Digital advertising can be great for B2C marketing since many customers make impulse purchases. However, B2B marketers must appeal to a more skeptical and hesitant audience. Decision-makers aren’t quick to make impulsive purchases since the investment will have a long-term impact on the business.
B2B audiences do their research before purchasing–and print is one of the most effective ways to inform prospects about your products, keep your brand top of mind and win more business.
An analysis of 33 different studies confirmed that people absorb information better when they read it in print instead of online. Additionally, the analysis found that print marketing is better for conveying more profound, complex messages.
While digital channels like social media and email play an important role in any marketing strategy, the oversaturation of digital advertising presents a challenge–and an opportunity–for B2B marketing and sales teams.
As the only communication channel that provides a tangible touchpoint, B2B marketing and sales teams are increasingly relying on print marketing to get their message in the hands of prospects–literally.
If your business is looking to convert more prospects into customers, adding print to your marketing strategy is an easy and effective way to arm sales teams with an arsenal of deal-sealing sales tools.
In this guide, we’ll cover what B2B marketers and sales teams need to know about print marketing, including:
- Why print marketing is so effective for B2B sales.
- How to close more B2B sales with print marketing.
- Tips for adding print to your current marketing strategy.
Why Print Marketing Works for B2B
Print marketing triggers a different part of the brain than digital marketing and “involves more emotional processing, which is important for memory and brand associations.”
A study commissioned by the Inspector General’s Office measured whether print (a.k.a physical) or digital ads were more effective across nine advertising goals.
The results?
“Participants spent more time with physical ads. When viewing physical ads, participants had a stronger emotional response and remembered them better. Physical ads…leave a longer-lasting impact for easy recall when making a purchase decision. Most importantly, physical ads triggered activity in the area of the brain (ventral striatum) that is responsible for value and desirability for featured products, which can signal a greater intent to purchase.”
In other words, people are more likely to remember ads they find in print mediums than online.
Source: Office of Inspector General
How to Close More B2B Sales with Print Marketing
One component of B2B print marketing that is a must: personalization.
Very few businesses, if any, have a one-size-fits-all audience, so it’s critical to have a personalization strategy in place across all marketing channels. Why?
93% of businesses saw an increase in revenue when they focused on an advanced personalization strategy.
Now, you may be thinking, “How is it possible to personalize print?”
Modern digital printing technology, such as variable data printing, enables businesses to tailor each printed piece with messages and images specific to a prospect’s demographics, preferences, challenges and goals.
In other words, every printed piece can have different content.
This is ideal for B2B marketing and sales teams since the decision-makers involved in purchasing decisions can have drastically different pain points.
Take the healthcare industry, for example. A sales rep for a medical device manufacturer is dealing with decision-makers from the executive team, the ER department and radiologists. The sales rep needs to articulate the benefits of a diagnostic imaging system that resonate with the needs of each decision-maker, such as:
- Executive team: Looking for a product that expedites workflow, increases operational efficiencies and generates more revenue.
- ER department: Time is critical for patients. The ER department of doctors and nurses are looking for a product with lightning-fast scan times and pinpoint accuracy.
- Radiologists: Detecting disease requires crystal clear images and radiologists need a product that produces high-resolution images with ease.
By tailoring print marketing materials to address each decision maker’s needs, a sales rep can send follow-up letters and marketing assets after an introductory sales meeting that speak directly to the individual pain points of such decision-makers.
>>>Related Resource: Learn how personalization impacts your direct mail marketing strategy.
Top Tips for Personalized Print Marketing
Whether you’re targeting an entire audience or enabling sales to hyper-target a single prospect, modern digital printing technology makes personalized print marketing fast and easy.
Campaigns
For large-scale campaigns, such as product launches, special offers or big announcements, direct mail marketing is typically the most effective channel.
Every part of a direct mailer can and should be tailored to the individual recipient, including:
- Names and titles.
- Images and colors.
- Taglines and logos.
- Copy and CTAs.
See the difference personalization makes in direct mail marketing?
Sales Enablement
For post-meeting follow-ups with prospects, a marketing portal is ideal for deploying fast, personalized and hyper-targeted collateral.
A marketing portal centralizes all of your marketing assets in an easy-to-use, web-based platform. With 24/7 self-service access for users to browse, select, customize, and order the marketing materials, approved users can order, personalize and send the materials they need with minimal oversight from marketing.
And since getting marketing collateral in the hands of prospects fast can make the difference between winning or losing a deal, sales reps can personalize pre-approved and brand-compliant templates with content specific to prospects and have it delivered ASAP.
A marketing portal allows more than just the sales department to quickly order, personalize and ship marketing materials. Multi-location businesses, franchises, distributors and affiliates can also access the portal to order exactly what they need, so there’s minimal oversight.
>>>Related Resource: What is a marketing portal?
B2B Print Marketing With Jet Mail
Since 1993, Jet Mail has specialized in providing fast and personalized marketing solutions that maximize ROI and boost sales. Our in-house print, mail, fulfillment and shipping capabilities allow us to create customized solutions that meet the unique needs of your business.
Ready to implement a personalized print marketing strategy? Contact our team of marketing fulfillment experts today.
Editor's Note: This blog was originally published on December 15, 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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