PR packages include press release writing, distribution via segmented media lists and news agencies, media monitoring and reporting processes.
As business processes get digitalized, technologies that enable businesses of all sizes to carry out these processes in an uninterrupted and efficient manner become increasingly important. Cloud transformation is the core of scalable, cost-effective, and uninterrupted technologies. As competition in the cloud computing sector increases daily, companies operating in this field need to utilize marketing and corporate communication to promote their activities, know-how, and competencies better.
The business world is getting digitalized, business processes are moved to the online environment, and cloud computing and cloud transformation are at the top of every senior executive's agenda. Considering the ever-increasing competition among technology companies, it has become ever more important to explain cloud computing better and to highlight transformation and added value more. In this article, we focus on this very topic and how technology companies that offer cloud computing solutions can better utilize their communication and marketing tools. In this article, we will first briefly explain "What cloud computing is" and "What a cloud company does". Then, we will clarify B2B marketing, a tool that increases the potential of cloud computing companies to sell their products and services to other businesses, and discuss how cloud companies should manage their communication processes as well as which tools they should use in an increasingly competitive environment. If you are ready, let the journey begin!
We can easily claim that business processes have been undergoing a major transformation for about 10 years, but this change has accelerated in the last three years. Every year, the World Economic Forum publishes a Global Risks Report to list the issues of concern in the short and long term. In its latest report, it has identified "widespread cyber-crime and cyber insecurity" as the only technology-related risk for the 2- and 10-year lists, proving that transformation is fast enough to create insecurity.
Digital transformation is no longer a topic at the top of trend forecasts. It has penetrated into the center of our lives, encouraging businesses to utilize technologies that will enable this transformation. Today, digital transformation is more than big data centers installed in the headquarters and branches of companies or software licenses and hardware bought for every new need. Cloud computing offers the capacity, scalability, and efficiency to respond easily to the transforming digital needs of businesses.
Companies such as Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP, and Zoho are among the key players in the cloud company or cloud computing provider market with their enterprise application software that runs on the platforms of cloud infrastructure providers. These companies are interested in marketing their products and solution families to companies, not individual users, as they enable the digital transformation of businesses with the enterprise solutions they develop. They are called B2B (business-to-business) companies.
Although cloud computing plays an important role in balancing costs, digital transformation investments stand out as investments that company leaders view cautiously and selectively, especially in times of harsher economic conditions. Leaders who decide to invest want to see results quickly. To achieve the best matches, particularly cloud computing providers that have specialized in cloud computing, are knowledgeable about a specific industry, and have achieved successful digital transformation processes in different companies in a specific sector should put these capabilities into the service of their potential customers using various communication tools within the scope of B2B marketing.
The above-mentioned four factors reveal that cloud computing and technology companies preparing to design their B2B marketing and communication plans need to focus on educating their customers, showcasing their expertise, providing convincing and research-based justifications, and investing in communication activities for the long term. These key points also define the tools to be used.
Businesses supporting cloud computing and working for the digitalization of their business processes should start with press releases to ensure media visibility. Press releases both provide businesses with the opportunity to make their knowledge of the sector and digitalization visible and have a positive impact on search engine results. Brands' press releases that are based on global trends and reports are newsworthy and are created with a qualified editorial approach on topics of interest for journalists, provide visibility in digital and print media when distributed through PR services that offer strong media networks. Cloud computing companies that regularly communicate sector-specific developments and expertise through press releases can easily attract the attention of customers who need the products and services they offer. B2B technology companies targeting foreign markets can also attract the attention of foreign customers by gaining ground in the international press with press releases that are distributed abroad, tailored to market dynamics and media principles, and localized on a language basis.
Exclusive news and branded contents (advertorials) published in business-oriented or sector-specific digital publications or frequently visited news sites also reveal that the cloud computing and B2B technology company in question has strong media relations. These efforts both support reputation management and raise the brand position for potential customers in no time.
In Turkey, there is at least one printed publication or magazine that every sector follows with interest. In addition to general business magazines such as Fortune and Capital, magazines that focus on payment systems, IT, construction, finance, and entrepreneurship are among the media that B2B companies and technology providers should develop sustainable relationships with. These magazines, even if they have low circulation, are sure to reach the right people and therefore help to increase both sales potential and reputation.
Television channels that focus exclusively on business and finance or business programs on news-oriented channels stand out among the communication tools that contribute to the reputation of brands and provide them with media visibility. Special guest programs to be organized in specific periods, such as the 10th or 20th anniversary of the sector or at the beginning and end of each year, are important for cloud computing companies to briefly showcase their vision, the values they believe in, and their achievements in the sector.
B2B companies need to actively involve their own media in the process while utilizing existing means of media. Today, brands' websites and social media channels are positioned as their own media tools. Earlier in the article, we mentioned that potential customers of B2B want to be informed. Downloadable documents are one of the most professional means to respond to this request. When a cloud computing company presents its know-how on the market, technology, and sector that it targets and trusts its competence in as an online downloadable PDF document that combines academic and present-day contents to inform the reader without being boring, this also creates a space for the sales funnel. For example, a downloadable document titled "How cloud computing is transforming e-commerce?” delivered via a short form that just asks for a full name and email address can make it easy to discover enterprise customers who are clearly interested in the topic.
Success story case files or videos of other customers' experiences, called testimonials, play an important role in convincing potential customers. This is because success story studies, which provide the opportunity to learn about industry expertise and project success from the first person, seem more realistic for corporate customers than many other marketing efforts.
Did you know that 93% of B2B marketers use email as a tool? As a low-cost marketing tool, e-newsletters reach customers interested in the services and products of cloud computing companies directly via e-mail, greatly increasing sales potential. Regular communication of success stories, news about the industry and the sector, and the latest developments in the sector through e-mails to customers can create a more effective result than sending formal sales e-mails.
Having become even more popular with the onset of the global pandemic, webinars are an interactive way of reflecting sector-specific enterprise. Webinars stand out as an effective way for B2B companies and cloud computing solution providers to create a potential sales channel by enabling them to talk about the trending topics of the sector and the current developments in their business in a cost-effective way.
As B2Press, an online PR service provider which increased its business volume by 104% and its turnover by 163% by serving more than 450 brands in 2022, we offer many cloud computing companies and technology providers in our portfolio the opportunity to deliver their products and services to more people using the above tools. By freeing public relations from its traditional limits and adapting it to the digital world, we create new spaces for brands to express themselves.
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