If you want to integrate your startup with the local B2B ecosystem, you have to create a marketing strategy that will allow you to get to know the ecosystem and to become part of it.
Get To Know The Local B2B Ecosystem
There are a few things you need to do as a startup owner in order to integrate your startup with the local ecosystem but before that, you have to understand the ecosystem and how it works. Before creating a marketing strategy, you have to focus on our PoC (proof of concept). Do your research to learn about the B2B companies you want to collaborate with and find unique ways your startup can help those companies. Make sure you are able to demonstrate the feasibility of your ideas and concepts before engaging with the local B2Bs. Adjust your ideas and concepts until you are 100% sure that your startup can become a strategic partner for the local B2B ecosystem.
Focus On Integration
You worked so hard on your startup ideas, however, you have to make sure that your system is easy to integrate into the B2Bs’ systems, especially if you want to collaborate with enterprises. You have to make sure that the integration of your solution won’t impact their security and will be approved by the IT department of the company.
Build Brand Awareness Through Digital Marketing
Digital marketing can help you to build brand awareness for our startup but you have to be able to create a good digital marketing strategy in order to build brand awareness and, eventually, to integrate your startup with the local B2B ecosystem.
Instead of focusing on traditional digital marketing techniques such as optimization of landing pages and email marketing, create targeted B2B digital campaigns that will allow you to make your ideas visible to the local B2B ecosystem. If you create targeted digital marketing campaigns, you spend less money and you surround yourself by local B2Bs you can collaborate with; on the other hand, if you create traditional digital marketing campaigns, you can run out of money easily and don’t reach your end goal. Some products are not intended for massive digital marketing campaigns and some startups do not have enough funds for massive campaigns and that is why, at least at the beginning, you have to focus on targeted campaigns using the information you learned while doing your research about the local B2B ecosystem.
Build Relationships
This is probably the most important step in the process of integrating your startup with the local B2B ecosystem because you cannot rely on digital marketing alone. You’re not a B2C that wants to sell products, you are a startup that wants to reach local B2Bs so you have to reach the decision makers in those companies. The best way to do this is to concentrate your efforts on the companies that recognize they need a solution for their problems instead of convincing those who don’t recognize that to buy the solution you offer.
PR Your Way
Since digital marketing is so popular nowadays, fewer people use PR techniques to promote their startups and, even though digital marketing can offer quick results, on the long run PR efforts are the ones that will increase your startup’s brand awareness and will allow you to engage with numerous local B2Bs. Articles in the local media will increase your trustworthiness and will bring you closer to the local B2B ecosystem so make sure you have a PR strategy in place.