What do you do if your B2B marketing strategy lacks innovation?

I'd recommend borrowing some best practices from B2C to drive innovation and creativity in B2B. B2C marketing often excels in areas like customer engagement, brand storytelling, and personalization, which can be transformative when adapted to the B2B context.

It is always good to get an outsider's perspective to see what's lacking. You can always ask for peer reviews or experiment with trends that others are incorporating. Working with external agencies and consultants is not the worst idea.

B2B marketers need a structured approach to achieve their goals. Understanding the target audience, market, and customers' pain points is critical, followed by compelling content marketing plans. But, innovation is what sets a brand apart. Collaborate with stakeholders, listen to customers, and use AI and other cutting-edge tools to enhance your marketing efforts and stay ahead of market trends. Remember, innovation creates a significant impact that sets your brand apart.

Let me share this idea with you: I believe we are all influenced by two important factors: technology and time. Can we agree that implementing tech solutions, optimizing the supply chain, and managing client relationships are crucial in the realm of B2B? Because we NEED technologies to enhance efficiency and digital platform development. And when it comes to strategy, you NEED tools and a proactive organizational culture toward high performance and creativity at all levels. Marketing is an adaptable tool, not a limiting paradigm. By integrating emerging technologies, understanding target audiences deeply, and continuously exploring new digital platforms and tactics, it becomes more than just optimizing ROI.

If your B2B marketing lacks innovation, reassess goals by identifying untapped niches or emerging trends. Example: A software company aiming for traditional enterprise clients could pivot to target growing markets in remote collaboration tools for hybrid work models, aligning goals with the evolving business landscape.

Innovation stems from an on-the-pulse understanding of what is relevant, important, and painful to your audience and where their attention is being spent - right now. Speak to your customers, consume what they're sharing, and listen to broader market signals. Then, in your marketing, share your own point of view, opinion, and solution; be unique, provide new data or insights, challenge the prevalent thinking.

One thing we found useful was assessing the top 5 engagers of a clients posts across 3 months and taking a look at what other content they were reacting to, sharing or commenting on LinkedIn. We put this content into sections on an excel doc, breaking them up into Formats, days posted, topics, CTAs etc and found correlations to test content against. This resulted in a week of some fresh new content formats and ultimately for our situation meant we invested in more video work.

If your B2B marketing lacks innovation, start by reevaluating your audience. For instance, if targeting tech executives, conduct surveys to understand their evolving needs. Amazon Web Services (AWS) revamped its strategy by closely listening to developers' pain points, leading to innovative solutions like AWS Lambda, enhancing customer engagement and market position.

If your B2B marketing feels like it's on autopilot, getting to know your audience better is the first step towards innovation. Take a deep dive into who your clients really are, the challenges they’re tackling, and how they like to get their info. Tailoring your efforts to meet their specific needs and preferences can breathe new life into your strategy, helping you craft content that hits home. This is how you pave the way for marketing that's not just effective, but genuinely innovative.

Deepen your understanding of your target audience by conducting market research, analyzing customer behavior, and gathering insights through surveys or interviews. Use this information to identify unmet needs, pain points, and preferences that can inspire innovative solutions.

Martech is an exciting part of marketing strategy. Especially when the volumes increase, how would you keep track of every prospect that comes in contact with your owned digital media (website)? This is where Customer Data Platforms that acts a single source of truth comes into the picture. I have used innovative tools like zoho sales IQ, CRM based automations to trigger nurturing campaigns, intelligent chatbots to bring innovation to my website that provides an enriching experience for our visitors and helps up understand their behaviour better without being invasive, and all of this is done post user consent.

As a B2B marketing expert, you can revitalize your B2B marketing by leveraging technology. By incorporating interactive virtual events, like webinars with AI-driven engagement tools. Cisco's use of immersive experiences in their virtual events boosts attendee interaction and drives innovation. Also, embrace cutting-edge tools to foster engagement and stay ahead in the competitive B2B landscape.

Tech Should Unlock Creativity, Not Replace It The most successful B2B marketers leverage technology to bring their boldest ideas to life. Here's how to make it happen: Ask "What If?": Before buying a tool, brainstorm the crazy campaigns it would make possible. This keeps tech grounded in strategy, not just a thing to have. The Human + Machine Combo: Data tells you what's working, but not WHY. Use tech to spot trends, then your team investigates the deeper story. Marry Innovation and Iteration: New tools should let you test faster, cheaper. Celebrate quick failures as much as splashy wins - that's where true learning happens. The most innovative companies don't see tech as a replacement for human ingenuity, but a way to unleash it at scale.

Embrace technology and leverage innovative tools and platforms to enhance your marketing efforts. Explore emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, automation, and personalization to optimize targeting, engagement, and conversion.

Everyone says "think outside the box" but, in my experience, most internal stakeholders aren't prepared for truly "out there" content. Implementing change can take time but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing. My one messaging metric with writers is simple: If it sounds like it could come out of the mouths of our competitors (figuratively), then we need to go back to the drawing board and edit the empty platitudes out of the copy.

Innovation and disruption go hand-in-hand. You cannot be afraid to step outside of the box to shake things up, not only for your team, but also to help your brand stand out in the competitive world of B2B Marketing. Ensure that you don't let innovation take away from your brand's overall messaging, and that it is done in a way that resonates with the audience you are trying to reach.

To infuse innovation into a stagnant B2B marketing strategy, encourage creativity through collaborative brainstorming sessions. Foster an environment where diverse perspectives thrive. For instance, Cisco's innovation challenge empowered employees to propose novel solutions, leading to breakthroughs like the Webex platform, and revitalizing their B2B approach.

Il est essentiel dans nos métiers de se nourrir régulièrement de contenus externes, comme des expositions, des livres, des articles / vidéos... En tant que responsable marketing, vous pouvez aussi organiser des formations dédiées à la créativité pour vos équipes. Ce sont d'excellents team building par ailleurs :)

Foster a culture of creativity and experimentation within your marketing team. Encourage brainstorming sessions, idea generation, and cross-functional collaboration to spark innovation and explore new approaches to B2B marketing.

Cross-department collaboration is key to making sure unique perspectives are explored. It's about breaking down silos and getting all teams to sit at the same table, sharing insights, ideas, and resources. By fostering this collaborative synergy, we can develop integrated campaigns that resonate with customers and drive business objectives effectively. It's all about creating a harmony greater than the sum of its parts, resulting in innovative and impactful marketing strategies!

Look beyond your industry for inspiration. Study successful marketing campaigns from various sectors and identify elements that can be adapted to your B2B context. Seek feedback from your customers, sales team, and other stakeholders to understand their evolving needs and preferences. Don’t Be Afraid to Hire a Consultant: Sometimes, an external perspective can make all the difference. Consider bringing in a marketing consultant or creative director who can offer a fresh set of eyes and introduce new ideas and approaches.

We're often too close to our own circumstance to be truly innovative. Seek outside guidance from arms-length trusted advisors; look to other sectors for ideas that you can adapt and make your own; throw out everything you think you know and start from a clean slate.

If a B2B marketing strategy lacks innovation, collaborate widely to infuse fresh ideas. For instance, a software company seeking innovation might engage cross-functional teams, including developers, marketers, and customer support, to brainstorm and implement creative solutions. This collaborative approach fosters diverse perspectives, sparking innovative strategies to elevate the marketing game.

B2B marketers: Don't look solely to other B2B brands for inspiration. B2C (e.g., Nike) and D2C (e.g., DoorDash) often accomplish much more with their messaging because the stakes are higher and the conversion margins are much lower. Ignoring those inspiration opportunities is a mistake. Your swipe file should be as diverse as possible.

Start by evaluating current tactics and their effectiveness. Objective? To identify areas for improvement and innovation. Prioritize initiatives based on potential impact and alignment with business goals. Just like in life, continuous improvement is key! Embrace a culture of experimentation and learn from both successes and failures. Remember, innovation isn't just about flashy campaigns; it's about delivering tangible results. And with 78% of high-performing marketers attributing success to proper measurement and analysis, it's clear that data-driven decision-making is the way forward.

To make sure your fresh take on B2B marketing is hitting the mark, you've got to measure its impact. Set up KPIs that reflect your goals and keep an eye on how well your strategies are performing. Regular check-ins on these metrics will show you what’s working and what needs tweaking, helping you fine-tune your approach for better results. Innovation isn’t just about standing out; it’s about driving value and achieving tangible outcomes. A CRM will help to keep everything in one place and should allow you to easily build reports to keep you on track.

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of your innovative initiatives and track progress over time. Use data and analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies, identify areas for improvement, and refine your approach based on insights.

Look to the future. What's worked in the past isn't guaranteed to do well again next week or month. The more you craft stories and marketing content for the long-term, the more your audience will be in it for that length of time with you.

Survey Trends: Immerse yourself in the latest marketing trends and technologies. Attend webinars, read industry reports, and follow thought leaders. Peer Insights: Connect with peers in networking groups or forums to exchange innovative ideas and challenges. Collaboration can ignite new approaches. Analyze Data: Dive deep into your marketing data. Look for patterns or untapped opportunities that can inspire creative campaigns or targeting strategies. Risk for Reward: Be open to taking calculated risks. Test new platforms, unconventional messaging, or creative formats on a small scale before a full rollout. Keep Learning: Foster a culture of continuous learning within your team.

Talk to your pears; talk to your agency or do a pitch for a new one (as part of the process you always get a market pulse check); visit some industry events; involve your team by asking them to come up with some new strategies you can try; set some innovation dedicated budget aside; simply purchase Gemini Pro licence and ask the team to use it for various day-to-day tasks they are doing (emails, writing ads, helping with their presentations, analyse some data etc.)