This Week in Marketing: B2B Marketing Trends to Watch

As the cliché goes, “Change is the only constant in life.” Though the phrase is attributed to ancient philosopher Heraclitus, it may as well have been written for modern marketers.?

There are countless types of change that can affect our marketing strategy. Economic shifts can change buyers’ preferences about content consumption and when to engage with the sales team. Technological developments can greatly enhance our effectiveness—or leave us looking for new strategies (see the death of the third-party cookie, for example).

Change is certainly a constant in the world right now, in everything from politics to industry to the prices at the local grocery store. Each of these factors will change the most effective strategies for engaging your audience.

This issue we’re looking at emerging trends in B2B marketing and how marketers can prepare for what’s next. Read on for insights from the LinkedIn Collective and all over the web.

What to Read

6 Top Trends That Are Driving Creative B2B Marketing Forward (LinkedIn Collective): What words come to mind when you think of B2B marketing? Does your list include interactivity? Humor? Fun? It should. This piece offers real-world proof that creative content is driving success for B2B marketers.?

B2B Marketing in 2022: Marrying the Art and Science of Creativity (LinkedIn Collective): As B2B marketing trends towards a more creative approach, it’s important that marketers don’t leave their data-driven ways behind. Data should enhance and facilitate your creative approach. Kristen Allegri Williams explains how technology can unleash B2B marketing’s creative potential.

During Economic Downturns, Investing in Creativity Is More Essential Than Ever. Here’s Why. (LinkedIn Collective): Fear of recession can put marketing budgets on the chopping block. But as Kevin Ryan points out, cutting marketing during a slowdown is robbing the future to pay for the present. If you need to make the case to your C-suite, this article has great talking points.

B2B Marketers Must Embrace a New Vision of Lift-Based Metrics (CMSwire): Changes in buyer behavior, compounded with increased scrutiny of marketing’s contribution to the bottom line, have left many scrambling to prove ROI. Jennifer Torres proposes new metrics that can help show marketing’s contribution, even in long sales cycles with touchpoints across the organization.

What to Watch

Dark Social in B2B Marketing: What It Is and How to Harness It (Closing Time): One challenging trend for B2B marketers: How do you measure content engagement that happens in Slack channels, private messages, or other unseen places? Shama Hyder and Chip House break down the what and how of dark social in this quick video.

What to Know

B2B purchase timelines are getting longer, but some purchases are being escalated in the current environment, according to a Demand Gen study sponsored by Demandbase . The 2022 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey finds that:?

• 55% of respondents have seen their purchase timeline increase year over year
• Only 6% said their timeline had gotten shorter
• However, 38% say they have escalated some purchases related to specific business needs

The key takeaway for marketers: 63% said their top criterion for evaluating a vendor was “easy access to relevant content that speaks directly to my company.”

Make sure to follow the LinkedIn Collective for more insights.