B2B marketers will get used to the new normal, but what lessons have they learned and what trends do they identify for the future? In an upcoming article, I will explore various tactics to identify the opportunities these new trends in digital B2B marketing offer.
While COVID 19 has led to a massive shift to digital and face-to-face meetings and related sales activities, video and live chats have emerged as the preferred way to interact with B2B customers during sales and closing. Almost immediately, over 90% of B2B sales teams began working on the phone with video conferencing platforms.
Similarly, proactive B2B marketers should not wait for the market to point in a clear direction, but should anticipate the situation by developing marketing and communication strategies that offer alternative ways to reach customers in an unprecedented business communications environment. Content is key to interacting with your current customers, and since trust is a prerequisite for success, you need to promote your content in different ways. To be successful, a B2B marketer can find his unique sound, work in any format, and work with any format to succeed. Like a salesperson, they offer a unique perspective on the customer experience and a different way of communicating.
B2B marketers can work with many online channels and tactics to promote awareness, leads, sales and loyalty. B2B shoppers have cemented new habits so they can make a satisfactory online purchase. While shoppers are comfortable with big new purchases and online orders, there are also signs that digital sales are coming of age.
In fact, B2B shoppers say that their buying decisions are influenced more than any other marketing activity, including advertising and social media, by direct interaction. B2B Decision makers worldwide say that online and distance sales are the most important part of their marketing strategy, marketers need to focus on direct interaction with their customers, not just online marketing. How can B2B companies change their approach to digital marketing and the role of the digital in their business?
The root cause of this crisis is incomparable, but the current marketing mix is clearly different. The context in which B2B marketing and communication decisions are made will be unique, and the underlying causes of the crisis will cause the context to change.
What would be the change and what would be the new norm? Have we already entered the new era of B2B Marketing?
