Proof of this is that B2B buyers conduct an average of 12 online searches before engaging with a specific brand’s website. Furthermore, many of them expect to experience the same digital experience they receive in B2C when purchasing B2B products or services. As if the B2B marketing process wasn’t already complex enough, it is estimated that the B2B marketing funnel has become larger, with more indicators involved until the final purchase.
This means that businesses operating in the retail email list B2B segment need to create experiences that not only capture customers' attention during the buying process, but also move them through the buying journey towards the sale.
Understanding this new behavior of B2B consumers, as well as the way they interact with different digital channels and market trends, is key to impacting today's B2B customer.
Just to give you a brief idea of the environment we will face in the next decade, digital marketing spending in 2020 is expected to consume 50% of the budget for all media worldwide.
In this scenario, Inbound Marketing also emerges strongly for B2B, combined with the fact that 55% of consumers in this segment make decisions based on third-party reviews and recommendations (popular word-of-mouth marketing) while only 22% prefer a traditional salesperson, according to data from Hubspot's State of Inbound report in 2018.
All about Inbound Marketing
The marketers who will be most successful in 2020 will be those who carefully monitor all the trends in the industry to guide their actions accordingly. Knowing the trends that promise to impact the B2B market will be essential for you to be successful in your business.
And so that you don't get lost in this world of new developments in the upcoming decade, we have separated some points that promise to be the big trends for B2B marketing in 2020 so that you can understand your customer's perspective in the years to come.
Marketing content production will be vital for lead generation in 2020
According to the CMI (Content Marketing Institute), 91% of B2B marketers will use content marketing to reach their target audience. And the key to the success of these campaigns in 2020 will be updating strategies in light of new market realities.
Nowadays, B2B customers consume content in many different formats. A study by Forrester shows that around 70% of these consumers watch videos about the product , brand or service they want to purchase during their purchasing journey, a fact that has already mobilized marketing professionals to add channels such as YouTube and Facebook Video to their strategic plans.
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Although video has gained an important and promising space for digital marketing, written content should not be forgotten in 2020. The production of long-form content (with more than 1000 words) will still be the most effective strategy for B2B marketing in 2020 because audiences are increasingly showing interest in content that provides a complete view on a topic.
In this scenario, working with White Papers (documents that delve into a specific problem and address causes, concepts and solutions with detailed information) can be a great strategy. This is because around 79% of B2B consumers share White Papers with business partners, according to CMI's B2B content marketing research.
Check out the infographic below, produced with data from the Content Marketing Institute, to see how content marketing specifically for B2B has evolved over the last three years.
Evolution of Digital Marketing for B2B
Personalized communication will be key
Personalization is the process of producing communication for an individual based on their characteristics and preferences. Producing personalized communication , according to the needs of your audience, can be very effective during the marketing and sales process, as well as in creating bonds with your customer base.
B2B consumers are aware of the number of options available to them when they are close to making a decision, and according to SalesForce’s State of the Consumer report, 72% of them expect companies to communicate in a personalized way, tailored to their needs. This shows why it is more important than ever to maximize the competitiveness of your business .
