Top B2B Marketing Best Practices for a Positive ROI in 2026

Marketing to fellow businesses requires a unique approach. B2B marketing strategies can present challenges, and selling enterprise software, professional services, or industrial equipment is significantly more complex than selling a simple product, such as a pair of running shoes.

B2B products are necessary for businesses to survive and thrive. However, they require more extensive decision-making and more extended discussions with stakeholders. You can seek the help of a B2B marketing consultant who can guide you toward the right B2B marketing solution for your industry and goals.

B2B marketing strategies can be effective when you follow best practices that result in a positive return on investment (ROI). This guide explores the best B2B marketing strategies to attract the right buyers and earn long-term loyalty.

What are B2B Marketing Strategies and Why Do They Matter?

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing involves promotion efforts directed towards other businesses and organizations, rather than towards consumers of a product or users of a service. It centers around selling products or services to companies for use in their day-to-day operations, such as software, marketing services, materials, and equipment.

B2B marketing also has significantly longer sales cycles compared to B2C marketing. While the length can vary depending on the company, a B2B sales cycle usually lasts a few months. 

Key Differences Between B2B and B2C Marketing

While they bear some resemblances, B2C and B2B marketing have many differences. Understanding these differences can help you tailor your B2B marketing strategies to your campaigns, boost sales, and improve ROI.

Target Audience

B2B marketing typically focuses on small groups of one or more decision-makers, including CEOs, managers, and business executives. B2C marketing, on the other hand, focuses on broader audiences. 

Motivation for Purchase

For B2B buyers, the purchase decision is primarily driven by financial incentives, product or service characteristics, and logical considerations. On the other hand, B2C buyers typically purchase products for personal use and enjoyment, making decisions based on emotions.

Decision-Making Process

B2C customers want basic information about a product or service as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, B2B involves several levels of consultation, meetings, and due diligence. 

Content Marketing

B2B buyers want to be educated on the characteristics and financial benefits of the products or services they are considering. These content types include informative articles, ebooks, white papers, online tutorials, webinars, and press releases. B2C buyers typically don’t look for duplicate content; instead, they seek entertainment and deals.

Purchase Process

B2B customers prefer to deal with sales reps and account managers rather than a marketing team. They want people who can make objective and practical decisions. Meanwhile, B2C consumers typically don’t need to consult with anyone else before making a purchase.

What Are the 5 Types of B2B Marketing Strategies?

There are five main types of B2B customers: companies selling to other companies, producers, government agencies, wholesalers (also known as resellers), and institutions, among others. 

Companies Selling to Other Companies

These businesses provide products, services, or solutions tailored explicitly for other industries. These companies help others operate more efficiently, increase production processes, and improve customer satisfaction.

For example, a marketing firm can sell its digital marketing services to a company in any industry to improve its online visibility. This type typically focuses on establishing long-term relationships with businesses by providing customized solutions that enhance ROI through effective B2B marketing strategies.

Producers

Producers purchase products and services to manufacture their products. This includes manufacturers, construction companies, and service providers that rely on raw materials, components, and other essential resources.

For example, restaurants collaborate with external suppliers and growers to source ingredients and produce for their dishes. Automotive companies require specialized parts and fuel to manufacture their cars. This type of B2B marketing focuses on the quality of materials, consistent delivery, and reliability. These B2B marketing strategies focus on the quality of materials and reliability.

Wholesalers/Resellers

These are marketing in-betweeners, companies that resell services and products produced in bulk by other companies without materially changing them. These include retailers, brokers, and other resellers who buy directly from producers and manufacturers.

This type of B2B marketing focuses on optimal pricing, volume discounts, and managing logistics between the different parties. These B2B buyers prioritize profit margins and a steady supply of their products.

Government Agencies

Governments spend a significant amount on goods and services of all kinds. They purchase a wide range of items, including stationery, fuel, aircraft, weapons, as well as security, insurance, technology, and medical services.

You might also see a tech company provide cybersecurity solutions to a government database system. This type of B2B marketing focuses on compliance with regulatory standards, security, proven performance, and public safety and interest.

Institutions

Companies may also need help promoting or selling their services or products to nonprofit or for-profit institutions. These include financial institutions, charitable organizations, religious institutions, hospitals, civic clubs, colleges, universities, and other similar organizations.

For example, let’s say a hospital has created a telemedicine service. A good healthcare marketing plan will include content, an ADA-compliant website that’s mobile-friendly, video marketing, and other multichannel efforts. B2B marketing for these institutions prioritizes attracting people to utilize their services, participate in their programs, or support their cause.

Using the B2B Full-Funnel Marketing Strategy

A B2B full-funnel marketing strategy is a framework that focuses on attracting new customers and retaining them for the long run. It aims to generate awareness, convert prospects, and encourage customers to engage with the business.

The funnel consists of three main parts: Top-of-the-funnel (TOFU), Middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU), and Bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU). Let’s break down each of these below:

Top of the Funnel

The top of the funnel focuses on generating awareness of your brand. Imagine casting a wide net and catching as many fish as possible. At this stage, customers may or may not already be familiar with your brand. The more customers you attract, the further you can progress in the funnel.

Middle of the Funnel

Not everyone caught in your net will consider moving along the funnel. The remaining customers have expressed interest in your brand and want to learn more, so you move them further along the funnel. This is where you provide helpful content to help them make an informed decision. 

Bottom of the Funnel

The bottom of the funnel focuses on retaining these customers who have already engaged with your business. They do so by offering enticing purchases to close the deal or retargeting users to get them to re-engage. 

3 Key Stages of B2B Buyer’s Journey

A B2B buyer’s journey isn’t exactly a simple A-to-B journey. It generally comprises three core stages: awareness, consideration, and decision.

Awareness

This is the first stage in the buyer’s journey. It represents a point at which the customer “sees” your brand or becomes aware they have a problem or a challenge they need to solve. Technically, this would be the top-of-the-funnel stage.

This is where you create awareness campaigns for your company and its solutions. You can achieve this through newsletters, email marketing, blogs, social media updates, and other channels. 

The B2B marketer aims to generate awareness and provide the customer with valuable information about their buyer’s persona and pain points. You can use hyper-targeted messages and ads to encourage the customer to the next stage.

Consideration

At this point in the B2B buyer’s journey, the customer will likely conduct a comparison study of your competitors. At this stage, you can expect the vast majority to contact your sales team, seeking custom services, product demonstrations, and further clarification.

Because B2B journeys are more extended than B2C journeys, you can develop an effective lead-nurturing strategy that includes social selling, testimonials, webinars, case studies, white papers, live events, and more. The goal is to convince your buyer that your business is the best among all the other possible choices.

Decision

In the decision stage, the buyer has made the final decision to purchase. It’s safe to say that you have successfully converted a lead, but the selling cycle is far from over. The decision stage is ongoing; you must stay on top of customer satisfaction and engagement and find ways to minimize friction.

This is also where B2B buyers compile a list of potential vendors and assess specific offerings to find the best one. As a B2B seller, you can offer product demonstrations or free trials to show your buyers how your product works. This stage also involves onboarding the buyer, introducing various pricing models, and maintaining open communication in case issues arise.

7 B2B Marketing Strategies for 2026

Let’s review seven effective B2B marketing strategies to keep in mind to stand out from the competition.

1. SEO

SEO helps make your company, product, or service visible on the search engine. When buyers conduct a Google search, a solid SEO strategy ensures that your link is the first one they see and click on. 

For B2B marketing, it’s best to target low-volume, low-difficulty keywords because these have lower competition. Target keywords that are relevant to your business. These keywords may be any of the following:

• Product or service: Use a transactional element; include words like “buy,” services,” “company,” and “solutions.”
• Superlatives: Look for the best or top products currently on the market
• Problem/Solution: Addresses a user’s pain points
• Cost/Value: Is a product or service worth the cost?
• Research/Learn: Providing more information about the product
• Reviews/Versus: Look for firsthand accounts of people using the product or comparing it to others

Once you have compiled a list of keywords, create different types of content to build authority and gain your buyer’s trust. This content can include blogs, landing pages, product or service pages, client testimonials, case studies, and more.

2. Influencer Partnerships and Social Media

B2B marketers can leverage social media platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to showcase their expertise by responding to questions, sharing content, and communicating their companies’ core values and culture. Social video content is also gaining increasing traction in the B2B marketing space.

Social media can effectively highlight your brand by communicating your personality and values to a broader audience. You can also use these platforms to share your brand’s story, reinforcing your message.

Furthermore, influencer partnerships are crucial for establishing a strong brand reputation and gaining authority. After hearing someone vouch for your brand, B2B buyers are more likely to trust it. Collaborating with influencers who share the same values and understand the brand and niche will help you target the right audiences.

Well-executed influencer social media campaigns are emerging B2B marketing strategies that build trust with your target audience.

3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are designed to bring in more paid traffic, which can be incredibly helpful in acquiring new B2B leads.

When targeting keywords for PPC advertising, use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google’s Keyword Research Planner to find the most relevant keywords to bid on. These tools also reveal insights into your competitors’ keywords, performance, backlink profile, and more.

A good PPC campaign always features clear, compelling copy that captures the attention of a B2B buyer. Keep it straight to the point, benefit-focused, and hyper-targeted with top keywords. Ultimately, you must complete your ad copy with a call-to-action (CTA) that focuses on search intent.

Once your ad campaigns are fully set up, you must create top-notch landing pages to help drive conversion and lead generation. Use trust marks, provide clear header messaging, make a valuable offer, and include clear CTAs. You can take it up a notch with video.

4. Real Performance Data Analysis

Once your campaigns have been launched, the next important step is to monitor the data. Data is a big part of B2B growth marketing, as it objectively tells you how well or poorly your campaigns perform. Data can come in different forms, such as website traffic analytics, conversion rates, click-through rates, and other relevant metrics.

Utilize tools like Google Analytics to gain a clear understanding of your campaign’s performance. This presents your data in a visual format and provides recommendations and insights on how you can improve future B2B campaigns.

According to HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics Guide, businesses that use data to drive decisions are 23 times more likely to acquire customers and 6 times more likely to retain them.  This is why data-backed B2B marketing strategies are essential for long-term success with your B2B marketing strategies.

5. Targeting With First-Party Data

First-party data is data collected directly from users, such as site visits, follower count, demographic information, behaviors, or actions. First-party data makes it easier to get to know your customers and make better decisions based on their actions. It also makes retargeting easier, as you can segment audiences according to their interactions with the brand.

When targeting B2B buyers, you can utilize CRM software to segment your customers based on specific needs, company size, or buying stage. Using first-party data, you can also create lookalike audiences and groups with characteristics. Create these lookalike audiences using client lists or website tracking pixels on Facebook or other platforms. 

6. Email for the Modern Age

Email is one of the oldest but most timeless B2B marketing strategies. It builds personal connections with buyers, keeps them engaged regularly, and is great for lead nurturing. Email automation has become more common and useful when targeting new buyers.

One way to use email in the modern age is to set up an automated drip campaign, which automatically sends an email to someone when they fulfill an action, like signing up for a newsletter. You can also create a nurturing campaign to guide potential buyers along the journey.

Emails are also highly customizable, so segment your email lists according to specific characteristics. This enables you to send highly personalized emails to the intended recipients. Conduct A/B testing to experiment with subject lines or content to see which yields better results.  Be consistent, testing new B2B marketing strategies can create unexpected results.

7. Event Marketing

Nothing screams ‘thought leader’ and ‘authority’ more than hosting an event. Events such as seminars, webinars, talks, and conferences are excellent ways to reach a broader audience and showcase the value of your product. 

You want people to leave your event with valuable and applicable new knowledge. Deliver high-quality content in various formats, including workshops, keynotes, product demonstrations, and more. Don’t forget to promote your event via email and social media; you can boost attendance by offering incentives like early-bird discounts and promotions.

Events are also significant for B2B companies in networking and building connections. Consider creating a social space where people can connect, socialize, and build meaningful relationships. As the speaker of the event, rather than addressing the audience as a whole, this is also an excellent opportunity to get to know your audience individually.

How to Launch a B2B Marketing Strategies that Work

A B2B fractional CMO can offer valuable insights and best practices for crafting an effective B2B marketing campaign. We’ve outlined some helpful tips below.

Create an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Determine your ideal buyer by creating a perfect customer profile (ICP). Your ICP describes your buyer’s specific situations, needs, and circumstances.

Ask yourself questions like: What are their specific business needs? What industry are they in? What challenges are they facing? Questions like these allow you to delve into the details of your buyers and develop a customized marketing strategy.

A fractional CMO can help you with this by segmenting your audience according to different kinds of data, such as:

• Firmographic: Company-specific characteristics
• Demographic: Basic personal information
• Technographic: Technologies used by the company
• Behavioral: Interactions with the company

Embrace Thought Leadership Marketing

Thought leadership is one of the most effective B2B marketing strategies. B2B customers are interested in being educated on products, services, and what contributes to their business’s bottom line. 

They require strategic guidance, industry expertise, and other valuable information to streamline their day-to-day operations and achieve greater cost-effectiveness.

That’s where thought leadership comes in handy. Your audience is more likely to trust you if your content is well-researched, valuable, and includes anecdotes, insights, opinions, and input from thought leaders.

Thought leadership also lends more authority and credibility to your content. Thought leadership marketing helps you build more trust, cleverly increase the value of what you offer, and elevate your brand awareness.

Try Different Types of Content

Emails and blog articles are great and do the job, but you need to think outside the box to make a strong first impression. 

Experiment with other content formats, such as podcasts, webinars, videos, and even pop quizzes. They could be game-changers for your B2B marketing strategy, especially when attracting new leads to the top of your sales cycle. The more innovative your content strategy is, the more you’ll catch buyers’ attention.

Experiment, Experiment, Experiment

B2B marketing strategies come in all shapes and sizes; you’ll never know what works until you try it. Experimentation can help uncover the most effective B2B marketing strategies, giving you a much-needed competitive edge. 

For instance, it can offer you insights and a deeper understanding of your target audience that your competitors may not have. This gives you a strategic advantage when crafting your content and campaigns.

Experimentation can also help you discover innovative ways to guide your B2B customers through the sales cycle or conversion path. You’ll have no trouble creating a superior user experience by testing what works best for your target audience.

What Are the Best B2B Marketing Campaigns?

Digital Authority Partners is no stranger to executing effective B2B marketing strategies for other companies. We’ve helped numerous brands across multiple industries enhance their organic traffic, lead generation, and conversion rates with our tailored B2B marketing strategies.

For example, we helped DecisionLink, a software-enabled customer value management provider, increase organic traffic by 178% and SQLs by 200%. This was achieved through highly personalized content, a brand refresh that highlighted the brand’s strengths, and close monitoring of site analytics using custom dashboards and A/B testing.

Another key achievement of ours involves Unity Communications. This outsourcing company required a comprehensive marketing overhaul, encompassing a website redesign, a trained in-house marketing team, and a robust SEO strategy. This resulted in 36,000 organic monthly visitors, an 18x increase in MQLs, and a whopping 320% increase in revenue.

We also helped ConnexPay, a fintech company that struggled with poor lead quality, heavy PPC competition, and low conversion rates. By polishing its paid search campaigns and landing pages, ConnexPay achieved a 207% increase in MQLs, a 27.5% increase in organic traffic, and a massive boost of 1,230% in marketing ROI.

We Have Your B2B Marketing Strategies Right Here at Digital Authority Partners

Selling to B2B businesses may take longer and involve more factors, but it has many fundamental similarities to B2C marketing. Regardless of your B2B needs, you can count on Digital Authority Partners to help you fulfill them.

We at DAP take pride in being the ultimate marketing partner. With years of experience working with multiple companies from varying industries, we’ve seen and done it all. You can rest assured that you’re in good hands, as our team delivers the best B2B marketing strategies for growth.

DAP can help you attract better leads, boost ROI, and scale faster, starting with a free consultation.