B2B marketing – Is it evolving?

Having dedicated 23 years to the realm of marketing, with 17 years specifically in B2B, I find myself naturally inclined towards this dynamic segment. Looking back to the early days of my career, marked by a focus on product management fundamentals, it's evident that the landscape of marketing has undergone a profound paradigm shift over the past few decades.

This transformation stems not only from advancements in marketing tools but also from a crucial change in the mindset of marketers themselves—a shift I refer to as "Mindset Upgrade." From being merely labelled as creators of brochures and standees to assuming leadership seats at the strategy table, marketers have steadily earned their place of undeniable importance within organizations.

With time, marketers have proven their mettle by making unshakeable position, irrefutable impact and lasting importance for this critical branch of business.

This journey from cost centre to revenue generator was certainly not easy but truly worthy.

Yet, as we bask in the recognition we've earned, it's essential to ask ourselves: Have we reached a plateau in our evolution, or is there still room for growth? In my view, while we've achieved significant milestones, our journey is ever-ongoing. We must continually adapt to the latest advancements in marketing, increasingly driven by B2C and D2C trends, and keep pace with the evolving needs of our customers

Strategies that were once traditionally B2C are now being adopted by B2B marketers as well.

Embracing Change in B2B Marketing

In this edition, I aim to spotlight the rapid advancements in B2B marketing through recently published reports. I invite my peers, seniors, and industry connections to share their valuable perspectives on these developments.

The COVID-19 pandemic, while disruptive in many ways, forced us to embrace digital transformation, shifting our traditional modes of customer interaction to digital platforms. This shift, coupled with the rise of the hybrid working model, underscores the imperative for marketers to adapt swiftly to changing landscapes. This is era of Digital Handshake!

Customers today have also become digitally savvy, which essentially means all the companies (products and services) to also shift gears to this permanent change.

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Key Trends Reshaping B2B Marketing

???? #Buying behaviour alterations:

Millennials and Gen Z now dominate every sector, necessitating an increased digital presence from marketers across industries. Reports indicate a significant portion of the purchasing journey now unfolds digitally, even before engaging with sales representatives.

Left side of above infographic projects the need to engage the customers with various nurturing activities as the buying cycle is seeing an increase on an average. Hence it is very important to keep them involved with various marketing activities until their readiness to buy.

Various global reports by reputed agencies emphasize on importance of customers spending significant part of their initial buying journey on digital platform even before making their decision to engage with sales representatives of any company

• B2B International’s findings further reinforce this pattern, revealing that B2B audiences typically complete 60% of the purchase process before engaging with the supplier or its sales team.?
• McKinsey & Company echoes this sentiment, stating that two-thirds of the buying process is now done digitally.?
• This shift towards self-directed research is also reflected in Gartner’s research, which found that 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience.

Neither the industry in which a buyer operates, the size of their company, nor the type of funding their company receives made any statistically reliable differences in when buyers initiate contact

?? #MarTech: Its growing significance

Next critical factor is adapting to advancements in marketing tools. “Martech” being the next new popular term fast catching with B2B segment as well

The rise of Marketing Technology (MarTech) tools is transforming B2B marketing strategies. Companies are increasingly investing in technologies that enhance customer engagement and amplify marketing efforts. More and more companies are becoming aware and fast acting on adopting and adapting to this marketing technology based tools .One such report shows how the marketing spend has been seeing significant increase in spends on technologies which are enabling marketers to accelerate their customer connect and engagements there after .

Changing dynamics are propelling marketers to focus on advanced tools

B2B martech, or marketing technology, refers to any software, platform, or tool you use to enhance your marketing efforts. You can use B2B marketing technology to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of your digital marketing campaigns

Companies are building and ever increasing their Martech Stacks

Main components of any Martech stack are

???? Email service provider

???? CRM

???? Marketing automation

???? A/B testing

???? Social media tools

???? ADtech tools

???? Customer data platforms

???? Customer experience tools

???? Data visualization tool

Reporting and Analytical tools

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???? #Ecommerce Integration -

Next key marketing milestone for B2B marketers is to shift the customers to Ecommerce platforms

While traditionally associated with B2C, ecommerce platforms are gaining traction in the B2B space. Marketers play a pivotal role in facilitating seamless online buying experiences, even for technically complex products

B2B is soon catching up with various B2B companies experimenting their niche product’s sale via this effective, fast and commercially viable platform in times of optimization of roles having more productive, efficient and cost efficient business models.

There is notable increase in usage of Ecommerce in B2B segment either by direct presence through company websites or collaborating with 3rd party online marketplaces. Marketers play a pivotal role in online buying journey of customer making the experience truly engaging, informative and influencing customers to make an online purchase seamlessly which was once thought to be impossible especially for technical products for healthcare /life-science market.

?? #AI/Metaverse Exploration:

A transformational change for today and beyond…

Advancements in AI and the Metaverse present new opportunities for immersive customer engagement. B2B marketers can leverage these technologies to deliver interactive and intelligent content, elevating the customer experience

This advancement in technology has opened umpteen avenues for B2B marketers to engage with customers more impactfully.

B2B customers journey is more complex than B2C since here customers emphasize on more value creation /exchange hence spend more time in making buying decisions.

This gives an opportunity for B2B marketers to develop immersive tools for their prospective customers to make the buying experience creative, immersive and faster.

One common utilization of AI been used commonly is virtual tradeshows, conferences, demos which helps customers to visualize and experience the product with help of digital tools by sitting in comforts of their working places.

Apart from virtual shows, video conferencing, ZOOM meetings, AI/Metaverse hold much more potential which is still untapped by B2B segment. Tools like predictive modelling techniques opens up the possibility of collecting biometrically inferred data (BID), which involves using biometric data to infer a person’s characteristics and behaviours.

Effectiveness of B2B content can be scaled to next level with use of Metaverse AI-assisted tools that allow marketers to deliver content in a much more interactive, immersive, and intelligent way

Some B2B companies today are already incorporating gamification into their loyalty programme

Even though the metaverse is still in its nascent stages, B2B companies that want the first-mover advantage should start preparing for it. If a B2B brand wants to create a differentiating UMP(which I call as Unique marketing proposition) for their solutions , then its right time to go to blackboard , identify areas where you can experiment AI/metaverse, define pros and cons with open mind and have effective internal brainstorming within the ThinkTank group and then take calculated decisions.

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?? #Data driven decisions

Lastly ,I want to touch on the big evolution which has happened in marketing ie being the strategic partners in business!

The evolution of marketing as a strategic partner in business is propelled by data utilization. Marketers leverage tools such as BI dashboards and predictive modelling to make informed decisions and drive impactful strategies.

This has predominately happened with the impactful data utilization by marketers for making many informed decisions for

a)???? Developing business strategies

b)???? Torch bearers for commercial colleagues

c)????? Catalyst for data entry in CRM for much better market intelligence

d)???? Effective tracking and reporting

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I am personally a big advocate and user of data .In my professional experience I have certainly utilized the power of data by leveraging various tools like BI dash boards, Mekko charts, ACM matrix ,visibility dashboards which has helped me to do co-relation studies and do various gap analysis to take some informed decisions for not only developing effective marketing metrics for guaranteed ROIs but also helping overall health of business.

Closing Thoughts and Call to Action

As I conclude this inaugural edition of my newsletter, I urge readers to reflect on the evolution of B2B marketing and share their perspectives on its future trajectory.

-Are organizations investing enough in solidifying the role of B2B marketing?

-Have you been a catalyst for change in your field?

-Which areas are still uncovered by B2B marketers?

-What transformative marketing trends lie ahead?

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Thank you for taking the time to engage with my newsletter. I invite you to subscribe to join our community of Marketing Mavericks, where we explore, discuss, and unlock the potential of the ever-evolving field of B2B marketing.