The digital presence of B2B companies like HubSpot, MailChimp and even shipping giant, Maersk, could give some B2C brands a run for their money. But despite the advanced techniques that some B2B companies are using, B2B marketers are struggling to catch up to the digital age as well as B2C companies. Forrester Research, in collaboration with AdRoll, recently surveyed marketers around the world to see where they continue to struggle, and made recommendations for how we can improve.
Following B2C’s lead, but lagging behind
We recently talked about what B2B brands can learn from B2C to differentiate their content. Forrester’s Report, “B2B Prospecting Goes Digital in The Age of The Customer,” offers up why they need to. B2B buyers are also consumers, and their “professional expectations increasingly mimic their personal ones as they research, purchase, and engage” with products. In other words, buyers expect B2B companies to have the sophistication that pervades B2C.
Forrester finds that B2B eCommerce is on the rise, with current companies selling online having 46 percent of their sales through online channels and an annual growth rate of 7.7 percent over the next five years. But although buyers expect a seamless experience across every channel, and adoption rates of channels like programmatic advertising and text messages are on the rise at marketers’ companies (overall adoption at 79 percent), they don’t use these channels personally and/or frequently (average rate of personal and frequent use at 40 percent).
The top-of-the-funnel struggle
So where do B2B marketers struggle most? 59 percent say that it’s the discovery phase, when prospects are first considering their needs and potential solutions. There are a few reasons:
- Buyers choose to be anonymous, and can be, as they research on digital channels
- Sales reps no longer guard details like pricing and customer reviews, and marketers no longer have control over the information buyers can access
- 61 percent of marketers find managing different touch points difficult as buyers move freely between channels, engaging in an increasingly nonlinear way with content
Not only is identifying buyers more difficult, but it’s more expensive too. As Forrester says, “Marketers risk spreading themselves and their dollars too thin without capabilities and processes that accommodate the nuances of the omnichannel B2B buyer’s journey.”
More mature technology adoption is a must
Marketers know that technology is important, with Forrester reporting 76 percent of respondents seeing more qualified opportunities with better capabilities. The problem? Only 17 percent of those B2B marketers consider themselves technical “experts.” Almost half of marketers have below average capabilities in technology like predictive marketing or sales enablement, if they have them at all.
There are two technologies that aren’t widely used, but B2B marketers who do use them rave about them: programmatic advertising and retargeting. Just using these won’t necessarily net marketers wins, however. Forrester finds that “mature” marketers who lead in their use of tech are more likely to find these technologies to be beneficial. The challenge lies in setting aside the feeling that you can’t be more mature without more marketing technology because you can take it on before you’re “ready.”
Technology based on strategy (not the other way around)
Because using technology isn’t transformative in and of itself, Forrester recommends the following steps to develop a strategy and technology portfolio for great prospect and customer engagement:
- First, assess what business objectives things like display ads and account-based marketing solutions are expected to achieve and compare different solutions.
- If you get a technology without a strategy, it’ll fail. Start with detailed buyer personas and create an automation strategy so you can decide on the right technology, not vice versa.
- Use different sources of data (e.g., CRM, partners, social listening) to understand your customers and target them.
- Target prospects across the different channels they use during the discovery phase and deliver personalized content wherever they are—and remember, personalized content need not stop with marketing content.
- Make sure you can capture the value that comes with the ability to track buyers. New technologies allow marketers to prove effectiveness of their technology from the moment they see an ad through the last sales meeting before a deal closes.
Image credit: ORIGINAL IMAGE FOR DOWN UNDER CHALLENGE #832 by Mark Rutley | Creative Commons
Comments are closed.