When you think of a B2B buyer, do you picture:
A) A senior professional a couple of decades into their career
B) A millennial
If you picked B, you’re closer to the truth.
A study by Merit says that around “73% of 20- to 35-year-olds are involved in product or service purchase decision-making at their companies”.
If your buyers are getting younger, your B2B marketing strategy will need a little refreshing. With that in mind, here are 10 New Year’s resolutions we recommend for your B2B marketing strategy:
1. Look to B2C marketers for inspiration
Younger buyers are bringing in new expectations. They’re used to being engaged and entertained, and will respond better to communication that keeps it light, interesting, and quick.
Your challenge will be to communicate your specific USPs while giving them an experience similar to what B2C marketers give them. Look at popular B2C campaigns and see how you can incorporate more of that spirit into your B2B marketing strategy.
2. Do what you’ve been putting off – invest in video
Like many of your personal new year’s resolutions, you might find this one on the list again for 2023. For many organizations, a strong video strategy is like one of those good habits you know will up your game but requires commitment.
Just as you review your progress and set new personal development resolutions for the year, assess your video strategy and see how you can take it to the next level.
3. Try a new email marketing tool
MailChimp, SendInBlue, GetResponse, and ConvertKit are some popular tools for both executing and analyzing email marketing campaigns. And there are plenty of others. Do a little research based on your budget and requirements and see what options could help you level up your email marketing.
Explore different tools and their capabilities to see which ones will give you insights you can action.
4. Be more generous with your social media budget
B2B sale cycles being long, social media isn’t always a priority for B2B companies. However, if you’re looking just at the direct leads, you may be missing out on major brand recognition benefits. Invest in long-term branding efforts and reconsider how you’re calculating your social ROI.
Want to connect with your online audience? Boost social media engagement with creative, on-brand videos, infographics, banners, and more.
5. Keep up with the trends
Your calendar might be full of event and product promotions, leaving little room for other types of engaging content. However, it’s important not to overlook trending topics and what’s going on in the world when you create your marketing content.
Publish meaningful content that connects with what’s on your audience’s mind at that moment.
To craft high-ROI, industry-relevant messaging and visuals, our creative team works with your SMEs, sales & marketing leads, and other experts.
6. Start important conversations
Just as it’s important to comment on the trends, it’s important to invite your audience to weigh in on what matters to them. What are they looking for? What problems can you solve for them?
Social media affords you an excellent opportunity to uncover valuable insights and real consumer problems. From there, it’s important to listen and respond.
7. Get personal
This applies to everything from how you begin an email to the specific products you recommend. Keep in mind that people are used to brands knowing more about them than they might like. Now, it feels odd to receive an irrelevant piece of content or be spoken to as if you’re a recipient of a mass email.
To meet your audience’s expectations, your brand should strive to deliver personalized experiences.
8. Give AI a try
Despite its tremendous power, AI is seriously underutilized today, even as the benefits of data-driven decisions abound. It can improve your B2B marketing strategy and execution—from your email marketing efforts to your social media activity to enhancing the user experience (UX). You may learn something simple yet powerful such as when to dispatch your email or what subject line to use.
9. Do your research on account-based marketing
A growing trend, ABM entails focusing on winning over specific accounts. To incorporate this into your B2B marketing strategy, you will need to identify those accounts, finding an efficient way to do that. Then, you will need an outreach strategy and nurturing processes.
10. Go lean
There’s no denying it, it can feel like there are too many options and “must-dos” to keep up with. Just as your audience has to contend with information overload, you have to work your way through the options and find what will serve you best.
Choose carefully, considering your business goals, your audience behavior and expectations, and your resources. Settle on a strategy that makes sense for you and see it through.
Where to start: Create a consolidated, formal plan
Keep in mind that around 33% of B2B companies still don’t have a formal marketing strategy in place—just by developing one, you can do better and prevent missed opportunities.
A formal B2B marketing strategy provides a roadmap for success. It outlines goals, target audience segments, messaging, tactics, and metrics for success.
In today’s competitive business landscape, not having a formal B2B marketing strategy can cause you to:
- Waste valuable time and resources on ineffective tactics
- Miss out on important opportunities
- Fail to effectively reach and engage with your target audience
- Repeat mistakes, without documentating ideas explored
By taking the time to develop a formal strategy, businesses can ensure that their marketing efforts are aligned with their overall business objectives, and can measure and adjust their efforts to achieve maximum ROI.
Ultimately, a formal and regularly updated B2B marketing strategy is essential for driving growth, building brand awareness, and achieving long-term success.
As you refresh your strategy, remember to refresh your B2B marketing collateral as well. We can help you with that; start here.
We wish you all the best with your B2B marketing strategy in the new year!
FAQs
1. What’s the difference between B2B and B2C marketing?
B2B marketing targets other businesses, while B2C marketing targets individual consumers. B2B marketing often involves longer sales cycles and more complex purchasing decisions, while B2C marketing typically focuses on emotional appeals and impulse purchases.
A B2B marketing strategy tends to prioritize building relationships and delivering value through content and thought leadership.
2. What are some key types of B2B marketing collateral?
B2B marketing collateral includes white papers, case studies, e-books, infographics, webinars, and product demos. These materials are designed to educate potential customers on your products and services, showcase your expertise, and provide valuable insights.
Having a variety of marketing collateral ensures that you can target different stages of the buying process and appeal to different types of decision-makers.
