Not a month passes without something being heralded as the next big thing. Luckily we’re here to sort the wheat from the chaff, and help B2B marketers figure out what they should really be thinking about this year. By Gemma Huckle and Alex Aspinall
Visual marketing: Happening
Visual marketing – images, charts, illustrations, videos – is a trend that has developed substantially in the last couple of years thanks to the explosion in advancing technology and its accessibility, and the shifting habits of users. At last, businesses are learning to show, not tell.
The need for brands to get to the point quicker is the result of a new breed of customer. Users are more likely to engage with images and video as they struggle to digest the vast amount of information bombarding them on a daily basis. Rather than risk losing audiences, customers or prospects, brands are evolving to deliver snappier and imaginative visuals that can, in some cases, naturally develop in to viral marketing campaigns. Visual content is now the primary method audiences use to decide quickly whether or not they want to learn more, so it’s imperative that brands get used to engaging with their audiences in this way. GH
4G: Hype
Even before EE paved the way for quicker mobile speeds in the UK, people were discussing how important 4G would be and postulating about all the new avenues it would open up for marketers and their mobile-friendly brands. We may even have got a little carried away ourselves at one point.
But 4G, in itself, isn’t something B2B marketers should be specifically worrying about. The reason is simple: 4G doesn’t really change the rules of mobile engagement. Whether people are accessing your website or consuming your content over 3G, 4G or via a wifi connection you still need to make sure it is correctly optimised for mobile, offering the experience a mobile visitor expects.
One day, when technology like 4G is the norm, marketers may well have to change the way they approach mobile delivery, but for now it’s definitely not something that needs to be keeping marketers up at night. AA
Personalisation: Happening
This one is pretty solid. In fact, ‘happening’ is a very appropriate label because the B2B brands best navigating the digital landscape can be seen to be placing personalisation at the heart of all they do.
‘Personalisation’ doesn’t have to mean reaching the Holy Grail of creating entirely unique data-driven experiences to each and every one of your prospects, it just means not treating them as one homogenous mass of potential profit.
For example, it’s not that difficult to draw up a series of ‘personas’ and serve content based on which of three client types a prospect may fall in to.
Technology is also here to make moving towards contextual content and personalised marketing messages a reality for even the smallest companies. Marketing automation platforms, when coupled with the insight garnered from implementing lead scoring and nurturing procedures, are incredibly useful for the marketer looking to add the personal touch to their communications. The days of spray and pray are over; the move towards personalisation is well under way. AA
The Internet of Things: Hype
While the Internet of Things – the idea that we’ll soon be seeing a raft of new connected devices such as fridges, cars and TVs all joining the digital conversation hosted by the internet – is certainly an incredibly exciting development set to transform many aspects of how we interact with the world in the coming years, it is not something that’s going to revolutionise the world of B2B marketing anytime soon. And anyone that says otherwise is either overly addicted to Mashable or several years ahead of themselves.
While it’s not impossible to imagine a situation in the future where a client’s connected stock monitoring system could inform you that they’ll soon be looking to purchase replacement products, triggering an automated and highly personalised campaign in real-time, we’re not there yet.
If you recall how long it took to convince the naysayers about the viability of social media in B2B, you begin to gain some idea about how quickly the industry is likely to take up machine-to-machine conversations. AA
LinkedIn Endorsements: Hype
When LinkedIn announced its ‘Endorsement’ feature last year I had a flood of emails telling me my connections were endorsing me. Now that’s thankfully slowed to a regular trickle. But I haven’t endorsed anyone. The reason? It’s not that I don’t care about helping other people boost their professional profile, it’s because this flawed function doesn’t add any value in my eyes. If I want to ‘endorse’ someone I’m not going to spend a couple of seconds ticking a few boxes that show the person in question holds a particular set of skills, because that isn’t helpful to anyone. I’d much rather write a testimony that acknowledges their abilities and personality to give a much rounder view of the individual. But it is also worth saying fair play to those people who ask for a written
recommendation in exchange for providing one for you – at least there’s more brainpower involved for both parties. GH
Content: Happening
The phrase ‘brand journalism’ has been floating about for some time, but it is those creating content based on the core principles of journalism (for example, impartiality and integrity) that are delivering authentic brand storytelling. Creating content that achieves genuine thought leadership will give the marketing department more authority and power in the boardroom when it comes to adding scientific foundation and weight to arguments. To achieve this, marketers will need to prioritise editorial planning to further strengthen their content agendas and attain transparency. Planning content around audience personas will also give it more pertinence, but where content will really come alive is when brands give their audience a voice by reaching out to them, crowdsourcing information to enable customers to contribute to the dialogue. Not only will this empower audiences, it will secure higher engagement levels and push content shareability. GH
Sales alignment: Happening
Having recognised the rise of the digitally empowered buyer, many B2B marketers have been left scratching their heads trying to figure how they can still participate in the conversations they used to own. One solution that seems to have gathered some momentum is that of sales and marketing alignment. And when you look in to it, it’s hard to conclude that working more closely with the old enemy isn’t the best bet. After all, despite all the past arguments and lack of co-operation, both departments are actually both working towards very similar goals, or at least they should be.
Facilitating sales and marketing alignment requires technological, ideological and structural adjustments, and it’s far from easily achieved, but the rewards available for the companies willing to take on the challenge are significant. AA
Google+: Hype
When it comes to Google+, the B2B marketing community seems to be divided into two distinct camps: those who see it as another useful social network, and those who aren’t currently leveraging its full use, not getting past the point of setting up a profile page and uploading posts sporadically. I know what I’m about to say is contentious, but I’m going to say it anyway: it’s the wrong time for Google+. Even though the site boasts an impressive 300 million active users, time spent on the site is significantly less than other social sites. The reason for this could be there’s not enough engaging content for users to consume and share, or – more realistically – users don’t want to abandon other social profiles they’ve spent years working on in order to make time for another one. And when it comes to B2B brands, they’re still having a lot of trouble getting their heads around Twitter and Facebook, let alone Google+. GH
Customer centricity: Happening
Giving the customer what they want, and to a slightly lesser extent believing the customer is always right, are pretty sound business lessons that have stood the test of time. Few would argue against these principles, yet customer centricity isn’t always particularly obvious in some of the B2B marketing efforts we see. The good news, however, is that 2014 may well be the year all this changes.
Towards the end of 2013, B2B Marketing partnered with EY to investigate how much the average B2B marketer thinks about customer centricity. The research found that marketers are increasingly recognising the importance of customer centricity, and that they intend to become more customer centric through technology adoption, as well as through adopting new working practices. We’ll be eagerly monitoring to see if these best intentions turn into reality. AA
Corporate social responsibility: Happening
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a powerful tool for B2B brands expected to openly demonstrate they’re doing things for the greater good. B2B brands have been quick to recognise that highlighting what they’re doing for the environment, sustainability practices, employee wellbeing, diversity, equal opportunities and more, can have a positive impact on brand and improve prospects’ perceptions of brand strength. Companies continuing to prove they have purpose beyond profit are winning and maintaining customers’ and prospects’ trust. GH
