Does your customer base include B2B advertisers? You might be overlooking this very lucrative business type for several reasons. You may think you can’t compete with large agencies, feel overwhelmed by the number of decision makers or aren’t sure how to prospect for them. These are all normal reactions, but as a local media sales expert, you have a big opportunity to win big budgets. In fact, being local is part of your advantage.

Check out these tips and strategies to help you develop a new playbook for closing these deals.

Support B2B Advertisers with Hiring and Recruitment

Many B2B organizations may advertise nationally to their customers but often need local hires. That’s true for health care, manufacturing, staffing companies and professional services. Recruitment advertising has been evolving as the labor market stays tight, job creation remains steady, and unemployment continues to be low. As a result, these large employers are rethinking how to attract qualified applicants beyond job boards. You have an advantage because you know your market and can provide them with linear and digital tactics to pump some life into their talent pipeline. Some options include:

  • Geofencing competitors and educational institutions (e.g., trade schools, community colleges)
  • Social media ads to connect with younger generations
  • Radio spots during specific programming to announce job openings and career events
  • OTT/CTV ads to target people who are a good match for the employer

Help B2B Advertisers Increase the ROI of Events and Conferences

Most B2B companies participate in trade shows. They often invest significant budgets into these events and want to increase the ROI beyond what happens in the exhibit halls. To find local B2B organizations that fit this scenario, do some quick online investigating. Most include this on their website and social media profiles.

With this information, you can create an outreach around this idea as part of your VBR (valid business reason). Let them know you have ideas on how to get more return on these investments with geotargeting and geofencing. During the event, you could geofence the area to keep the brand name top of mind. After the event, geotarget ads in places where their top prospects are. Find out how such a campaign can drive success by reading this industrial manufacturing case study.

Provide Unique Ideas for B2B Advertisers to Attract Local Business Customers

B2B has a local framework when those companies serve other local businesses. Some examples are trades (e.g., HVAC, plumbing, electrical) that either exclusively work on the commercial side or do so in addition to residential. They need to target and convert new customers using some of the same tactics as B2C, but there needs to be a unique spin on these campaigns. Make your pitch stand out with these ideas:

  • Recommend geofencing of business areas in your region and using video ads to highlight key things like reliability, cost-effectiveness and expertise.
  • Suggest using LinkedIn ads to target business owner titles, starting with some awareness spots and continuing down the sales funnel.
  • Propose radio spots and video ads that include current customer testimonials to build credibility.
  • Advise that email marketing is a great way to reengage with prospects and customers who have been MIA, as long as the content is relevant and impactful.

Use Local to Your Advantage in Relationship Building

Even though a company is B2B, it’s still people making decisions. Whether a business decides to work with you always comes down to relationships. If you’re local, you can meet them face to face regularly and build trust, respect and appreciation. Sure, they can get on a video call with an agency thousands of miles away, but many of these interactions are transactional. You can cultivate something deeper by simply being there.

Win More B2B Customers with Your Local Expertise

Using these ideas and your local knowledge, you have a solid foundation to bring in new B2B advertisers. Additionally, you can offer them linear and digital campaigns to expand reach and target specific ideal customers. Remember, much of this comes down to the relationship and being a valued resource for the company, not another vendor.

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