Contest Ideas for B2B

With the advent of the Internet, online advertising contests have become just as significant as offline promotions. Over time, social networks have become a convenient tool for marketers when it comes to interacting with an audience of buyers. The most important thing is using it correctly. In this article, competitive mechanics, B2B competition ideas, and other business contest intricacies are detailed.

About the industry

Any company that sells something on the market not only has its customers but also several counterparties—intermediaries or partners that are engaged in the supply of materials or some other product for resale, etc. The delivery of goods or materials from intermediaries for resale is the foundation of B2B sales. Furthermore, the companies that provide services to other companies are the basis of the entire B2B industry. Promotional contests ideas are highly sought after by such organisations to increase their sales and customer engagement.

The target audience

To describe the target audience of the B2B market, you can use the following characteristics:

• Type of activity or range of goods
• Number of employees
• Annual sales
• Geography of distribution or activity: local, national, multinational
• Number of branches
• Decision makers
• Seasonality of sales related to the type of activity
• Price policy

Your primary target for B2B promotion ideas will be another business or organisation.

Reasons for running contests for this industry

A well-organised competition based on your online contest ideas will greatly increase the efficiency of each penny invested in an advertising campaign, including boosting total sales, the number of contacts, and other key indicators for the company. You will benefit from contest promotion because it helps to accomplish the following:

• Collect all necessary information about the client
• Provide direct contact
• Identify needs
• Improve product presentation and identify any objections
• Boost contracts or sales of goods

Advertising competitions are good because they can be very helpful for gaining user confidence in small, relatively unknown companies.

Challenges and the features of the industry

Clearly define for yourself what you want to get as a result of your B2B contest ideas. With effective organisation, the results of the competition can include a cheaper advertising campaign, positive and useful contact with users, and launching inexpensive viral information about a product, which will more than pay for all the costs and lead to a profit.

An advertising competition must meet the objectives of the company and be measurable. The increase in the number of subscribers in a group on a given social network is a metric that is poorly associated with a real business. The far greater challenge is to provide more insight after your B2B sales contest ideas are realised to improve your company’s future success.

Running a contest for B2B industry best practices

The efficiency of sales in B2B depends on how well managers are able to predict the words and actions of the client, how well they understand the products, and how well they can motivate the buyer to sign the contract. Having exciting sales contest names and fresh ideas for competitions should be based on these factors.

Therefore, many companies, either by themselves or with the help of outside contest management organisations, conduct contests aimed at the following:

• Meeting goals
• Increasing conversion (turning a potential client into a real one)
• Developing marketing skills (analytical skills and the study of competitors and consumers)

Apart from easy contest ideas to increase wholesale sales in B2B, it is also possible with the help of demonstrations at exhibitions and trade shows or fairs, along with giveaways and real competitions with games and real prizes. Despite the widespread nature of high-tech communication, exhibitions still remain one of the most effective ways to increase wholesale sales in the B2B sector. At such contests, you may:

• Demonstrate a product or service.
• Answer questions and—more importantly—refute objections or complaints.
• Network and exchange business cards.
• Build relationships with new business partners.
• Showcase the latest achievements to partner companies the organisation has long been working with, etc.

Contest requirements

For B2B social advertising, the objective needs to be buyer focused. In short, offer a relevant prize! Use contests as opportunities to learn more about your customers/clients. Use contests to connect with your existing customers’ peer connections. Try out cool contest ideas to show off your company’s personality, and present this in a friendly way to get the information you want from them.

Types of contests & contest ideas for B2B

There are a variety of contest approaches and types of contests that may be applied in the B2B industry. This includes top-of-the-funnel campaigns, brand campaigns, and trade shows with real competitions and giveaways as well as education contests, content contests, storytelling, research assets, industry/market-building ideas, event registration campaigns with ticket giveaways, partner/alliance company contest ideas, etc. The options are endless.

Best contest and giveaway ideas for the B2B industry

Here are some of the most popular contest ideas for a B2B company to use in terms of an advertising campaign. This may also apply for a product or service customisation contest.

Innovation-based contest

Use this to demonstrate a product or service, your company innovations, or the latest technology advancements.

Photo caption contest

Facebook photo caption contests and voting competitions are perfect for loyal customers. They can also add the funniest caption for the photo in a comment below.

Video contest

Do you make videos? Do you like money and prizes? If the answer is yes, then you should definitely participate in this contest. The rise of video offers new frontiers for B2B social media marketers, including new tactics for driving engagement via social media contests.

Feedback contest

In this case, you may offer something like the following: “Go back to your email, fill out the GEVME survey, and send in your thoughtful feedback. We will then enter you into the contest for FREE!”

Check-in contest

For example, when a customer checks in on Foursquare or Facebook, etc., the business name is displayed for that customer’s friends. That’s how you encourage your business check-ins to the public with the help of contests.

Trivia quiz contest

You may offer customers the chance to play thousands of free online trivia quiz games and win real prizes. There are fun quizzes about virtually every topic imaginable: geography, history, sports, music, TV, and business of course.

Prizes ideas

The B2B sphere demands the careful and wise choice of prizes for competitions. Here are some of the most popular ideas:

• Free three-month software subscription
• Partner with another platform/business to give away a year-long subscription to both.
• Sports team sponsorship
• A feature in your industry report/case study
• Gift basket (great for internal contests)
• Black Friday discount plan
• New product giveaway
• Free delivery for a year (if you’re a supplier)
• Credit for every business referred
• Sponsored corporate retreat

Pick and use them based on your particular campaign objectives and the business demands of your target audience.

How to identify your contest idea and then run with it

Find partners and customers in Singapore or elsewhere around the globe who will prompt you with some great new ideas.

In addition, the demonstration of your own brand exhibition is the best option for finding new ideas for competitions and customers. Exhibitions dedicated to different sectors of business are often organised in Asia and worldwide. The best way to find valuable ideas in the B2B sphere and then apply them in your own advertising practice is to attend business events and network with interesting people, decision makers, marketers, and experienced businesspeople. As part of these large-scale events, every entrepreneur can demonstrate the capabilities of his or her company and share valuable insights.

Conclusion

Competitions are one of the most popular activities for people, both in real life and on the Internet. The Internet has simply expanded the opportunities for all sorts of contests, including those in the B2B realm. Indeed, it’s much easier for all industry businesses to find each other and network as there are much more dynamic contests on the Internet than at trade shows or exhibitions; additionally, many more participants and viewers can participate in an online setting. The cost of holding contests on the Internet is much lower than in real life, and competition statistics can be collected much easier and more accurately, especially with the help of professional contest services.

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