Common Mistakes Made in B2B Writing, and How to Avoid Them.

Here’s some mistakes commonly seen in B2B writing and marketing:

Not focusing enough on the ideal client.

Before creating any content, you should have a detailed buyer profile. Which person is going to be making the purchasing decision? How old are they? What motivates them? What are they afraid of? What’s keeping them from buying? How do you overcome those barriers?

You need to get inside this person’s head and understand them so that you can speak to them effectively.

Not considering who is going to be reading your content.

This is similar to the last point: you need to be aware of who is going to be reading the piece of content. Where are they in the sales cycle? Are they a financial decision maker? An IT service provider? Are they just being introduced to your brand, or have they already encountered it before, and are familiar with it?

You’re going to approach each person differently. If someone has never heard of you before, don’t hit them with a sales-slap. A piece of content for them should be all about educating and providing value.

At this point in the sales cycle, you aren’t trying to convince them to buy. You need to convince them that you provide great value. Later down the sales cycle, you can start pitching to them more.

Not positioning your product as essential.

Your company has put hours and hours of testing and work into your product. You know it’s the best thing possible for your ideal client’s needs. You know you’re better than all your competitors. You need to convince your ideal clients’ of this. You need to make sure your client knows what they stand to gain or lose depending on whether or not they purchase your product.

This doesn’t mean to be manipulative in your sales approach. It does mean you need to be able (and willing) to explain to your ideal client why you have an edge over your competitors, and communicate that effectively. This is why case studies are so effective: they show how other people have benefited from your service in concrete ways.

Focusing on selling rather than providing value

This is another trap B2B businesses commonly fall into. A trick to help with this is to think of your business as a non-profit. Imagine you are giving away your product for free, rather than selling it.

What problem are you solving? How are you helping people and their businesses? Focus on providing value and how you solve problems and make people’s lives easier.

Not having the correct tone

This goes back to understanding your target audience. What tone speaks best to them? Is it friendly, formal, or professional? Generally speaking, B2B spaces use professional tones in their voice. Using modern catchphrase or emojis can be too informal and diminish your credibility.

No one is going to make a huge purchase from a company that uses phrases like “bussin,’” “six seven,” or “cool” every few sentences.

Forgetting about SEO

SEO seems obvious, but many companies forget about it, and leads to many lost opportunities. Make sure every page on your site is SEO optimized and content is built around common keywords and phrases.

Do you need help connecting your ideal client and creating customer stories that resonate and convert? Reach out to me here.