Growing a B2B or business-to-business enterprise is not the same as growing a B2C or business-to-customer company. Indeed, when expanding a B2B operation there are many B2C approaches that just won’t work because they do not address the key differences between these two types of operations.
Instead what you need is a dedicated B2B expansion approach. One that has been specially crafted for businesses that serve other businesses. The good news is that is precisely what you will find below. For the best B2B enterprise growth strategies of 2024, and to propel your business into long-term future success keep reading.
Leverage the power of community
By creating a community of supporters around your product you can grow your B2B enterprise. This is because it will help you build a robust network of people who will sing the praises of your product and refer others to it both online and in real life.
The good news is there are many ways to create an effective community around your product. One option is to sponsor events in the fields to which your product applies. However, it’s even better if your business can be involved in arranging and setting up these events, making sure that they offer genuine value to the attendees.
For example, imagine your business offers graphic design assets to designers and businesses. Facilitating and arranging a meet-up with speakers discussing the latest trends, and developments within the industry could help you build your brand, and trust with your customers. You could even have some sessions focused on how to make assets, and include a voucher for money off any assets that businesses attending buy after the event.
Another option is to work on creating an online community around your product. This often starts with giving things away for free. Valuable information such as tutorials or articles can work particularly well here as they provide insight, and encourage community and engagement in the comment sections, which should help your business expand by increasing your sales.
Embrace UX and UI
The UX/UI industry is going through a bit of a dip right now, with increased layoffs in the tech sector due to the recession. However, a smart B2B enterprise should use this to its advantage by scoping up some great UX/UI designers to work for their brand.
The reason is UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) are two of the most crucial factors to consider when growing your business. UX is all about how users behave on your website, how they find the things they are looking for, and how to remove barriers to making a purchase. UI on the other hand is the visual layout of your website, including the buttons and directions you use as well as how to optimize their layout.
The great thing about good UX and UI is that they can not only help to attract more people to your site but also help to convert them into paying customers as well. Remember the people who are in charge of buying in a business are much more likely to choose a product or service that offers them the most positive experience from start to finish, including when they visit the brand’s website.
Utilize LinkedIn
Above and beyond any other social network, LinkedIn is the place to be for B2B enterprises. After all, it’s perfectly set up to find businesses, and the people who work in them, which is all crucial information when it comes to generating valuable leads and growing your business.
One way to connect with decision-makers in businesses is to publish blogs and informative articles. By doing this you can build authority and trust in your space. The good news is you can even use content from other platforms or your own blog to do this. Just be sure to respond to anyone who leaves a comment on your content.
Another option is to utilize your network to help you get introduced to businesses and the people that run them you don’t yet know but are a good fit for your product. To do this you’ll need to identify the businesses you want to form a connection with. Then you will need to use your network to see if anyone in it is connected to that business. If they are, you can then use your connection with that second person to get introduced to the first. Although it’s wise to remember that when networking in this way, the middle man will usually want something from you such as a reciprocal favor, discount, or positive review in a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” type of way. After all, there truly is no such thing as a free lunch.
Another way you can use links in your B2B business is to take advantage of its PPC service. This means sponsoring an update about your company which can help you get your brand and product in front of the right people at the right business to make a sale.
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Make sure your infrastructure is sound and scalable
Expansion is all well and good until you discover your infrastructure cannot handle the increased volume of orders that need to be fulfilled. That is why your business infrastructure must be sound enough to withstand growth, and scalable enough to grow as your business does.
What this means is you will need to be proactive about your infrastructure and how it may need to change as you grow. To do this you will first need to audit your current infrastructure to see where its strengths and weaknesses lie. Then put a strategy in place to deal with any weaknesses.
Once you have done this you can begin to consider how your infrastructure may need to evolve as more orders start to come in. For example, you may be able to automate certain processes to save time and effort. You may also be able to form relationships with additional supplies to make sure that you have access to the things you need to make your product or facilitate your service in greater volume.
Don’t forget your people
Much of the focus when growing a B2B business is on marketing, sales and tech. However, what it’s also vital to remember is that most businesses cannot survive without good people on the ground.
However, business expansion can make taking good care of everyone who works in your business that much harder as there are more people to consider. International expansions add an extra layer of confusion as you may have workers all over the world that you need to nurture, pay, and mentor if you want to save on the cost of constant recruitment and retain them over the long term.
There are some things that you can do to ensure that everyone in your business is treated in the best way possible, no matter where they are located. For example, you must adhere to modern slavery-preventative guidelines both in your country and in the additional countries in which you operate. That you offer a fair wage, safe and clean working conditions and proper breaks.
You can also make paying your international employees faster, easier and more reliable by switching to a crypto payroll system rather than a traditional one. This is because crypto payroll allows for seamless cross-border payments without the need for complex currency exchanges, making payroll easier for everyone involved.
Offer free trials
The freebie has long been a fixture of B2B sales. Yet we’re not talking about a nice branded mug, or golf towel here. Instead, today’s businesses want more from their suppliers. They want to see the value that a product or service can offer before they pull the trigger to buy or sign up for it. What that means is that freebies in the form of free trials can be one of the most effective ways to grow your B2B enterprise.
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Indeed, many service-based businesses, and especially SaaS enterprises utilize the free trial to their advantage already. Usually, it’s in the form of a subscription model with the first tier being a free one. Some businesses offer limited free trials, encouraging users to switch to a paid version after a certain amount of time. Where others go about things a little differently and offer an unlimited duration but restrict some of the most wanted features, to encourage people to sign up. The idea is that a certain percentage of businesses will see the value in the software and buy the product, increasing sales.
Display social proof
Social proof is public proof that your product or service does what it says it will and that you are a good business for other businesses to trust and become involved with. All things that will help your enterprise continue to grow.
Social proof can take the form of written reviews on your site, on independent sites, or social media. Reviews with images further encourage businesses to buy from you and video reviews are the best because they are seen as the most trustworthy.
