B2B marketing trends

Blog · Partner: POLISH YELLOW PAGES® · since 1991

A post from the POLISH YELLOW PAGES® blog (formerly DATABOT.PL), originally published on 17.11.2022. Some information (tools, prices, regulations) may have changed since then.

Current B2B marketing trends in 2022

The world of B2B marketing is never boring. Since the start of the pandemic at the latest, many marketers have been forced to break patterns and think about alternative methods of lead generation . No more trade fairs and on-site meetings — but what can make up for it? Over the last two years many different online B2B marketing trends have emerged. One trend that has stayed, however, is digitalisation in B2B marketing.  

Working with Big Data, Intent Data or data-driven marketing are still current B2B marketing trends, and they are unlikely to end any time soon.  

In this article we look at five B2B marketing trends that will lead you and your team towards success in 2022 and the years ahead. 

B2B marketing trend no. 1: make sure sales and marketing work in tandem 

This first B2B marketing trend for 2022 is not necessarily new, but it is more important than ever. Talk to your sales department: ask your sales colleagues for their input, experience and opinions — they are close to customers, even closer to the target audience, and often know exactly what will work.  

Create task forces, go-to-market teams or dedicated revenue teams where you can brainstorm together and develop new ideas. In the end both sides gain from working together. Only by acting jointly will you be able to respond properly to the current challenges of the B2B sector.

Source: www.intelusagency.com

Together you can discuss topics such as hybrid selling, digital selling or social selling through platforms such as LinkedIn and discover areas where you can grow. This can secure lasting success and increase the number of customers in sales. Why? The more refined your B2B marketing campaigns are — for example in account-based marketing — the easier it will be for your sales team at the point of sale, because the companies you attract, will be a perfect fit for your product. Done! 

You can also work together to grow on LinkedIn: think about what you want to focus on and discuss it with each other so you can coordinate and agree , who will create what kind of content and when, and where you can build on each other. This B2B marketing trend is all about agility and flexibility. 

B2B marketing trend no. 2: account-based marketing is the winner

Another B2B marketing trend that will continue in 2023 is Account Based Marketing (ABM). Are you trying to reach everyone in your target group in the same way? As you can imagine, if you use exactly the same advert for sectors such as mechanical engineering and medicine , it is not exactly ideal. 

An account-based marketing strategy essentially involves flipping the funnel in order to target really and exclusively those companies in your target audience that match your ideal customer profile (ICP) . The image often used here is a big fishing net compared with a small fishing rod — but with a small rod and the right bait you can catch exactly the customers you want, instead of hauling in boring bycatch whose interests and needs you cannot meet at all. In this way you can effectively minimise wasted reach and save money.

Source: www.hubspot.com

Your sales team benefits when your marketing strategy is as individualised and personalised as possible. If you target a campaign only at recruitment services and have a sales manager who focuses only on that area, it is a win-win situation for everyone — for you, your sales manager and the prospect.  Why? If your sales team fully understands the needs of the target group you are aiming your campaigns at, selling becomes more like consulting and provides added value for the prospect. That paves the way to closing the deal!

B2B marketing trend no. 3: use artificial intelligence for better insight

At first glance artificial intelligence (AI) sounds impressive — and it is! You probably want to know how AI is connected to B2B marketing, and it is really simple. To feed your marketing machine, you need data. And not just any data, such as company or contact details that only allow a generic chat without personalised marketing strategies — you need good data.  

Sales intelligence tools (SI tools)  are perfect for this! These tools are mostly based on artificial intelligence, which means they provide the best available B2B data. Especially for your ABM campaigns , sales intelligence adds an arrow to your quiver! With SI software you can carefully pick out from the mass the companies that fit your ICP, and so you can target your B2B marketing campaign precisely.

Pro tip: When choosing sales intelligence software, make sure the provider is GDPR-compliant! There is nothing worse than breaking the law. 

Another advantage: some SI tools (for example DataBot ) offer a feature that lets you feed in your existing customers and other strong leads, and the tool’s engine then displays similar companies — so-called B2B lookalikes — on that basis. You can then win over these lookalikes with the same use case and content across the whole customer journey.

You can also work very well with B2B lookalikes on social platforms such as LinkedIn. Through LinkedIn and Facebook you can create custom or lookalike audiences, refining your targeting strategies . AI is a definite B2B marketing trend for 2022.  

B2B lookalikes are extremely versatile. You can use them directly in LinkedIn ad campaigns or simply learn more about your target audience. By “cloning” your existing customers, you can immediately tell which companies you want to engage.

B2B marketing trend no. 4: tailor SEO to your users

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) remain fascinating in B2B marketing and therefore definitely belong among the marketing trends of 2022. SEO, for example, not only helps your content rank better on Google, helping you become more relevant to your target audience, but also shows exactly what your future customers’ problems are. Your website is often the first point of contact in the customer journey. They have a problem, search online and, hopefully, discover your solution, and then visit your website. 

With a well-thought-out SEO and SEM strategy you can find out what moves your target group. You can then plan the next pieces of content for your website and ads in the relevant search engine. Remember to always stay up to date! Only recently Google announced an update to its Page Experience algorithm. From spring 2022 the algorithm will also apply to desktop search results, as it already does for mobile searches. Companies must therefore prepare for this change accordingly.

Think holistically about your SEO and SEA strategies! It is important to analyse your strategies across the whole company and always put your activities to the test. This is definitely a long-lasting B2B marketing trend.

Source: www.launchsiteboost.com

B2B marketing trend no. 5: invest in useful marketing tech stacks

How many tools and what software do you use every day in your marketing strategy? Are the processes consistent? And do your tools work together like clockwork ? Many B2B marketing teams invest in digital solutions to expand their tech stack. But they often don’t think about how they will work together. A well-thought-out tech stack is another B2B marketing trend for 2022 that will probably never go out of fashion.

Ultimately, an outdated tech stack makes work less efficient because it slows down processes that should really be sped up. If the horse has already bolted, you need to think about how to optimise your B2B tech stack. Otherwise you should think carefully about which software tools to integrate before buying anything blind. If you choose your B2B marketing tools wisely, you will save your company time and money.  

Smart offerings such as SaaS (Software as a Service) reduce installation and maintenance effort. What’s more, you will often receive support and individual consultations as part of the service. That is a B2B marketing trend worth following. 

Conclusion: these B2B marketing trends hit the bullseye

Of course, we hope trade fairs will become more and more “normal” again, as they were before the pandemic. Personal contacts are not only extremely important in B2B sales; they are just as important in B2B marketing. Online networks work, but the charm of offline exchange should not be underestimated.  

In any case, it is impossible to imagine B2B marketing without digital components, and these components always feature in B2B marketing trends too, so think about which strategies you want to apply to your digital tools and strategy. Bring together colleagues from sales, product management and IT so you can plan your strategy holistically and make sure you don’t miss a B2B marketing trend.

Tags: Account Based Marketing, B2B, B2B marketing, Marketing, marketing trends, Trends

What do you think?

Which ways of winning customers work in your business? Tell us in the comments below the post.

Source

• POLISH YELLOW PAGES® (databot.pl) – original blog post

© POLISH YELLOW PAGES® / Argonauts Media Group Limited. Copying, downloading and distribution without the publisher’s written consent are prohibited. Illustrative photo: Pexels.