As each year pass by, we see profound changes in the B2B marketing environment. We have already seen how technology got more intelligent, campaigns were tightly integrated, content marketing became more dynamic, and so on. These changes in the business world is a never-ending game because the expectations of customers keep growing every day. Hence it is valuable to sensibly look at what the current trends in the market are telling us. It can help a business understand where they are in the context at present and how can they move forward with the flow. To get you prepared, here’s a list of present-day B2B industry trends you can embrace in your quarterly plan now.
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In the B2B industry, decision-makers must be aware of their present status in the market based on where things are headed. Although trends keep change in various directions or disappear all at once, the idea of keeping up with trends is highly essential today. Pay attention to the patterns or trends now, and prevent your organizations from being left behind.
Top 10 Trends Shaping the B2B Industries Today
1. Personalize your strategies to befriend the customers
- 77% of customers have picked, suggested, or paid more for a brand that offers a personalized experience or service. [Source: Forrester]
- 59% of customers say that personalization influences their purchasing decision. [Source: Infosys]
- 81% of buyers want brands to know their interests and learn the right time to approach them. [Source: Accenture]
“Instead of one-way interruption, personalized marketing is about delivering value at just the right moment that a user needs it.” ~ David Meerman Scott
2. Adoption of mobile marketing to stay smart throughout
- Up to 70% of web traffic comes from a mobile device. [Source: CIO Dive]
- 51% of buyers say that they use mobile phones to discover new brands and products. [Source: BrightEdge]
- Mobile drives an average of more than 40% of revenue in top B2B organizations. [Source: Google]
“Mobile is not the future, it is the now. Meet your customers in the environment of their choice, not where it is convenient for you.” ~ Cyndie Shaffstall
3. Smart chatbots for fabulous customer experience
- Google Trends reveals that the search number using chatbots has raised by 19 times in the last 5 years. [Source: Medium]
- 37% of Americans prefer chatbots to get an immediate answer in an emergency. [Source: Convince & Convert]
- 25% of customer service operations will be managed by chatbot technology by 2020. [Source: Gartner]
“Always keep in mind the old retail adage: Customers remember the service a lot longer than they remember the price.” ~Lauren Freedman
4. Long form content helps you stay longer
- 50% of bloggers who write long-form content report excellent results. [Source: Orbit Media]
- The average blog length of each of the top 10 search results was more than 2,000 words. [Source: SerpIQ]
- Long-form content is said to outperform shorter content by 40.54%. [Source: Marketing Experiments]
“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” ~Leo Burnett
5. Account-based marketing will never stop growing
- 87% of marketers that measure ROI claim that ABM outperforms other marketing investment. [Source: ITSMA]
- 60% of firms that use ABM saw an increase in revenue by at least 10% within 12 months. [Source: Demandbase]
- 85% of marketers say ABM provides significant benefits to retain and grow existing client relationships. [Source: Marketo]
“Account Based Marketing is a strategic approach that coordinates personalized marketing and sales efforts to open doors and deepen engagement at specific accounts.” ~ Jon Miller
6. Influencer marketing to upsurge the brand value
- Businesses generate $6.50 on average for every $1 invested in influencer marketing. [Source: Tomoson]
- 49% of the audience say they trust the recommendations from influencers when making buying decisions. [Source: Twitter]
- Influencer marketing brings 11X higher ROI than traditional forms of marketing. [Source: TapInfluence]
“Influencer marketing is the first real consumer-driven marketing channel. It’s real people talking to real people.” ~ Todd Cameron
7. Social selling is more likely to reach target now
- 84% of C-level and VP-level buyers are influenced by social media while purchasing. [Source: IDG]
- 76% of B2B technology companies use social media to drive results.[Source: MarketingProfs]
- LinkedIn is effective by 277% in generating leads than Facebook. [Source: HubSpot]
“If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.” ~ Jeff Bezos
8. Email marketing is still useful in today’s world
- Email is effective by 40 times at acquiring new leads than Facebook or Twitter. [Source: McKinsey]
- The U.S is predicted to spend over 350 million dollars on email advertising in 2019. [Source: Statista]
- Email marketing is capable of driving $44 for every $1 spent. [Source: Campaign Monitor]
“Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches – at scale.” ~ David Newman
9. Engage your customers with brand storytelling
- 92% of customers want brands to design ads that feel like a story and not just stats. [Source: Forbes]
- 64% of the audience says shared values are the leading cause they have a relationship with a brand. [Source: Harvard Business Review]
- Brands that connect with their customers on an emotional level make twice the impact than others. [Source: LinkedIn]
“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” – Jonathan Gottschall
10. Video emerges as a leader like always
- Online buyers who view demonstration videos are 1.81X more likely to purchase from you than non-viewers. [Source: DMB Adobe]
- 43% of the audience are expecting more video content from marketers in the future. [Source: HubSpot]
- Viewers retain 95% of a message by watching a video compared to 10% when reading a text. [Source: Forbes]
“Business decision makers love online video because it gives them the most amount of information in the shortest amount of time.” ~ Robert Weiss