Interview: Business Marketing Strategy

In the world of B2B marketing strategy, achieving marketing goals is the most important thing. A successful business-to-business marketing strategy is based on the synchronization of various elements, from product management to sales goals, all aligned with customer needs. One key aspect is the role of content marketing programs in delivering value to business customers. By developing a comprehensive and responsive content marketing program, companies can strengthen their long-term competitive position, meet the demand for sustainability and increase sales in different market conditions. In this interview, you can learn more about B2B sales and marketing strategies. 

Developing responsive marketing programs has become a comprehensive process in every industry dedicated to B2B products and services. Various dimensions of these programs focus on the effectiveness of relationship marketing and highlight shared values within each industry. In this context, the core value is derived from quality standards, ultimately defined by the customer's perception of high-quality service performance and reliability. Fulfilling promises is a key element in cultivating customer loyalty in long-term relationships.

The dimensions of marketing programs play a crucial role in formulating companies' B2B marketing strategies. This foundation assists companies in transforming an emerging strategy into a target-oriented approach that enhances sales force productivity. Consequently, sales management decisions across all industries are influenced by overarching marketing targets and should be seamlessly integrated with all marketing programs and departments involved.

We dive into marketing programs and strategies across different industries, shedding light on the importance of collaboration between sales and marketing. We had the privilege of speaking with Frantisek Siling, a Country Sales Manager with over 25 years of experience in selling services within the airline industry Air France and KLM across various countries. Alongside a sales expert, we will outline some characteristics of the strategic components in B2B sales and marketing.

I recall my early years when I joined a multinational mobile telecommunication company in the Czech Republic, and my responsibility was to sell voice mailbox services. At that time, it was kind of brand new service on the market. These days it seems absolutely usual service to have the possibility to leave the voice message in the mailbox. But when we introduced such a service a long time ago, it was a charged service when you wanted to reach your mailbox and listen to the message. Mobile telephones and services were rather expensive in those days and hence affordable for rather wealthy clientele or corporate customers. You would say that those customers may not watch the money that closely, but it was exactly the other way around. It was not easy to change their mindset and convince them that such voice mail service is actually very important for them because they will not miss any messages.

The customers' trust is very important, and it can be very easy to lose it. It may take a lot of effort to regain the trust back. I can imagine that sometimes it may even be impossible to get the trust back. Therefore I see a very important close synchronization between the marketing strategies and the product/services themselves.

Sustainability and responsibility for the reduction of carbon footprint have become a very serious and important topic worldwide through all industries. More and more corporate customers but also end-consumers try to behave more responsibly in terms of the protection of the environment. They require more sustainable products or services. If we offer more sustainable services, it may be the deciding factor for some of those customers who will choose our service over the others, less or not sustainable. 

I think that the key elements will be increased productivity and efficiency. Although it may sometimes seem that all processes are already very effective and efficient, there is always a way to improve them. It is necessary to be innovative. And to innovate does not mean all the time that it is about money. It's about the idea. 

In the travel industry, there are several major segments corporate customers, individual (leisure) travelers, tour-operators, incentive travel companies, and congress & meeting travelers. For each segment, various strategies may be important. Corporate travelers are not that sensitive to price, but they require frequent and on-time connection and flexibility. In contrast, individual leisure travelers are more focused on price, but for tour-operators are important attractive destinations.

Airlines are using extremely sophisticated revenue management tools. Expectation and prediction of the traffic are key. Also, close monitoring of the past development on certain routes or flights is extremely important. The margin is indeed very narrow, so the airlines must be very conscious of how many seats remain unsold on every flight. If you do not sell the seat for a certain flight, it is lost. You can't keep the seat to sell it for tomorrow. Revenue management tries to maximize the revenue from the seating capacity the airlines have. It is the same for hotels, care rentals, etc.

Marketing is always complementing sales. Marketing strategies have become more and more important and are changing. We can see the shift from traditional offline media to the digital environment. The marketing strategies are more and more sophisticated and targeted. It is important to identify the needs of customers (either B2B or B2C) and then build the marketing strategy on them.