Principal like blogs on prominent industry use cases, views of latest product updates, etc. will help you stay in the eye of your target audience. 

Social Media:

Use social media to build brand awareness, generate new leads, and build customer relationships. Connect yourself with the Principal to generate credibility in the market and establish you as a service provider. Regular threads from product Principal content in your social media updates will also help you stay relevant and in the spotlight. 

Personal Brand of your CXO:

The network and visibility of your CXOs can also be leveraged to offer strategic support to the direction taken by the product Principal.

The likely impact of your marketing efforts –

You can expect several benefits through these efforts.

• Benefit from the strength and the visibility of Principal’s brand while establishing a close association with it. 
• The leads that the product Principal will send your way will in turn highlight your expertise and showcase you as a viable option in your industry.
• As CXOs build and cement their relationship with the Principal, demonstrating their expertise and thought leadership, invites for speaking engagements will come their way. These opportunities are a good chance to reach the Principal’s existing client base and spread awareness about your own services.

Are you ready to make the most of 2021?