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Which Marketing Strategy is Best for You?

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action” - Peter Drucker, consultant, writer, and educator of philosophical and practical foundations of modern business. 

As 2016 already approaches a midpoint, companies must start reflecting on their performance thus far and start preparing and strategizing for the upcoming fiscal year. Representing the creative performance marketing agency, Passion Communications insists businesses and organizations to look into the mirror and self observe- what marketing strategy works best for your company?

Taking into consideration that companies either operate from business to business (B2B) or business to customer (B2C), Passion Communications came up with distinctive strategies that can be utilized for each of them. B2B and B2C firms have completely different mindsets and must cater to the various needs, interests, and expectations.

B2B Marketing Strategies

According to B2B Content Marketing 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends, 88% of B2B respondents use content marketing. Passion Communications agree with this statistic; we believe that content marketing is one of the most preferred and practical strategies most B2B companies should employ. However, we stress the importance of creating an effective content. Unfortunately, 68% of marketers assess their content marketing maturity level as under the adolescent phase (adolescent phase is when marketers are starting to build sophistication in their information and finally sticking to a cohesive strategy*). 60% admit to it being unsure or ineffective, and astonishing 56% do not clearly understand what a successful content marketing looks like (B2B Content Marketing 2016). Though these statistics are frightening, there is still room for improvement and redemption. Wanting to help struggling organizations garner a more definite vision, Passion Communications decided to list a few notable features of effective B2B strategies.

Hire a professional. In order for B2B firms to deliver effective content, they must first know what a successful content marketing looks like, but clearly the statistics states otherwise. Thus, B2B marketers should seek advice and help from marketing specialized agencies, who have the capacity and knowledge to strategize and deliver good content.

Set goals and document strategy and mission statement. 48% of the effective marketers record these information (B2B Content Marketing 2016). Mission statements should be specific, breaking down the content into details (Marketingland). For example, divide up how much of the information goes to the debrief or content curation, tips and lessons, or the promotion of company product and culture. Though it sounds like a tedious effort, these clearly stated goals work as guidelines and give direction.

Hypothesize and test out strategy. Every idea has to go through a process of trial and error. Foreshadow reactions to the campaign by first trying it out within the company and learning from employee feedback. If it succeeds, go along with it. If it doesn’t, mend the strategy. This way it can prevent brands from ending up in an all-or-nothing situation and increases the chances of success.

B2C Marketing Strategies

 Because B2C markets differ greatly from B2B markets, Passion Communications offers alternative strategies for enterprises dealing with this particular market. Generally speaking, B2C firms deal with bigger markets than B2B firms. In addition, B2C tend to deal with known and trusted products, having to cater to more impulse-buy customers. Thus, mass communication style is tailored towards B2C situations (Huges, Graham & Fill, Chris). However, not every firm has the budget to fulfill this outbound marketing strategy. As a creative marketing agency, Passion Communications came up with other marketing strategies, from orthodox to unorthodox, that work well with B2C companies.

Tell a story. The best way for B2C firms to influence individuals is by telling a story. According to an actual study, stories attract the human brain and alter an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (Harvard Business Review). This power of storytelling can be applied in business to capture the hearts of potential consumers.

Partnership and Recommendations. Because individuals are more irrational and uneducated on the different brands and its products than businesses, they value the recommendations they hear from the grapevines. Therefore, companies with similar branding should partner up to recommend both of their products and endorse each other.

Educate customers. As e-commerce takes over, people are going to seek more knowledge of what they are virtually trying to purchase. Successful online companies provide every detail about the product to buyers, offering quantitative and qualitative data, pictures, ratings and reviews, seller information, and even related merchandise. By educating customers, companies not only gain trust, but also an increase in the brand’s value perception. The more knowledge a person has about the brand, the more they think better of it. 

Author: Grace Y. Murao, Passion Communications

* Reference: Content Marketing Maturity Level from

B2B Content Marketing 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends