Leveraging business-to-business (B2B) sales opportunities is important to the bottom line for a growing number of companies. With a lingering recession and high unemployment figures in the background, companies of all sizes are allocating additional time and resources to their B2B communication activities. This marketing approach can be made even more effective by adding two common sense strategies:
- Improved B2B negotiations
- Enhanced Business Writing
Yet many companies overlook these cautious steps in their rush to make a sale.
Negotiation of delivery terms and prices
While many business owners don’t like to negotiate, the negotiation process should not be overlooked during the B2B sales cycle. “Everything is negotiable” can be a helpful reminder to negotiate the best financial terms even when a client seems unwilling to be flexible.
In addition to applying this strategy to a pending sale, companies must also be mindful of the value of the deal when buying from a supplier. As Roger Dawson pointed out, “You will never make more money than when you are trading.”
Improve the bottom line of business writing
Most business executives are eagerly searching for a more effective way to break into the world of Internet sales and marketing. In many cases, the easiest approach to doing this is to improve the quality of online business writing. Why? Here are two impossible reasons:
- Google and other search engines are becoming more choosy about what goes into their search algorithms.
- Business clients frequently use a company’s written message as an indicator to judge the overall excellence of a business company.
A high percentage of contemporary online business publishing content was produced at the enormous cost of one to five cents a word by a few thrifty business buyers who observed a “lowest bidder” mentality. Should business owners really expect this approach to do its best for savvy search engines or savvy customers?
The bottom line keeps moving
The power of search engines to influence Internet users is still evolving. The roles of keywords, images, and unique text in search algorithms are changing. What worked 10 years ago is not necessarily a viable strategy today.
The operating costs of any business are subject to constant review. Business writing clients regularly try to improve the bottom line with improved efficiencies for writing expenses. Marketing and public relations are not immune from budget cuts. Business writing costs should be examined along with all labor expenses. Persuasive business writing must also become increasingly profitable.
However, common sense suggests that there are practical limits to what B2B marketing can achieve when too much attention is devoted to keeping business writing expenses low at prices that preclude consistent quality. What does someone realistically hope to accomplish when trying to buy a high-quality product for a penny to five cents a word? Of course, search engines and demanding customers will not be fooled and will often punish companies that try to sacrifice quality at the expense of unsuspecting customers.
The Need for Expert Solutions: Business Negotiation and Business Writing
The increased value of expert solutions poses a serious challenge for businesses around the world. Working definitions of experience are a moving target, but are qualified expert negotiators and writers likely to always be available at the same price as unqualified staff?
The jury is still out on the impact of social media, but popularity seems to be an inappropriate indicator for writing or trading experience. The importance of internet visitors and keyword density has been replaced by the need to provide specialized answers and help. This quality change deserves the applause of everyone on the Internet and the B2B community.
