If you’re in the business of selling products or services to other businesses, then you’re what’s known as a B2B or Business-to-Business enterprise. Okay, so you already know this. But did you know that radio advertising works great for B2B, too?

Focuses of B2B marketing include targeting customers that need your products, building relationships with them, and informing them of why you’re the best fit for their needs.

The buyer process for B2B involves research, narrowing down choices, and eventually making a purchasing decision. After the sale, the B2B emphasis moves to maintaining, strengthening, and growing relationships on a long-term basis.

Adding radio to your marketing mix will help you succeed in all of these focus areas, plus more.

Why radio?

According to the Radio Advertising Bureau, radio drives awareness, recognition and consideration for B2B advertisers—reaching more than 90% of business owners each week.

Radio advertising:

• Increases awareness by 123%
• Increases brand recognition by 64%
• Increases brand consideration by 37%

B2B customers are listening to the radio. B2B owners using radio marketing are taking advantage of its many strengths.

Joplin Missouri advertising B2B client Dale Stroud of Allied Restaurant Supply noted in a partner success video, “…It’s increased my business considerably…Customers come in here and say, ‘We’ve heard you on the radio’…We’ve seen our numbers grow…It’s definitely worth your dollars…”

Radio can help B2B clients:

• Speak to target audiences – B2B providers realize that business owners are people, too. Whether it’s the big boss, chief financial officer or an operating director, you’re still selling your product or service to a specific target audience. You could be speaking to someone who’s worked their way up the corporate ladder or perhaps put their entire life savings into their current career.

• Address challenges - Some of your B2B challenges can be addressed by using radio. Need help expanding your network of potential clients? They’re listening. Need help making meaningful connections? They’re listening. Need help building long-term relationships? Again… they’re listening. Share a message that will keep you top of mind during sales or service provider gaps.

• Provide solutions – Radio can help build an understanding of how your company can provide solutions. It’s been said that consumers buy based on emotion, while B2B is more about logic. Your B2B audience wants to know about prices, profits, and savings of either time or revenue. Even so, radio still helps you build a stronger emotional connection with your target than other forms of media.

• Raise awareness - Sometimes it’s not the boss who hears your radio message. Maybe it’s the marketer or the person in the company who actually needs your service or product the most. By using radio to raise awareness, your ad campaigns will reach a wider audience. You’ll be talking to the entire office totem pole, from top to bottom, including the key decision makers.

• Take action - With radio’s bonus of being able to reach local audiences, you can easily cater your calls-to-action to match your targets. Take action with a radio B2B campaign by using a special easy-to-remember phone number. You could also highlight your website, inviting listeners to visit for more information. Or you could promote and host a special open house and meet-and-greet at your location.

Meet your B2B advertising goals with radio

B2B customers just want to know how you can save them time and money—so tailor your message as needed.

• Emphasize how your product or service is the best solution.
• Consider the many reasons why a customer needs you.
• Imagine the steps they go through in seeking an answer to their problem.
• Overcome any obstacles by presenting a ready solution upfront.
• Speak out on how you can do all this—as simply and as clearly as possible.

With many offices tuned in during the workday (47% of B2B owners say radio helps keep them informed and up-to-date), you’ll be able to reach many of your potential clients in the environment where they actually need your products or services.

And even if they don’t need you right now—when the problem or pain point pops up, your company will come to mind. Multiple broadcasts of your company’s message help to build the trust necessary in B2B relationships.

Take some time now to make your B2B radio ads effective with one of our Joplin marketing experts. There are businesses out there that need your services right now. Use radio and connect B2B.