If you provide services to B2B clients, then you need to reach the C-Suite. Decision-makers within companies follow a much different process than individuals. They must consider their organization’s budget, strategy, and direction. How can you effectively reach the C-Suite with legal marketing? Follow these tips to engage B2B decision-makers and sign more B2B deals.
Legal Marketing for B2B Firms
In B2B sales, professionals that are a level or two down from the C-Suite are often influencers. Executives rely heavily on their team to perform the research and do the legwork to find the solutions their department needs. When it comes to legal matters, it’s unlikely that executives are seeking out lawyers themselves. This is particularly true in the discovery stage of a sales cycle. That means individuals outside of the C-Suite are very important for targeting content and campaigns.
Begin by revisiting your client personas. Do they include lower level VPs and other department leaders? Of course, their exact titles will vary by industry or company size, but it’s valuable to know who to seek out and start conversations with. From there, update your editorial and content calendars and fine-tune your digital campaigns and account-based marketing lists.
Offer Valuable Insights
Take some time to research the content your competitors share. Chances are, you’ll notice some overlap. Where are the new insights for prospective clients?
High-value assets offer information that’s harder to find, but helpful. This content is more likely to have an impact in niche B2B spaces than general content. It’s true that this specific content might attract less traffic, but it’s more likely to appeal to the subject matter experts that are on your prospect’s decision-making team. White papers, surveys, original research, or other proprietary content should go deeper than what’s available on the first page of search results. Develop unique content that sets your firm apart and answers real questions that your clients are asking. A good place to find out what content would perform well is simply to inquire. You can ask clients directly, or talk to your sales team to get their input on real conversations and clients’ most pressing challenges.
Invest in ABM
As useful as paid advertising, SEO, and other digital channels are, they can only go so far when it comes to reaching the upper echelons of the B2B world. If your firm has trouble generating qualified leads within target companies’ leadership, account-based marketing (ABM) is likely to be a better approach. This legal marketing strategy is especially important for firms that sell to a smaller number of large organizations. ABM requires a sizable investment in order to get right. The marketing team will need to create messaging and campaigns that are tailored to each company contact on your target list. Tactics include personalized messaging but can also encompass high-value gifts, invitations to exclusive events, and original content created especially for target accounts. All of these efforts require additional funds that might not be traditionally budgeted for. It’s important to make the commitment to setting aside this budget if you plan to go forward with a successful ABM plan.
Support Sales in Follow Through
Any legal marketing program that involves reaching the C-Suite will require extensive support for your business development group. We suggest repackaging high-value, persona-specific assets in several formats that make it easy for sales reps to find and send. Don’t forget to invest in the bottom of your funnel as well. Things like fact sheets, case studies, or early pitch presentations may end up being the only things seen by higher-ups during the sales process. It’s important to make sure they are up to the same high standards as materials you would share with executives. Additionally, if there are people within your firm that you’ve positioned as thought leaders, keep in mind that executives may want to meet with those individuals to pick their brains. Marketing staff should facilitate this approach by helping to optimize their leaders’ social profiles and creating messaging to enable direct outreach to prospective decision-makers.
