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CONCLUSION

Getting smart about B2B marketing and
reaping the rewards

If there is one thing I hope you take away from this book, it
is this: smart marketing, used effectively in B2B companies,
leads to growth.

Too many B2B companies overlook marketing, because they
haven’t known how to do it well. Marketing can transform a
small player into an industry leader, and make the difference
between struggling for sales and having leads come to you.

Small and midsize B2B companies face unique challenges
when it comes to marketing. Their executive teams simply
don’t have the time or resources, and they rarely have the
expertise to build a realistic and useful strategy and action
plan—let alone execute it. And most marketing education,
training, and writing is oriented to B2C industries so relatively
few people have B2B experience and expertise.

There are different approaches to making marketing work for
your business. Investigate the options, talk to potential service
providers, and find a solution that works for you. There are ways
to start at a modest level and grow the marketing along with
your success. Choose an approach and develop a strategy
that you’re comfortable with. Give it time to achieve results
(six to twelve months). You can recalibrate from there.

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© 2012 Lisa Shepherd