How to get your B2B enquiries responded

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Bikky Khosla | 11 Sep, 2012
In the world of online business-to-business marketing, it's a frequent question raised both by buyers and sellers -- why their enquiries fail to elicit required responses. When a buyer posts his enquiries and buy leads, only a few sellers contact. Interestingly, the seller's side of the story is quite similar to this -- they complain that after getting initial enquiry from buyers, they see no satisfactory results -- the buyer doesn't contact again. There is a gap -- a clear-cut one -- that prevents B2B players from reaching their full potential.

So how to plug this gap? First and foremost, my suggestion to sellers is that they should reply to buyer enquiries promptly. When you don't reply within 24 hours, there is a 95% chance that the buyer will ignore you. So, strictly follow the '24 hour reply rule'. In addition, be very specific. Give point to point responses in a polite and professional tone. People want information -- they want to learn about your product or service, find what problems you can solve for them, to see what's new. So be quick to tell these things.

In many cases we have seen a common tendency among sellers -- they send their company profiles as soon as they come across a query from the buyer's side, probably with the expectation that once the conversation will warm up, they will avail other important pieces of information. Does it really help? I don't think it should be the starting point of a conversation. People don't care much about your company's history or mission -- so avoid mentioning them -- at least initially, and instead give solution and benefit-oriented messages at the first go.

Always post essential information about products, quality standards, specifications, prices, and more importantly the competitive benefits -- how your product is better as compared to that of others. It is crucial to communicate the benefits of a product (or a service) from every key perspective to convince the buyer to contact you again. Also, clearly mention your contact information, and before you send the reply read it once, check whether all required information has been provided, and make sure make it is easy to understand.

The same basic rule applies to posting of buy leads and enquiries -- the more specific a requirement is, the more likely it will be responded. You are the buyer, and definitely you know your needs better than anyone else. So, clearly mention product requirement, quantity required, delivery time and destination and other essential information. Such details help attract good response.

And finally, it is very important for both buyers and sellers to follow the basics of email etiquette. Make sure that your enquiries include a courteous greeting, and address your contact gently; avoid using random phrases, and don't type in all caps -- that's yelling; always end your emails with "Thank you," "Sincerely," "Best regards" -- sounds simple but this is where most B2B traders go wrong. And, reply to a mail even if you are not interested -- even if to say no thanks. This will make the B2B market a better place to trade.