B2B Digital Marketing Trends in 2020
Quick answer: This 2020 article highlighted B2B digital marketing trends centred on personalisation: tailoring communications to individual buyers’ preferences, using marketing automation to personalise at scale, and improving email marketing with dynamic content and AI. The underlying principle is timeless: understand your target markets and give buyers relevant content or they may switch to competitors.
This article is a continuation from B2B Digital Marketing Best Practices in 2020
Digital Marketing Trends for 2020
Personalization tops the strategy for both marketing and sales in 2020. An astounding 72% of buyers expect B2B companies to personalize communications in a way that suits their needs3. These buyers will quickly switch to another company that they believe will cater to their requirements better. All communications should be tailored to individual buyer’s preferences. Learn more about your target markets to drive sales effectively and grow your customer base. Craft content for all your audience segments using various marketing automation programs can help you to personalize at scale. According to HubSpot Research, email is considered the preferred method of business communication for most business decision-makers4. Mailchimp studied emails from 50 industries to find out that the average open rate is only 21.33%5. This can be overcome with dynamic content and AI – making your email marketing stronger and more useful than ever before.
Second to personalization is Account-Based Marketing (ABM), which can be a particularly effective tactic for B2B companies. ABM takes personalization one step further – it is a highly focused business strategy in which a marketing team treats an individual prospect or customer like its very own market. The marketing team can create content, events and campaigns dedicated to the stakeholders associated with that account. Why is ABM beneficial to B2B? It is useful for those handling accounts of organizations with multiple buyers or stakeholders – this poses more business opportunities within the organizations they serve, which have not been tapped into yet.
The third most popular strategy for companies is Video Marketing. Video is a versatile, engaging content that only gives us a real-life picture of what’s going on, but it is easily shareable across multiple platforms. Consumers like it because it’s easy to digest and entertaining. Marketers like it due to its potentially huge ROI through many channels. On a technical level, video not only informs and educates but is it also great for SEO. Video is great for keeping companies ahead of their competition by boosting conversions and not to mention the personalization bit. Video helps with social media marketing efforts and engage people more on websites and emails.
Final thoughts
List all digital assets such as websites, blogs or social media pages. Look for successful assets that have helped generate leads or close sales and ascertain if they received the most visits, clicks or shares. This will provide insight into what has been working well. Companies can’t afford to ignore digital marketing if they want to stay competitive. As the world becomes more connected, digital marketing will continue to drive innovation on the internet, just as the internet drives innovation in digital marketing.
References:
Image Credit : Getty Image
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2019/12/02/five-b2b-marketing-trends-to-watch-in-2020/#2930d712743b
https://www.business2community.com/b2b-marketing/9-b2b-marketing-trends-to-watch-in-2020-02262330
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/account-based-marketing-guide
https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/the-importance-of-video-marketing
Key takeaways
- Tailor communications to individual B2B buyer preferences.
- Marketing automation enables personalisation at scale.
- Email remains a preferred channel for decision-makers.
- Dynamic content and AI can strengthen email marketing.
Frequently asked questions
Why is personalisation important in B2B marketing?
B2B buyers expect companies to understand their needs and may switch to a supplier that caters to them better. Tailored communications help build relevance and loyalty.
How can marketing automation help B2B companies personalise?
Automation programs let marketers segment audiences and deliver tailored content to each segment without manual effort, making personalisation possible at scale.
Is email still effective for B2B communication?
The article cited HubSpot research that email is the preferred business communication method for most decision-makers. Mailchimp data put average open rates at 21.33%, which dynamic content and AI can help improve.
How can 90 Degrees Asia help with B2B digital marketing?
90 Degrees Asia is a Singapore-based B2B digital marketing agency that helps companies across APAC with LinkedIn marketing, content and lead generation. Its team can plan, run and measure campaigns tailored to your market and audience.
Want help applying this in your market? Talk to 90 Degrees Asia about B2B marketing across APAC.
