Why B2B Marketing has become so much more sophisticated in today’s Digital era and the skill sets required 

B2B marketing has seen a major shift in recent years due to the ever progressing Digital era. Traditionally B2B marketing had a simple ideology, the more commercial messages you pushed out the better your pipeline. Nowadays B2B marketing has become more sophisticated and complex than ever. With the application of new technologies and growing social platforms: individuals expect to access the precise information they need, when they need it and access this on a number of devises due to time sensitivity.

In a sales process 9/10 businesses will say they will find you when they are ready to buy which calls for a whole new way of working. B2B buyers are doing much more research than ever before. For most it starts with a web search however there is an ever growing trend where buyers are looking to industry, research and their peers to conclude their spend (which effects an average of half B2B purchases).

KEY B2B ACTIVITY AND SKILL SETS REQUIRED

The way customers consume content is ever changing. These contemporary trends all point to a number of key areas of importance.

Content is king. Due to time constraints individuals do not have time to read reams of content. It needs to be short, SEO optimised and engaging. Content needs to be engaged through social platforms and assessable on mobile devises. Searches on mobile devises see a reach of 250% year on year. Engaged buyers will share content internally with colleagues and externally on social platforms. The B2B buyer is no longer a business but a person so let’s keep it short but personal.

Thought leadership is key. This will increase your value proposition, engage with individuals who are not yet aware of your product/service, engage with passive individuals and increase brand recognition. This demonstrates your knowledge and place within the market.

Video content is increasingly prevalent as individuals can watch a quick video on business websites. Remember ‘seeing is believing’.

Using Data will drive more revenue as consumers want targeted information. Using tools and technologies available today we have the opportunity and insight to provide the right message at the right time. We can now track analytics and measure activity and use results to influence future activity.

Digital marketing is essential in today’s world of B2B marketing. The gap between B2C and B2B marketing is closing and we can no longer say “this does not apply to us as we are B2B”.

All the above practises will:

• Drive traffic to your website even if the buyer is not at point of purchase.
• It will drive engagement and more importantly the conversation.