The year 2021 follows unprecedented business disturbances caused by the pandemic. If you are operating your business in the B2B space, then you might be thinking about which approach concerning B2B marketing will help you to stay agile in an environment that will continue to be unpredictable.
However, the good news is we now have a robust understanding of what works and what doesn’t for B2B marketers. It all narrows down to planning, data, and having the right tools.
Research carried out by top B2B players that deals in multifuction milling machine, including Fortella, Salesforce, and McKinsey, highlights the efficacy of data-driven approaches for corporate growth. They portray a clear picture of the way marketing, data, sales alignment, and digital outreach converge to ignite growth.
Using B2B trend reports and firsthand experience, we have concluded what we think will be the promising B2B marketing strategies to focus on in 2021.
Devise a Comprehensive Data Management Strategy
In the Report of annual State of Marketing, Salesforce noted that almost 80% of the 7,000 B2B marketers described their client engagement strategy as data-driven. The survey they conducted was in February 2020 before the pandemic forced shutdowns and business disruptions were at their peak.
In the current year, data looks to be more important compared to the beginning of 2020; even if you are a multidirectional motion mixer manufacturer. Back then, the average number of data sources that marketers used was 10. The number is projected to shoot up to 12 in 2021.
Following are the top sources of consumer data ranked by popularity. They incorporate declared interests/preferences, transactional data, known digital identities, and offline identities.
B2B marketers can’t up to their marketing game without devising a comprehensive strategy covering customer data. The strategy must focus on
· data hygiene,
· integration,
· identity reconciliation and
· privacy
Assigning client data is the cornerstone for aligning your sales and marketing teams. It places both departments on the same page when we talk about driving revenue. Data, such as the best machine directory, also helps in customer segmentation, which, in return, facilitates personalization. This assures you to provide prospects and customers with a top-notch user experience.
Revenue Generation Must be the Focus of Your Marketing Strategy
2/3rd of the 117 seasoned B2B marketers, surveyed by Fortella, a revenue-marketing digital firm, said that revenue generation is their primary responsibility. The survey was conducted from August 2020 to November 2020.
The findings of Fortella correlate with the study conducted by Salesforce. Fortella found that account-based marketing (ABM), the approach that needs the alignment of sales and marketing teams, is now a standard marketing approach for all B2B companies.
Nearly 90% of B2B respondents indicated they are carrying an ABM program. Among those surveyed, 79% showed that their ABM program had been there for three or more years.
Successful revenue generation through B2B demands constant communication and data alignment across multiple disciplines. These include marketing, sales, and customer service. It also needs the correct tools in your stack of technology.
Fortella also reported that top B2B marketers have a 77% more chance to use a platform that has customer data. This is a tool, which creates a unified, persistent customer database that can access other systems and tools in your tech stack.
Embrace Virtual Selling and Digital Outreach
With health being a key concern, most B2B purchasing went digital last year. Sellers and buyers seem to prefer it. Thus it’s safe to conclude that virtual events must be a key factor in your marketing strategy in 2021.
McKinsey found that more than three-quarters of sellers and buyers now prefer being digital and remote human interaction over in-person interactions. The reasons include savings on travel expenses, ease of scheduling, and safety.
Expanding your B2B marketing game has become a lot easier. Digital meetings and events have the chance to reach prospects at every phase of the buying cycle irrespective of their location. Virtual events like conferences have evolved over the last year as people grew more comfortable with video chat. They are now savvy about the software for attending and deploying events.
Demand Gen Report (DGR) focused on how B2B companies can deploy virtual events for better engagement with prospects. As per DGR’s recent survey regarding the virtual event, 61% of marketers declared they felt positive about listening to keynote presentations from thought leaders and influencers during a virtual event.
Nearly 60% of the participants wanted to hear more from subject experts about specific issues, including what form of technology solutions could solve their problems.
Surrounding With Digital Transformation is the Way to Go
Data across the board. Whether it’s from Salesforce or McKinsey, points to a reliance on digital technology and tools to enable an effective approach towards B2B marketing.
You can’t get a comprehensive data strategy in the absence of comprehensive data tools. You need to have CDPs for unifying and cleaning data; CRMs for lead tracking and workflow automation, pipeline management, and CMS platforms for managing, storing, and sharing content.
The upcoming months might ignite more uncertainty. However, if you have a robust digital foundation, you can face any business weather whatever 2021 can bring out.
