Community Based Marketing (CBM) guide launched by Guild to address 'stale and ineffective' B2B marketing tactics

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Nov 11, 2020, 08:13 ET

LONDON, Nov. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 2020 has created 'Perfect Storm' conditions for B2B communities to flourish, and with this in mind, Guild, a British, independent messaging platform for professional groups and networks has today published a new guide: Community Based Marketing (CBM)– the new play in B2B marketing.

Although Community Based Marketing is burgeoning and there's no shortage of technology to support it, Guild believes there is a lack of knowledge in this area which could hinder success - hence the reason for developing the guide.

Against the backdrop of remote working, rapid digital transformation and oversaturated B2B digital marketing channels, the in-depth guide:

defines Community Based Marketing (CBM)
shows where CBM sits in the marketing funnel
makes the business case for CBM
gives success factors for CBM
provides case studies of successful CBM in B2B marketing

Ashley Friedlein, CEO and Founder, Guild, said: "Community in B2B is back in fashion. When almost every B2B marketer follows the same playbook, it's time to develop a new play. And many are betting that a Community Based Marketing (CBM) strategy will be that play, so marketers need to be armed with the tools to make it a success."

The guide highlights several catalysts which are pointing towards CBM being the newest and most effective component of a B2B marketing strategy. These include a rise in the 'passion economy' or micro-businesses with professional experts at the helm; a less hierarchical way of working in larger corporates; the impact of Coronavirus; and the fact that traditional marketing tactics are rising in cost but dwindling in effectiveness.

Friedlein continued: "As a result of COVID-19, online or digital communities have seen a resurgence. Events and networking in person are no longer feasible, and the human connection has been lost. Finding safe spaces to connect, not just personally, but professionally, has become more important than ever."

As well as detailing what a successful approach to CBM looks like, the guide includes a number of case studies and also features contributors from vendor, agency and client side experts in digital transformation, B2B marketing and communications.

Friedlein concluded: "Community Based Marketing is set for rapid growth in 2020 because it turns stale and ineffective marketing tactics on their head. B2B marketers have a much better chance of gaining the attention, action, and the loyalty of their prospects and customers when they create a space where prospects and customers can forge an emotional bond and reciprocity between each other and the community founder."

To find out more about how to effectively manage an online community, download our Community Based Marketing guide at: https://guild.co/blog/community-based-marketing-strategy-guide/.

About Guild

Guild is an app for professional groups, networks and communities who want the advantages of messaging - ease of use, immediacy, intimacy, engagement - but who also care about proper privacy, quality, legal compliance, and professional standards of support and service. It is as easy to use as WhatsApp but advertising-free, and GDPR compliant.

Guild was co-founded by Ashley Friedlein and Matthew O'Riordan. They realised that none of the messaging apps or social media platforms (Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook and LinkedIn Groups being most common in the West) offer the right kind of environments for professionals to connect and collaborate. Their focus is instead on harvesting behavioural data to sell more ads.

Ashley and Matthew wanted to create a new kind of ad-free, private, professional digital communications platform. A safe space to communicate, connect and collaborate for people who value their professional networks and their personal data.

Visit guild.co for more information.

For more information please contact: Kerry Sheahan or Vic Spall at Browser Media on 0207 099 0945, [email protected] or [email protected]

SOURCE Guild