It’s almost the end of January so let me quickly wish you a happy New Year before it becomes too late to do so!
In 2022, we provided lots of PR tips for personal branding and those suited to businesses that market consumer goods, that is business-to-business or B2C companies. To kick off 2023, we would like to shed some light on PR tips relevant to business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) companies.
So, what do you do if you are a construction company in Nigeria that builds roads for five state governments? Or a telecommunications company that leases towers to all four GSM companies in the country?
In industrial (B2B) and institutional (B2G) markets, relationship management is a critical recipe for success. B2B and B2B PR force companies to exploit other areas of public relations by thinking beyond media relations and publicity.
Here are our top PR tips for B2B and B2G companies.
Corporate advertising
Many organisations do not consider advertising a PR tool because it is most associated with driving sales in B2C companies. However, advertising can be a PR tool when the goal is to inform and influence behaviour.
For a new B2B or B2G organisation or one actively marketing its business for the first time, corporate advertising creates a corporate identity for the organisation. A corporate advertisement could also aim to change public perception. For example, if an organisation is not perceived as a local company because it is headed by expatriates.
Thought leadership
Thought leadership aims to position the CEO or c-suite as industry authorities or thought leaders to attract clients.
As with every good public relations strategy, your first port of call in thought leadership is research. Begin by researching the organisation(s) you are targeting. It will help you identify the challenges of the business or government agency which you can solve.
Based on the research findings, develop messaging and a content strategy that can help your company get an audience with the prospective client. The content should speak directly to the business or government agency’s decision-makers. The content should also be relevant in addressing the organisation’s challenges whilst being timely. Thought leadership content ranges from blogposts to opinion editorials and white papers.
Once you have done this, develop an editorial calendar with topics that align with the needs of the organisation(s) you are targeting. The editorial calendar will also determine the frequency of content publication and the media channel. In Nigeria, mainstream print publications would deliver a higher reach than owned media or social media for B2G companies. Hence, media interviews and opinion editorials are effective in demonstrating thought leadership.
Presentations, conferences and seminars
When a company’s leader makes keynote speeches or joins panel discussions at industry conferences and seminars, it positions the organisation as an experienced player in their sector. Afterwards, the presentations and speeches could be repurposed into blogposts to further thought leadership objectives.
Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is perhaps the most important B2B and B2G PR tip.
A 2016 McKinsey article stated that “B2B customer-experience index ratings significantly lag behind those of retail customers. B2C companies typically score in the 65 to 85 percent range, while B2B companies average less than 50 percent.”
A business with just four customers and each project valued in multi-millions cannot afford to lose a single client. So delivering projects on time and to quality is non-negotiable.
The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers.
Shiv Singh
Not only does quality service guarantee retention, but it also creates word-of-mouth, a powerful way of attracting new customers.
In addition, you should share testimonials. If “content is king and video is the crown,” consider presenting customer testimonials in video format. These can be published on the company’s website and social media channels like LinkedIn.
Sponsorships
B2B and B2G companies use sponsorship to demonstrate commitment to their industry or market. Whilst closely associated with marketing, sponsoring an industry award can create goodwill, and that is PR. You may also sponsor a hospitality or sporting event to attract media coverage. The result will be an increase in brand awareness.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions are another great way to introduce a new product or service to industrial and institutional customers. Participating at industry exhibitions targeting your business’s audience will enable you to offer product demonstrations and create pre-launch buzz, media coverage and reviews.
Lobbying
B2B and B2G companies may make presentations to legislators and government officials to promote legislation that can improve the business climate or discourage legislation that could be detrimental to their business operations.
Philanthropy
Altruistic donations to a charity also create goodwill and awareness for B2B companies.
