How is B2B marketing getting transformed?

B2B sales are not what they were half a decade back, it is definitely on the verge of a revolution. There are a number of trends completely redefining what it will take to be a market leader over the next few years.

 

 

What was effective some years ago has already lost its sheen or is steadily fading away to give way to newer concepts and ideas. And there are some potentially powerful tactics that have been overlooked for long that need to be relooked at and employed for better sales and marketing.

For example, a lot of fast-growing companies are now using advanced analytics to profoundly improve their sales productivity and drive double-digit sales growth with marginal additions in their sales teams and cost base.
Also with the radical changes in buyers’ preferences, with buyers being more content-driven, tech-savvy, and comfortable engaging via myriad channels, the tables have definitely turned. This has led to the rise of a new breed of sales leaders who bring technical expertise and a strategic mindset. This is also giving sales organizations a makeover, with a sharp drop in field sales and marketing, and rapid growth in inside sales and analytics teams.
So what are the channels that marketers have been using?

One of the most universal B2B content marketing practice is blogging. According to research undertaken, the numbers revealed that 79% B2B companies have a blog.

And this shouldn’t really come across as a surprise because blogs are the core element in Content Marketing. And as the market reveals, statistics have a story to tell:

97% more inbound links are generated by regularly blogging companies. This leads to higher search engine ranking and a higher likelihood of being found.

Along with other SEO strategies, blogging 2-3 times a week can lead to a 177% traffic increase.
B2B companies that regularly blog generate 67% more sales leads than non-blogging companies.
Though there are enough proof and even consensus among marketers that blogging is productive, there are also areas where views differ.

Marketers now think differently about email marketing, event marketing and some other domains such as a mix of inbound vs. outbound marketing tactics

With regards to email and event marketing, it mainly is about the execution that was the bone of contention for marketers. So, even if using email marketing with rented third-party lists for a Lead Generation doesn’t yield great results, maybe using it for lead nurturing will throw up surprising outcomes.

And with event marketing, it is another ball game altogether. While marketers whined about the high cost of live events, they also accepted that events often result in some of the highest-quality leads.
Lastly, when we come to inbound vs. outbound marketing, four out of five study participants said they were trying various mixes for the coming year—with an even split between planning to do more inbound and less outbound, and those planning to do the opposite.

Looking for other options such as Partner Marketing Programs
Even though partner marketing programs were overlooked and not used widely, there is suddenly a huge wave of interest in it as marketers claim now.

With benefits
like:

• Reaching new audience
• Expanding brand awareness
• Aiding with SEO
• Driving website traffic
• Enhancing reputation