Transforming B2B Marketing: Embrace the Latest Tech Trends and Stay Ahead

Co-author: Katherine Hood Art Director, Design Thinker, Fusing Creativity with Market Intelligence

Change is the Only Constant, Especially in B2B Marketing

Remember how the adoption of the internet and social media totally changed the game? Think about it: old-school paste-ups were taken over by software tools like PageMaker and Quark. And then they were taken over by other, more powerful tools. What history shows us is that those who didn’t keep up were eventually left behind. Now, we're talking about AI and virtual reality, technologies that are completely transforming how we engage with our customers and setting new standards in marketing. So, how can our in-house MarCom teams get ready and really take advantage of these technologies in their daily work?

First, let's start by reviewing some of the latest technologies that are going to impact the way in which we engage with our customers. Then, we'll guide you through six practical steps to help you integrate these innovations into your team's day-to-day activities.

Let's Talk Tech

AI and Conversational Marketing: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are now delivering real-time and immediate solutions for customers, enhancing their satisfaction, and driving conversions through personalized experiences. The use of AI-powered chatbots can streamline the customer journey, reduce the time that sales teams spend on preliminary inquiries, and allow them to focus on closing deals and building relationships.

For example, when a prospective client visits a company's website interested in solutions for remote team collaboration, the AI chatbot initiates a conversation, asking intuitive questions to understand the client's specific needs, such as team size, project complexity, and requirements. Based on the responses, the chatbot can make recommendations and even guide the client through a customized demo scheduled at their convenience.

Virtual and Augmented Reality: The lines between the digital and the real world are blurring further with VR and AR technologies, offering B2B marketers unique ways to engage with their customers. Whether through VR showrooms or AR apps, these technologies change how we conceive marketing experiences. VR and AR can give customers a deeper understanding of your products or services without visiting a physical location. This immersive experience can allow clients to make more informed decisions about purchasing, leading to higher satisfaction and increased sales conversion rates.

VR and AR interactions also provide valuable insights into clients’ interests and behaviors, which could be tailored for future marketing and product development strategies. And imagine the impact these technologies have on lowering logistical headaches and expenses.

Picture a potential client interested in upgrading their manufacturing line visiting a virtual showroom where they can “walk” through and interact with different models of machinery and even simulate the equipment’s operation within a typical factory setting to understand their functionality and whether they fit their specific needs.

Hyper-Personalization with Big Data: Utilizing big data and analytics is influencing the personalization of marketing efforts. Hyper-personalization involves using insights from various customer touchpoints to customize content, recommendations, and ads to individual preferences, driving engagement and loyalty.

For example, a B2B software company specializing in CRM solutions leverages big data and analytics to create a hyper-personalized email campaign aimed at various industries, each with their own challenges and different needs from a CRM solution. The software company uses information from previous interactions with customers, support queries, and integration preferences to customize the campaign.

By using machine learning algorithms, the company analyzes past email interactions to determine the best send time to drive open and engagement rates. The content of the emails is dynamically generated based on the customers' previous interactions with the company's website products, ensuring relevance.?

Email recipients feel as though the company understands their specific business needs, and the personalized emails' relevant content fosters loyalty and stronger relationships with the software company.

The Shift Towards Short-Form Video Content: The rise of platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts is becoming increasingly important for B2B companies, particularly given today's modern content consumption trends. Although using videos to market products and services is not a new concept, the trend of short-format videos for B2B is. These can help you reach a broad, diverse demographic, including influencers—yes, even for B2B marketing—who can actively demonstrate your products or services in action.

They are also vital for storytelling, allowing you to create narratives around your products, showcase their benefits, and demonstrate complex solutions in an accessible way. Short-form videos are easy to share and highly engaging, which can increase brand visibility. They can also be more cost-effective to produce than traditional television or long-form content, allowing companies of all sizes to participate.

The interactive nature of these platforms ensures immediate feedback through comments and metrics, which can assist with refining marketing strategies or product offerings. Videos on YouTube are often prominently displayed in search engine results, which can improve your company’s online presence and SEO.

Preparing for a Cookieless Future: As third-party cookies phase out, the importance of first-party data and contextual advertising grows. This shift requires MarCom teams to rethink strategies for audience targeting and engagement, focusing on privacy and data security.

Take, for instance, a B2B office supplies distributor. Previously reliant on third-party cookies for targeting office managers and procurement teams, they now focus on gathering first-party data through their website by encouraging visitors to fill out contact forms for free sample packs or sign up for exclusive webinars.

At the same time, they're ramping up contextual advertising. Instead of using generic web ads, they're placing ads on business management and workplace efficiency blogs, directly aligning with topics their target audience cares about. This not only respects privacy but also enhances the relevance of their ads.

The emphasis is shifting towards gathering first-party data and strategically placing ads where they matter most, ensuring that marketing remains both effective and compliant.

How Do You Prepare for Integration of Emerging Technologies?

As these emerging technologies become increasingly important and central to your marketing plans, MarCom departments need to proactively prepare for their integration. Here are six ways to equip your MarCom team to embrace these new technologies:

1. Staff Training and Development: As technologies evolve, so must the skills of your MarCom staff. As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, teams should receive ongoing training in new software and technologies that will impact their field, including VR/AR applications and AI-driven tools such as chatbots and data analysis software. This ensures they can effectively utilize these tools to enhance marketing efforts.
2. Investment in Technology Infrastructure: To fully leverage these new advancements, MarCom departments must invest in the necessary technological infrastructure. This could include upgrading hardware and software and securing data analytics platforms that can handle large datasets with sensitivity to privacy and security guidelines.
3. Adapting Strategy for New Media Forms: With the rise of short-form video content and immersive experiences, MarCom departments should adapt their content strategies to include these forms. This might involve producing more video content adapted for platforms like TikTok or developing interactive AR experiences that can be used in digital marketing campaigns.
4. Enhancing Customer Data Management: As the importance of hyper-personalization grows, MarCom departments must enhance their customer data management practices. This includes collecting and analyzing data across various touchpoints to create detailed customer profiles and personalized marketing campaigns. Effective management of this data also involves ensuring compliance with data privacy laws and regulations.
5. Preparing for a Cookieless Future: With the decline of third-party cookies, MarCom teams need to shift their focus to first-party data collection and contextual advertising. They should develop strategies to collect more direct data from customers through interactions and transactions and use this data to impact their marketing strategies.
6. Building Cross-Functional Collaboration: To effectively manage the overlap between technology and marketing, MarCom departments should foster closer collaboration with IT and product development teams. This ensures that all teams are aligned on the capabilities and uses of new technologies, leading to more integrated and effective marketing strategies.

Adapting to Change: Your Role in the Future of B2B Marketing

As we keep up with how new technologies are reshaping our ways of connecting with customers, it's clear that staying ahead of trends is vital for any MarCom team's success. Like we've discussed before, adapting to change, driving innovation, and continuously upgrading our skills are key to thriving in this fast-evolving digital world. We'd love to hear from you, how is your team bringing these new technologies into your marketing strategies?