The increasingly rapid transition into the digital age, sped up by the pandemic, has significant impacts on the marketing world. As new technologies come to the market, new strategies develop to keep up with these changes. Perhaps more than ever before, it’s become incredibly important to stay up to date with these swiftly changing B2B marketing trends.
Below, we look in some more detail at several dominant B2B marketing themes emerging as we continue to speed through 2022.
We spend our lives being bombarded with information in the digital realm. Much of it targets our general demographic. The amount that actually rings in accord with the recipient, however, is quite low. A study by Gartner that suggests that a lack of personalization in marketing content could be costing brands around 38% of potential customers.
There is more data than ever before available to help understand consumer intentions. However, you need to gather and interpret that data. Treat your potential clients as individuals, not groups. Humanize them, and in turn, they’ll feel like they’re interacting with a person who cares about their exact professional needs.
While the data is there to use, the interpretation of that data through data science is at previously unimaginable levels of complexity.
AI and machine learning can discover patterns that the human brain might take years to spot. In a marketplace where trends change with such rapidity, it’s important that we analyze data and act upon it. All before it is redundant and out-of-date.
AI and machine learning stand to result in one of the most significant changes the marketing industry has ever seen. Just what that change will look like is yet to be seen.
Social media has traditionally been relatively minor in terms of B2B marketing trends. However, more and more are starting to adopt it. It’s a logical progression, B2B clients appreciate insights into the company their developing a relationship with and a way to interact with them. Social media can be incredibly effective at facilitating those insights and building those relationships. Through increasing transparency and trust, you can facilitate both higher lead generation and higher levels of retention around a purposeful community.
It’s increasingly becoming the norm that companies pay a significant amount of attention to the overall customer experience.
As this becomes normal, the bar is raised higher and higher. Thus, making it increasingly difficult to outdo the competition. But this just means you need to try harder. Consider each step in the process from the perspective of your B2B buyer. Then, look at how you can optimize it. From the way you lay out your initial marketing content to the after purchase support you supply. Each stage of the journey has to be perfect to remain competitive in the modern climate.
While most of the trends above focus on digital advances, this one is just the opposite. B2B relationships can start via digital means, of course, but it’s incredibly important not to forget that relationships are inherently human phenomena. At a certain point, you need to bring the lead generation process back to a conversation. Either on the phone or in-person - depending on the industry and particulars of the situation.
The focus on digital marketing leads to the human element of business being left behind. However, businesses that remember to retain that important part of the sales process will likely fare better than those that do not.
Something that’s becoming increasingly popular in B2B marketing trends is conversion rate optimization. Optimizing your conversion rate makes complete sense. To lose a lead at the last moment, and to do so consistently, is to waste a significant amount of resources. If your marketing content is attracting viewers, reaching a massive audience, and creating a significant number of leads, this is all very well - each of these departments is doing its job well.
But, none of this matters if the end result isn’t conversion. An emphasis on this can make a massive difference in getting new clients. This makes your marketing process far more efficient, as you won’t be wasting resources on reaching an unnecessarily broad target audience.
