Many of the principles that apply to marketing to individuals also apply when preparing communications targeting businesses. Your message is more likely to hit home if it’s single-minded, so it is worth remembering the brief outlined in the How to attract new learners section:
For (insert audience) who (insert key description)
we offer (insert the thing you can offer that’s most likely to get them interested) so that (insert how they will benefit from doing what you want them to do).
For example: ‘For hotel owners who want to improve customer satisfaction we offer customer service training so that they can improve the impression given by their staff.’
It is possible that training decisions involve several people so try to identify as many of these as possible at your target organisation and, when you can, tailor your message to each individual. An operations manager may want to minimise downtime, so you could stress the benefits of online learning, while a financial manager may be more interested in value for money or discounts.
As in consumer markets, it makes sense to flag a special offer if one is available. Consider holding an open evening, and invite businesses along for an introductory talk and perhaps a demonstration of e-learning – it probably wouldn’t hurt to offer them a glass of wine too!
Just because you’re marketing to businesses, managers don’t stop being human when they come to work. A humorous message, or one with a lot of impact, can sometimes be what’s needed to cut through the clutter of the everyday post.