B2B Crypto Marketing is Key to Crypto's Success

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One of the more under-appreciated areas of the crypto industry is the B2B (business to business) side of things. Unlike in B2C (business to consumer), B2B marketers aren’t necessarily targeting individuals or mass market audiences. They’re looking for other companies to take on as clients to help with their businesses.

Seems obvious, duh, but the skill set is unique for a variety of reasons. Institutions were a primary driver in the current crypto market run. Marketing for them is core to the industry’s success.

I asked my friend Victoria Watters, the Director of Marketing for Galaxy Digital’s Fund Management division, to help explain the inner workings of B2B crypto marketing and how she approaches marketing for Galaxy’s business.

How do you describe the core functions of your role?

I lead marketing for the Asset Management arm of Galaxy Digital with a focus on activating the Galaxy Fund Management (GFM) brand via earned, owned, and paid media. I’m responsible for increasing GFM's brand awareness, educating prospects about the digital asset class, and driving demand for GFM's rapidly expanding product suite.

What are the key differences in marketing for B2B customers compared to B2C customers?

There are two key differences with B2B marketing: a longer sales cycle and multiple stakeholders. A financial advisor will often need several months to learn about crypto and complete their diligence and an institutional investor will need even longer. You must construct your journeys accordingly.

On the stakeholder front, it’s rare that just one person is making the allocation decision. So as a marketer, you have to empower them to champion you internally, whether it’s an advisor to their business partners or clients, or an institutional investor to their investment committee.

What is your favorite thing about B2B marketing?

Building long-term journeys and tracking sentiment shifts over periods of time.

When you think about marketing to institutions and accredited investors, what are the primary acquisition channels in our industry? How do they differ from most B2C brands?

On the institutional front, conferences and events--even webcasts--reign supreme in my view. You can showcase your expertise most effectively here, and continue to nurture those long-term relationships. Plus, events are an opportunity to align yourself with established, trusted sponsors and participants.

For accredited investors, sponsored content programs have been quite successful for us. Delivering real value helps them take action with us as their trusted partner. When compared to B2C channels, B2B channels are more about education, trust building, and delivering value than staying top of mind with high frequency social media campaigns, for example.

In your role at Galaxy, what is the role of brand marketing in promoting your business? To what degree is it important to what you do?

Brand marketing is critical to any company, but even more so in a nascent space like crypto. Trust is paramount, and brand marketing helps to establish and solidify that trust. Most importantly, you have “show, not tell”.

Galaxy Fund Management is preparing to launch a brand campaign this fall centering on the breadth of the upside opportunity in the crypto space. We wouldn’t be able to say that if we didn’t have the extensive product platform we’re building, and if we weren’t part of a relatively large, diversified firm like Galaxy Digital.

How do you think Galaxy differentiates itself from its competition and what tactics do you use to promote those value propositions in your work?

Galaxy Digital’s capabilities span the crypto and blockchain ecosystem, from asset management to investment banking, to trading, and more. Galaxy Fund Management adheres to that same ethos--we’re building toward the most comprehensive crypto and blockchain fund platform in the industry, and that optionality for investors is a key differentiator.

Institutional investors and financial advisors start with Bitcoin, and very quickly the conversation turns to Ethereum, Decentralized Finance, venture, and so on. GFM aims to help every sleeve of investor access every investable corner of this space.

Within brand marketing, what sort of things do your customers look for the most?

Trust is paramount--a lot of tricky crypto narratives persist. This is the “why”: why should they do business with us? I’d put product quality after that. The “what” we will deliver. At GFM, we’re proud to offer institutional-grade crypto funds that use top-tier service providers. Last but not least is service quality. The “how” we will deliver--this is an excellent way to differentiate ourselves with the accredited investor audience in particular. It’s a lot harder to get Coinbase on the phone than one of our Client Service team members.

What role does research content and social media play in Galaxy’s marketing mix?

Content is critical because education is so important in our space. On our owned channels, we provide content from entry-level “Crypto 101” primers to in-depth research analyses. In regards to paid media, sponsored content programs are a key pillar of our strategy. They’re powerful tools for brand awareness and affinity. They’re also excellent for lead generation--starting points for journeys on the owned side. And they’re a great anchor for negotiating added value placements you wouldn’t otherwise afford, like print ads.

For young marketers looking to get into crypto marketing, what tips can you give to help them land their first crypto job?

Subscribe to this newsletter! Brad didn’t pay me to say this--it’s a really solid source for the latest news and trends in our space. Follow him and other crypto marketers on Twitter. But, above all else, learn as much as you possibly can about crypto before you start interviewing. You won’t be expected to know everything, but if you can show at least a high level knowledge and a passion for the space, you’ll set yourself apart.

Who’s Hiring Marketers in Crypto?

• Product Marketing Analyst @ Galaxy Digital [APPLY]

• Lead Community Manager @ Flow [APPLY]

• Head of Growth @ OnJuno [APPLY]

• Digital Design Associate @ Chamber of Digital Commerce [APPLY]

• Marketing, Social Media & Community @ Messari [APPLY]

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