- Before we get into how B2B marketing
has evolved over the years,
I think it's really important to take a step back
and remember the time-tested best practices.
Sometimes we marketers get so caught up
in the latest and greatest that we forget the basics.
So let's go through these timeless best practices quickly.
First, know your customer.
Define demographics such as age or income,
and insights such as mindsets, attitudes,
behaviors, and motivations.
This customer insight helps you make smart strategic choices
about messaging and touchpoints to influence customers
to choose your brand.
Be honest and transparent
about your product or service benefits and features.
Don't make claims that aren't true.
Disclose all information to customers.
Customers don't purchase from
or advocate for a brand that they don't trust.
Be relevant in how you portray your brand.
This starts high-level with brant positioning, look,
and feel, down to tactics like each message
and each touchpoint.
Establish an emotional connection
between your brand and customers.
Rational product or service information is important,
but you need to balance that
with establishing an emotional connection
to build credibility and a longterm relationship.
Collaborate across internal disciplines within your company.
Share best practices, leverage diversity of thought,
work with colleagues to create an integrated brand
and customer experience across touchpoints.
So now that we remember the basics,
how has B2B marketing evolved due to the information age
and increase of digital touchpoints?
Today's customer is self-motivated and more educated.
Online content, social platforms and technology
have changed the way customers make decisions.
Over half of B2B customers decide on their purchase
before engaging a sales representative.
So marketers are playing an increasingly important role
to provide relevant content that customers seek
and key touchpoints early in their decision process.
For example, most customers start their research
with generic search.
Marketing automation has become more important.
That's the software marketers use
to automate repetitive tasks like emails
or other lead generation efforts.
In fact, most B2B marketers
plan to increase their marketing technology budget.
And those who do use marketing automation improve sales
and grow faster than their competition.
Another report and trend is the need for integration.
This continues to grow due to all the touchpoints
brought on by the digital revolution.
Integration in this context means two things:
first, align messaging across touchpoints.
In many companies, different touchpoints
are managed by different disciplines.
While one group may manage the website
and other manages emails and so on for social,
search and more.
Internal disciplines need to integrate messaging
across touchpoints so it feels like it's all coming
from the same brand.
Second, integrate information.
That's having a single real-time view of information
across touchpoints, such as performance analytics,
customer insights, and competitive intelligence.
So remember, the most effective B2B marketing plans
combine time-tested best practices
with a solid understanding of current trends
to engage customers when, how, and where they want.