How does advertising work now?

[Mandarin VX]

Might sound like an odd question... but bare with me...

"Back in the day" (2006) I had a B2C and B2B computer services company with a highstreet shop.

The shop basically advertised itself (B2C) as it was on a busy highstreet.
I had a listing in the Yellow pages, a monthly ad in the local paper, a basic website and did the odd mail-shot to get B2B customers.
I eventually closed the shop when the lease ran out as the recession seriously killed new sales - I've since been contracting.

So, since then social media has clearly become VERY important in advertising, as well as adwords etc etc, but are these valid ways to get real B2B customers? Magazine advertising has always been pointless... what other routes are worth investigating? I distrust marketing agencies.
I am still a member of the local chamber, which may be of use, but I don't have any spare time to get to "networking" events due to current contract hours.

I am tempted to go back into the industry, specifically B2B and mainly looking at offering networking services (SMB mostly, startups and new-builds are a good target as they may need complete infrastructures designing)

[akirk]

the underlying principle is no different - putting your message / solution into a place where it will be seen by those who have a need.
add to that - building a reputation / brand which can be trusted or looks professional -> business

it is simply that people have changed where they gain information - in the old days they might have picked up the yellow pages as it was conveniently in their house and as long as you were Aardvark computers you received a phone call... now, they are more likely to ask the question where they hang out - in a forum like this (or mumsnet) / on a local facebook page / in a specialist forum / etc. - or they may google for an answer...

identify where people are asking the questions / hanging out and make sure that you are known there / come up as the answer...
the concept is simple (reality perhaps not so simple!)

as an example - we have several clients who we started working with because of PistonHeads - because I answered questions about websites in the business forum, we have ended up helping their businesses... re-writing / tweaking / creating new websites... Quite often people are looking for a sense of comfort and familiarity - if they recognise someone, then they are more likely to consider using them - not difficult to quickly answer who on PistonHeads is often referred to for:
- mortgages
- lawyer type things
- getting you off a speeding ticket
- fitting windscreens
- accountancy
- etc.
they have all built up a reputation on here and that gives comfort...

so, as a short answer - be in the place where people ask, and be known / trusted there

[anonymous-user]

Social media is more a B2C thing.

Do you want to do any advertising at all? Or do you mean marketing?

B2B marketing is mostly email, PPC and SEO.

Personally I would concentrate mostly on SEO, build up a email list via SEO efforts, and top up PPC with any niche keywords that are not worth dedicated SEO for.

[anonymous-user]

LinkedIn advertising generated a reasonable number of enquiries for me on a B2B basis.

[StevieBee]

Mandarin VX said:

I distrust marketing agencies.

Why's that?

That is a rather sweeping statement. That's like someone saying they distrust IT companies. In the same way that they'd be ill-advised to attempt building their network or embarking on any other form of IT work on the basis of some You Tube tutorials, the same applies to non-marketing professionals attempting to create and implementing their own marketing strategies.

Anyway, that aside,

The biggest difference in advertising today is the ability to precisely target your message right down to the individual prospect whether you are doing this digitally or old style via direct mail. On the latter, an odd paradox we are starting to see is that such is the proliferation of digital based marketing, properly and appropriately designed physical mailings are beginning to gain greater levels of traction.

It's always been the case that you should never rely upon a single channel of communication for your advertising. Different channels (by which I mean types of media) have differing advantages.

Your business relies upon your presence appearing in front of a buyer at the point and time of need. This can be variable. I'd be looking at digital platforms to generate and maintain your visibility over a long period of time and then support this through highly targeted mailings using prospect lists either purchased or researched that match the types of organisations you'd like to reach. That way, when something lands on someone's desk, it will arrive at the right time and the brand will be familiar to them already giving them a greater sense of confidence in what you are offering.

Back all this up with boots on the ground networking, make sure your brand identity is up to scratch (i.e. the logo doesn't look like it was designed in 1998 using Publisher by a mate who was good at art at school) and you should start to see some results.

HTH

[Bikerjon]

Mandarin VX said:

I am tempted to go back into the industry, specifically B2B and mainly looking at offering networking services (SMB mostly, startups and new-builds are a good target as they may need complete infrastructures designing)

I have a little experience in this area, as do you by the sound of it! In my experience very small businesses want all manner of IT help but it's all pointless because they don't have any money to spend - so don't waste time on these guys. Slightly larger businesses will have a bit more budget, but they wont want to deal with a one-man band. There are opportunities in between these two examples, but they may be of a lower skill requirement than you're thinking.

In terms of advertising, SEO and Adwords are where I'd start. Perhaps trying some form of advertising within local small business parks/shared office spaces might also be worth a look.

Edited by Bikerjon on Wednesday 11th December 18:06