We’re always trying to find a marketing strategy that would reduce the buyer’s journey while allowing us to upsell and cross-sell. For the most part, this evolution is driven by technology. Just think about all the software that has become an integral part of our workplace in 2021 and 2022.
The following year will be no different. In 2023, brands will continue leveraging SaaS and PaaS to produce better results. Automation will be the name of the game, and early adopters will have a major head start.
However, we can’t just focus on software. We also have to consider customer preferences. Nowadays, young entrepreneurs are more concerned about their environmental and social impact than dominating the market. So, if you’re looking to increase B2B sales, your company will have to align with this mindset.
Without further ado, let’s go through 10 marketing trends that will reign supreme in 2023!
1. Focus on specific B2B audience
Focusing on a specific target audience was always the name of the game and is especially important for B2B campaigns. As the global market is continuously shrinking, brands will have to specialize in specific products and services. Otherwise, they run the risk of losing their entire audience.
So, what are some of the benefits of a focused approach?
- Simplifies and streamlines marketing efforts.
- Makes it easier to retain customers.
- Reduces product and service development costs.
- Reduces the need for developing new marketing channels.
- Increases overall profitability.
- Prevents mixed messaging.
Sales and marketing teams are often worried that focusing on just one segment of visitors will narrow down the market. Many businesses think that reaching a broader audience instantly means more money. But this isn’t necessarily true.
If you think about it, by pinpointing a specific demographic, you’re actually increasing your reach. People with certain buyer expectations will start flocking to your brand as they know you’re the best solution for their particular needs. In that regard, a focused approach will allow you to reach new customers while simultaneously increasing customer retention.
Most importantly, a focused approach allows you to differentiate between regular users and businesses. When you cater to a B2B audience and avoid B2C interaction, you won’t have to spend resources on people who aren’t your primary users.
2. Adopt your messaging for young generations
As already mentioned, you should adopt your messaging according to the target audience. One of the points of emphasis is changing your brand policies to accommodate young users.
We’re witnessing tectonic shifts in the workplace. Older employees often find it hard to keep up with technological advancements, which is why many companies consist of 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds. Most of these guys are socially and environmentally active, which makes them very selective when looking for business partners.
Whether you’re looking to dominate B2C or B2B market, you need to show your social engagement. A brand should stand behind a certain cause and talk about it in its corporative messaging. Things such as social justice and the environment are your best bets.
It’s also a fantastic idea to create messaging according to industry. For example, businesses that sell healthy food should also be advocates of a healthy lifestyle. Organizations that offer pet products should be involved in pet rights, etc.
3. Invest in public relations
B2B selling can be very different from B2C selling. For once, the contract sizes are usually larger, and you have fewer clients. Of course, this might vary from product to product.
Given that B2B purchases are usually data-driven, an organization takes its time to find the best solution. These customers are rarely impulsive, which is why marketing tricks are less likely to work. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that clients are completely detached from their emotions.
You can easily sway potential leads with smart PR. Here are a few potential benefits of these campaigns:
- Increase reputation and authority.
- Help explain product/service features.
- Quickens the buyer’s journey.
- Improve your SEO, SMM, and other marketing efforts.
- The first step of thought leadership.
PR campaigns are important for long-term brand sustainability and better customer relationships. They open many doors putting you in a position to become the industry leader. So, they can do much more for your company than simply increasing B2B sales.
Keep in mind that this strategy goes hand-in-hand with some other marketing methods. For example, when featured on another site, you’ll also get a link back to your blog that will boost your B2B SEO. Even if it initially seems that these practices have no impact on your sales, the benefits will slowly start piling up.
4. Stimulate user-generated content
Word-of-mouth marketing was always the best way of promoting a brand. Customers excited about your products and services will start spreading the good word across social media, online reviews, forums, and other digital marketing channels.
Not only is user-generated content good for increasing reputation, but it also allows you to start an online discourse. When someone praises your business, you can respond to them directly in comments, thus improving customer experience. It’s the best method of humanizing a brand and connecting with a wider audience.
This practice will also expedite a purchase decision for those who are still not sure about your products. User-generated content creates a bridge of trust that can’t be replicated by any traditional content marketing strategy.
5. Analyze user data
Whether you’re focusing on website traffic or social media marketing, you have to put emphasis on user data.
Nowadays, your organic results are highly dependent on metrics such as time spent on site, click-through rate, bounce rate, etc. By checking info within popular SEO and SMM tools, you can significantly improve your performance across the board.
How do search engines utilize this data?
- Google, Instagram, and other social platforms give an advantage to content with high CTR (click-through rate). For example, if you have provocative titles and thumbnails, users will start clicking on your YouTube videos at a higher rate. However, this is just the beginning.
- When a person lands on your web page or social media content, they’ll start interacting with the post. If they immediately bounce back from the page, this is a sign that your title, meta description, or image was misleading. This can seriously downgrade your visibility.
- On the other hand, if they stay and consume the entire post, it will send a strong signal to the search engine. The algorithm will show the post to more and more people, and as long as they continue interacting, it will retain its high visibility.
- Ideally, people should continue browsing through your channel, social media profile, or website after seeing this post. This shows us they were so enthralled by the piece they wanted to see more stuff from you.
Your preferred choice of tool will vary based on the platform. For example, if you wish to analyze website metrics, you’ll use something such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, or AhRefs. On the other hand, social media influencers benefit more from software like Sprout Social.
Keep in mind that each of the metrics should be seen in a vacuum and combined with other factors. High CTR with low time spent on the page indicates clickbait. High time on page with low CTR indicates lousy titles but good content.
Data analysis is especially important for brands looking to entice B2B clients. If you’re getting fewer and fewer visitors but have higher site conversion, this can indicate that you nailed your brand messaging.
6. Use streaming and video-based content
Video marketing isn’t anything new. It has been an integral part of marketing strategies for more than ten years. Many businesses use it to enhance their blog post and increase organic visibility. Just by having this type of content on your site, you can significantly increase time spent on the page, but also other metrics.
Other businesses use videos for social media. Whether they’re creating their own or sharing someone else’s, it’s a fantastic way to increase engagement with visitors and give some life to your brand.
On the other hand, streaming is relatively new. It’s a crucial part of influencer marketing, allowing web entrepreneurs to connect with their audience via Twitch and other platforms.
Unfortunately, most large brands aren’t sure how to implement video streaming into their daily routine. They might think their service or product is too inflexible. Why would anyone want to watch a video that talks about steel, ball bearings, or power tools?
Nevertheless, just about any brand can implement streaming into their routine. Even if you’re in the most boring industry ever, you can talk about the current market trends. Alternatively, you can go in a completely different direction and create something entertaining. Just make sure that your spokesperson has enough charisma.
7. Consider using AI for content
In the last year or so, AI-generated content has created massive turmoil within the digital marketing industry. Companies are facing a choice of whether or not to accept this technology. Here are some pros and cons of adopting this software.
Pros
- Basically eliminates your content costs.
- Allows you to cover more ground faster.
Cons
- Often impersonal and stiff.
- It doesn’t include CTA and other sales tricks.
- After reading enough posts, you can differentiate between AI and humans.
Despite all the benefits, AI-generated content might not be the best choice for B2B marketing. Your posts need to sway well-informed leads into buying from your brand. So, if you have generic articles on your blog, you won’t be able to create an emotional connection with a business owner.
We yet have to see the impact of this technology on modern marketing. Some companies have already made massive layoffs and have started using AI-generated pieces for their blogs. Even though these articles are fantastic in quality, they probably don’t convert as well as human-made pieces.
Although this is obviously a marketing trend that has taken the world by storm, we still can’t recommend it to our readers.
8. Use multi-channel approach
While companies should stay consistent with their messaging and focus on a particular audience, they need to use different channels.
The reason for this is simple: there are too many social media. Some guys will spend most of their days on YouTube, while others will prefer Instagram. By sharing your post on different platforms, you can reach all potential leads.
Multi-platform outreach is much easier nowadays than it was ten years ago. You have powerful tools to run email, PPC, and SMM campaigns. For example, single software allows you to share the same post on numerous different social media.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should spread too thin. Find several methods that work best for your industry and stick with them. If you need to invest ten work hours to get hundred visitors on Pinterest, it’s probably not worth the investment.
Here are a few popular channels you should consider:
- Organic website traffic.
- Paid ads.
- Affiliate marketing.
- Email outreach.
- Various social platforms.
- Live events.
Ideally, you should experiment with different channels until you find your perfect marketing mix. Perform A/B testing, and invest in just about any channel that might seem lucrative. Keep in mind that certain platforms are better for specific industries, but you might also find ways to benefit from less-common approaches.
9. Improve products through CRM
Back in the day, negative online reviews were perceived as nothing more than a nuisance. Companies were trying to put out fires by discrediting these posters or using other sneaky strategies. But as time went by, the commercial entities realized that the negative feedback could actually benefit them.
In the last few years, there’s been an increased trend of using user data to improve their offer. Brands that enhance products and services, according to online feedback, make significantly higher sales. What’s better, they usually have much higher customer retention.
CRM, or customer relationship management, has become an integral part of modern B2B sales. Some companies go as far as to assign dedicated account managers that would help existing customers with all their needs.
10. Emphasize data protection
We’re already seeing a significant shift in how companies use client data.
Just a few years ago, it was common for sites to include numerous cookies and trackers that would extrapolate emails. As time went by, the users began to understand this is a highly exploitative practice that can even endanger their private data.
Of course, you’ll always need cookies to save your log-in data, preferences, and stuff of that nature. But you don’t actually have to receive email spam. So, brands are slowly starting to revise their marketing policies. Nowadays, users can choose the exact cookie they wish to allow and if they want to allow them altogether.
The need for data protection is crucial for B2B clients. In the end, no one wants to deal with brands that would jeopardize their security or resell their data to third parties.
If you’re looking for a reputable B2B SEO agency, give the MiroMind team a call!