B2B marketers can take for granted how, most the time, their target audience wants their product or service – longing for or actively looking for it.

But what about when your audience isn’t in the market for your products or services? They might know your offering as a nice-to-have – an inessential upgrade – but may be unaware that it solves a problem they need to overcome. Or they might not be aware that the problem – that your product or service solves – is even a problem in the first place.

In this case, the usual single-objective B2B marketing strategy won’t cut it. You need to generate demand and raise awareness at the same time. Here’s how to do it.

Get to grips with your audience

Start by trying to understand where your audience stands with the problem your product/service solves: are they consciously aware of the issue, or do they encounter the issue but passively assume that’s just the way it is?

Focus groups and customer interviews will uncover nuances in audience awareness, along with views about your product or service as a potential solution. The insights will help you decide where to channel your efforts, and identify any early adopters versus those who may need a little more convincing, so you can define audience segments, priorities and messaging.

Focus on education

You need to educate prospects about the problem before you can pose your solution. Use reports to highlight proof points around the impact: time it’s wasting, money it’s costing, how many people and businesses it’s affecting, or day-to-day tasks and responsibilities affected.

If they’re unaware or don’t understand the area your product or service operates in, and that’s what turns people off looking into solutions, focus on educational content that simplifies things, such as explainer videos, how-to guides and top-of-funnel content about the issue. This can also help when the audience understands the problem and the impact it’s having, but may still be unaware that a solution exists.

Demos can also showcase how your product or service addresses the issue, but they should focus on specific benefits rather than detailing the full capability. Use cases are an equally effective way of enabling people to imagine how and when they could use the product or service, and the need it meets.

Try different tactics

Messaging needs to be direct and super clear about the problem it solves. Launch your marketing strategy in phases – especially if it’s uncharted territory – so you can test, learn and optimise messaging and creative with small media spend, rather than blowing the budget on one iteration.

Experiment with hooks, depending on what you learned from the initial insights. Problem-based messaging can help to educate your audience and tap into your personas’ concerns. A solution-based approach can help to intrigue and nudge prospects closer to conversion, especially if they have some awareness of the issue that they haven’t quite connected to your product or service yet.

Your demand gen strategy should use targeted advertising to reach your target audience and communicate the value of your product or service. Monitor performance across different channels to see where tactics such as offering a free trial, or using social proof, attract the most interest.

We’ve delivered complex B2B marketing strategies across various industries, so get in touch if it sounds like something you need.