Key B2B Marketing Trends to watch out for in 2021 and Beyond

The only way for businesses to survive 2021 is to embrace the ongoing digital

transformation. Recovery as well as growth for any organization in the post-pandemic era

depends on how well they utilize the available marketing strategies. As conventional

outbound marketing strategies are no longer 'safe,' digital sales and marketing strategies have witnessed a huge acceleration.

Although, this shift is not new since B2B marketing had already been on an evolutionary path since the internet services reached the masses in around 2008 and people actively began using search engines. However, the infamous COVID-1 pandemic precipitated the process of digitalization in marketing. This sudden shift has uncovered numerous opportunities in the field of marketing. 

Here are a few B2B marketing trends to watch out for in 2021 to prepare yourself for the

future of marketing. 

1) AI-Powered Marketing

Underestimating the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2021 can prove to be a huge

mistake as this so-called "4th Industrial Revolution" is famous for being much more efficient and smarter in streamlining almost all marketing and routine tasks. Although only a few industry leaders at present can understand and afford to use Artificial Intelligence

technologies, the rapid growth in technology has pushed more organizations to plan and

evaluate the implementation of AI for their businesses.

Understanding the latest AI-Powered marketing trends like Client Insights, Personality Insights, Buyer Intent data, Predictive Analytics, Lead Scoring, etc., can help you tap the available opportunities and aid in devising personalized marketing strategies that can allow you to stay ahead of your competitors.

2) Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Approach 

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a dominant strategy that can revolutionize the processes

of sales, marketing, and customer satisfaction. ABM is based on account awareness in which

an organization considers and communicates with individual prospects or customer accounts

as markets of one.

According to a research from Terminus, only a small percentage of businesses are implementing ABM optimally. 8% of businesses are still in pilot mode and 43% are in the early stages of implementation. But only 13% say their sales and marketing teams are fully integrated into their ABM program. ABM's focus on revenue instead of leads makes it a customer-oriented strategy that aims to protect the existing revenue base. This shift in focus from customer acquisition to customer retention has enabled organizations to generate revenue even when their budgets have tightened. 

3) Use of Video Content

With an increase in online marketing strategies, video content has proved to be one of the

best ways to garner public attention and disseminate information about a particular product or service. However, video content is not just limited to B2C sales. In a study by LinkedIn in

2018, around 62% of B2B marketers voted for video content to be their preferred choice.

Other formats like e-mail and infographics trailed behind it in the list as they could not match the popularity of visual content. Organizations can focus on creating relevant and unique video content like Television ads, videos, etc. to engage, educate and shape the opinions of their customers through visuals. 

4) Buyer Enablement

Buyer enablement helps buyers buy by providing them with the right information that can help them navigate and support the completion of critical purchase activities. In a survey of more than 250 B2B companies by Gartner, it was found that 77% of them rated their purchase process as extremely difficult or complex. This complexity of making a purchase decision can be attributed to the availability of high-quality information to buyers in abundance.

Every new information instils a sense of insecurity and the buyer revisits his decision to arrive at a logical conclusion. Buyer enablement can be seen as a much-needed support system that can help buyers make informed purchasing decisions. By creating buyer- centric content, an organization can create a buyer-first world. By reducing any kind of friction along the buyer's journey via phone, email, live chat, social media, or website, a company's buyer-centric approach can become its most valuable marketing asset. 

5) Omnichannel Marketing 

To form a unified customer experience, omnichannel marketing aligns sales efforts with marketing across all distribution channels. It makes use of multiple channels to tap the various prospects available at every stage of the sales funnel. It makes sure that the audience gets a chance to engage in relevant interactions and feedbacks to improve the engagement with your brand across different channels- physical as well as digital. This type of marketing ensures that a customer has a positive and consistent experience on each channel by offering a consistent and identifiable brand tone, personalized messaging based on specific interests, and a chance to find and purchase online, in-store, or a combination thereof - such as “buy online and pick up in-store.”

Conclusion

The only constant in the world of marketing is the changing trends. By keeping an eye on the

new trends, an organization can gauge the available opportunities or threats effectively.

Growing demand for customer experience management has encouraged companies to adopt novice strategies and many hyper-personalized marketing strategies to drive

conversions. Since customer spending altered drastically in 2020 with a similar trend in 2021, embracing marketing changes and digitalization is the only way to move forward.

Are your customers in an emotional ‘relationship’ with you?

Cambridge dictionary describes branding as “the act of giving a company a particular design or symbol to advertise its products and services.” However, the meaning of the word ‘branding’ today, is not just limited to visual aesthetics like logo, name, design, etc. Over the years, the term ‘branding’ has acquired a myriad of meanings and connotations that reveal that it is a perpetual process of establishing an identity in the stakeholder’s minds. It won’t be wrong to say that branding is one of the most effective business strategies in today’s business world that moves beyond visual identity.

Emotional Branding

Emotional Branding can be understood as a practice of building brands that can appeal directly to the emotional state, needs, and aspirations of the consumer. Various corporations

use Emotional Branding to build a deep intrinsic relationship with their stakeholders and create an identity in their minds which evokes emotions such as nostalgia, love, companionship, or any other feeling of bonding.

Because “emotions are energy in motion”

A star-clad advertisement policy with a perfect amalgamation of affordable price is what 'Lux' chose to establish itself as an 'Emotive Brand.' Lux is one of the 'Power Brands' of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.’s varied portfolio. It was launched in 1916 as a block of laundry soap in the USA and entered the Indian market in 1929. Its purchase decision by customers is based on emotions- the desire to look as beautiful as their favorite stars. Moreover, the low-price strategy has helped 'Lux' to become a household name, making it a market leader in the Soap Industry in India, Brazil, Thailand, and South Asia.

Why you need Emotional Branding?

Emotional branding is critical in marketing products and services as it directly impacts the process of choice and decision-making for an individual, making it one of the best business strategies in today’s competitive world. When coupled with other business strategies, Emotional Branding has the power to create a loyal customer base that wants to re-experience the feelings invoked by your business, hence, initiating the growth of demand for your product/service in the market.

Digital Marketing and Emotional Branding

With the advent of technology, connecting with customers has become a lot easier. Through social media and other online platforms, businesses can now initiate two-way communications with their existing and potential customers instantly. A robust digital marketing strategy consisting of interactive and informative content can help your business grow more and create a loyal customer base for your brand.

So, if now you are convinced about the power of emotional branding, it is the perfect time to take the first step towards it. Through Digital Marketing strategies, you can take your business to the next level and connect with your existing and potential client base like never before while creating a brand that has a special place in the hearts of your stakeholders.

How to get more customers through Pay Per Click Ads

Marketing is a process of customer satisfaction by offering something better than your competitors. It involves the idea of satisfying your client and their needs with the product or service you are offering. The term ‘marketing’ cannot be comprehensively defined as it is highly influenced by the prevailing trends and conditions at a given point in time.

During the present age of the internet, identifying and reaching the probable target audience has become one of the most important aspects of marketing. During unpredictable situations, like the current pandemic, a strategy that can succor businesses to connect with their target audience is digital marketing.

Going digital is no more a choice but rather a necessity. While communication became difficult during the pandemic, it became necessary for almost all industries to adopt an online marketing approach for their businesses. With this ‘new normal,’ the marketing industry experienced a lot of novel threats and opportunities. With digital media, your business can now reach out to millions of people within a few minutes through digital marketing. Real-time scenarios make it a lot easier to watch your client base grow in a short span of time while connecting with new potential customers online. With the rise of dependency on the internet and with its continuously increasing usage, delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time has become relatively simple.

For implementing an effective Digital Marketing plan, a sound knowledge of the various components of Digital Marketing like Content Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, etc. is a must. Let’s talk about one of the most effective types of Paid search for example.

Paid search increases the search engine visibility by showing your ads to the customers who are actively searching for the keywords you have selected. By using a type of Paid search- Pay Per Click (PPC) mechanism, you can reach your target audiences in a hassle-free and budget-friendly manner. Pay Per Click is a common advertising model that almost all search engines, OTT platforms, and social media applications use. The effectiveness and power of PPC can be gauged through the fact that through this feature alone, Google has managed to increase its revenue from advertising by around 16% since the last year. This is because PPC is a cost-effective feature that can increase your ROI and help you get ahead of your competitors by increasing your advertisement's conversion rate.

PPC mechanism is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of reaching the target audience while aligning website traffic drivers. With PPC, targeting an audience that is not aware of your brand becomes a cakewalk within your set budget of expense. And the best part of the entire process is that you can edit your content while still running and add new features as and when the trend changes. PPC features that make it user-friendly include signing in for newsletters, entering giveaways, providing knowledge of the latest offers, and downloading applications.

To know more about how you can use the Pay Per Click mechanism for your business, reach out to us at contact@growmoremarketing.com for a 30 minutes free consultation.