De Blum is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Antiriad. Learn more at anteriad.com .
Peter Weinberg and John Lombardo of LinkedIn's B2B Institute talk about how B2B is the next big thing in marketing. Others think the same B2B will continue to drive the growing demand for data and technology to drive sustainability, efficiency, and other important changes in our economy.
With this acceleration comes competition. Artificial intelligence is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 21% between 2020 and 2025. Sustainable technologies are expected to grow at the same rate.
2023 is a "big year" for B2B, with $15 billion spent on digital advertising in the US alone. B2B marketers have more competition than ever before. In my view, 2023 is likely to bring the first successful B2B Connected TV (CTV) marketing campaign, significant increases in data usage, and unique new ways that will connect the new online and offline shopper journey.
B2B is approaching a fair near you
I recently saw an advertisement for a fancy new winter coat. The ad has everything you'd expect from a luxury product: great product names, glamorous models, great music, and exotic locations. The ad is also a high-definition ad that is shown alongside CTV's premium broadcast content. This is what it takes to make a first impression in the busy luxury retail industry.
While this coat is priced at $1,500, it's a bargain compared to a typical B2B purchase. This got me thinking about how B2B marketers are going to include “first impressions” in their budgets for next year and where they need to up their game in the future.
An important component to include in B2B marketing is memory. B2C brands spend a lot on things like premium placements and generic, expensive creatives. B2B marketers should take the time to invest in some creative skills to identify the elements that make the biggest impression on buyers, be it a great CTV commercial, a more powerful website, or whatever.
The good thing is that B2C marketers do most of the work for us. We can look to industries with long buying cycles for ideas on how to deliver "sexy" B2B marketing and improve our game. Luxury retail, travel, real estate, automotive, and financial services can be important lessons for the next phase of B2B marketing.
How B2B marketers can adapt B2C strategies
B2B shoppers are people too, and the buyer's journey is based on their personal experiences with product offerings and processes. Marketers should look at the experiential items that provide great B2C shopping experiences and see if they can apply it to their shopping journey.
Salesforce used actor Matthew McConaughey, which looked like a big budget movie, in their Super Bowl ad. (Full disclosure: Our company has partnered with Salesforce.) The ad reflects people's passion for sustainability and progress, a passion that fits with both B2B and B2C messaging. Not all B2B marketers have a Super Bowl ad budget, but the idea is the same: Get people's attention to capture emotion.
B2B marketers can also use the concept of conversational marketing to quickly get the word out to potential customers and speed up the buying cycle. For example, more and more B2C companies in insurance, healthcare, and other critical industries are starting to use chatbots and outgoing calls with products like Regal.io to communicate with people stuck in their online journey. For complex B2B sales, this makes more sense. B2B companies can use triggers based on online behavior or email responses to start conversations and make more personal connections.
Another pillar of B2B marketing, content, can benefit from the B2C shift. Companies that hide important information deep within their websites or block all content prevent people from finding the information they need. Gathering potential customer information shouldn't get in the way of a good experience.
The power of data is getting stronger
For those who question the value of a B2C strategy for B2B marketers, remember that the problem is in the details. A critical study of advertising concluded that too much money invested in TV advertising leads to a negative return on investment if the brand does not follow the way it advertises. With data and insights, brands can get a very high ROI on their investment.
A trend many B2C marketers are following is using creative analytics to make smart design decisions. This is in line with B2B marketers' more scientific approach to marketing. Companies like VidMob and Memorable help ensure that the extra money you spend on creativity actually yields better results.
In addition, many B2C brands rely on their own data to target a more precise audience. B2B marketers can and should do the same. Using identity-based ad targeting can help B2B brands accurately reach their most valuable audience across all channels.
Developments in data federation can help B2B marketers implement account-based marketing strategies using Account Level Identities. A media plan can run a series of messages targeting a group of buyers to ensure everyone gets the right message at the right time for a highly structured approach.
With uncertain economic times ahead, B2B marketers need to be open to testing strategies that can have a significant impact on sales, especially if those strategies aren't difficult to implement. While adoption of new data and technologies requires significant acceleration, the good news is that our company's recent research shows that most marketers have already invested in these areas, so they just need to focus on a few key strategies drawn from the B2C world. With small wins, B2B marketers can build on their success and shift their marketing strategy into new, more profitable directions.
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