The Future of B-to-B Marketing Is Hiding in Plain Sight

A dramatic shift is underway for marketers. Those who embrace these changes are well positioned for 2022 and beyond. Those who don’t run the risk of losing credibility with clients and falling behind their peers. This transition, driven by data, analytics and digital tools, is happening at warp speed. Just a couple years ago, physical interactions like attending round tables, visiting trade shows and taking part in conferences absorbed a third of a b-to-b marketing. The pandemic brought all that to a swift end. Artificial intelligence replaced handshakes as a more strategic way to capture leads. While events are returning and will always have a role in b-to-b marketing, even the best in-person interactions won’t have the same scalable ROI as the targeted power of data. Another big transition: Back in the early 2000s, most digital strategies were afterthoughts to TV and print marketing. That dynamic has decidedly flipped, with traditional media now used to complement and leverage the core digital strategy—and even that is becoming digital through technologies such as OTT and CTV. B-to-B Marketing Doesn’t Have to Be Boring What’s driven and accelerated the changes? And how do marketing leaders stay ahead of them, and their competitors? Take a page from the Amazon and Google playbooks. Marketing model of the future Just as Amazon and Google rely on data to cherry pick specific items or information for consumers, b-to-b marketers can—and should—use data to target buyers, track their online behaviors and put the right message or product in front of them. This is the model of the future. Going forward, the b-to-b buying process will increasingly be dominated by online searches and virtual interactions. Consider this example: To provide information about wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals, you need to create a model of these consumers’ behavior. Where do they shop? Where do they go online for news or social engagement? What do they watch on TV? That precise targeting requires intelligent gathering and use of data to understand what your potential buyers are doing. Data-enabled modeling can give you profile of your perfect targets, plus the content they consumed, when they consumed it and through which channels. The result can be a media plan that includes everything from cable TV, OTT, streaming radio and multiple other digital properties. This is key—the buyer doesn’t have to be where you’d expect. Maybe they’re online researching a vacation, not searching for financial advice. But that’s OK. Even if they’re not making a purchase decision now, they’re the perfect fit for the services—and your brand is front of mind when they reach that moment. Also, reconsider old-school media. Old stalwarts are being reinvented for the digital age. Digital billboards now use cellphone data to track profiles of passing motorists, giving advertisers much better visibility into their audience and how to appeal to it. In my experience, these approaches produce excellent results with very high click-through rates. Have in-person events gone away entirely? Not at all. This may be surprising given my initial comments on the demise of conferences, but that sphere of marketing isn’t dead; it’s just changing. Old-school backslapping at physical events was largely random and unfocused. Technology now offers a more targeted approach, allowing marketers to identify top people at a conference based on their activities and profiles, then arming sales and business teams with the right insights and content to start not just a conversation but a more purposeful interaction. Targeted follow-up emails, webinars and meetings deepen those relationships and entrench your brand further. What’s holding back progress? Why aren’t all companies onboarding these tools? In my conversations with other CMOs and marketing leaders, they tell me they’re ready. But something’s holding them back: their bosses. Company leaders don’t always get it. It’s not what they experienced when they were out building business. Changes are expensive and require firm-wide commitment. They need to make investments in technology, including CRM systems, analytics platforms and AI. In that case, marketing managers need strategies for bringing others along, helping them understand new developments in digital marketing, what competitors are doing and the scale of the opportunity. It’s important to set out a long-term, multi-year roadmap for tech adoption and investment. We all now live in an Amazon/Google world. Consumers have been trained to expect and receive information targeted specifically for their needs. Those consumers are also our target customers. B-to-b marketers need to adopt these practices by identifying potential customers at a granular level, tracking their online activity and influencing their journeys toward purchases. Those who don’t onboard these tools and strategies risk losing customers and market share at the time they need them the most. 3 Personalization Innovations to Expect From Digital Advertising