5 THINGS EVERY B2B MARKETER SHOULD KNOW JO MACDERMOTT

Transcription

1 5 THINGS EVERY B2B MARKETER SHOULD KNOW JO MACDERMOTT

2 INTRODUCTION If you re running or marketing a business on behalf of someone else, you know how important it is to stay relevant, especially when it comes to marketing. Whether you focus on B2B or B2C marketing, your customers needs and expectations are evolving faster than ever before and it can be exhausting for even the most knowledgeable marketers to keep up. Many of the changes that are taking place, especially in the B2B marketing arena are not immediately obvious. The marketplace is shifting in ways that most of us wouldn t have predicted a few years ago and these changes have great implications for B2B marketers and businesses overall.

3 SO WHAT ARE THESE CHANGES AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN FOR MARKETERS? At Next Marketing we have experienced first hand the rapid evolution of B2B marketing over the past couple of years. We believe that understanding these fundamental changes is the cornerstone of any successful B2B marketing campaign. Without this knowledge there is a danger of falling behind or missing out on opportunities in the future. And it s not just us. A recent report released by Google in partnership with Millward Brown Digital highlights a number of these recent shifts and the implications they have for B2B marketers all over the world. As a marketer it is important to know who your audience are and what they want, so you can meet them on their territory and communicate with them in an appropriate and effective way. Keeping up to date with all the latest changes and developments lets you find the most effective marketing methods for your B2B business so you can grow into the future. This e-book presents some of the research from Google and Millward Brown Digital along with our own experiences here at Next Marketing.

4 DECISION MAKERS ARE EVERYWHERE, NOT JUST AT THE TOP You ve probably heard the saying that if you want something done, go straight to the top. While this may have been true five years ago, it is not necessarily the case in today s business environment. Just because someone has the authority to sign off on a purchase doesn t mean they are going to be the one making the actual decision. This is an important distinction when you are targeting employees in another business. In many businesses today, for major purchasing decisions the process begins much further down the food chain. As businesses adopt a less hierarchical and more agile structure it is often the more junior employees who are responsible for researching potential purchases, evaluating them and being very actively involved in the final decision. This shift is highlighted in the report by Google and Millward Brown, and it is something we have noticed ourselves over recent years. We see many businesses that target their marketing almost exclusively to senior executives, and struggle to understand why they are missing out on orders. When marketing to other businesses, up until now it s been considered best practice to focus mainly on the higher-level executives, the perceived decision makers. However, in today s business environment, neglecting junior employees could mean overlooking the very people you need to get noticed by.» NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 4

5 DECISION MAKERS ARE EVERYWHERE, NOT JUST AT THE TOP THE WAY FORWARD If you are looking to get the attention of the most influential people in a particular organisation, it pays to do your research and find out exactly who they are. As an overall strategy it may be worth designing your marketing materials to appeal to different employees at different stages of the purchasing journey. More junior employees may be heavily involved in researching and finding products and services so it makes sense to reach them at this stage in the overall process. The earlier they can find you, the more opportunity you will have to get their attention and convince them that your products or services are right for them. Once you have them on board, they are more likely to use their influence with their superiors who have the final say. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 5

6 Neglecting junior employees could mean overlooking the very people you need to get noticed by. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 6

7 YOU CANNOT AVOID MILLENIALS ANY LONGER Millennials are a force to be reckoned with in the workplace, and their presence is growing. Unfortunately, many businesses and marketers have misunderstood Millennials or placed them in the too hard basket, focusing their efforts on the previous, more familiar generation of employees. You could get away with this a few years ago, as the majority of business decision makers were from an older demographic, but as Millennials take over a larger portion of the workforce and rise to higher levels in their careers, ignoring them is no longer an option. These days it s highly likely that Millennials are the people doing the research to find new products and services for their employers, and they may also be the ones making the final decision and signing off on purchases. Smart marketers will be aware of this and take steps to ensure they are reaching this growing group, even if it means taking a step out of their comfort zone. WHY ARE MILLENNIALS DIFFERENT? Millennials are a unique generation. Because they have grown up with the Internet, they are far more digitally savvy than previous generations and they use technology in a different way to their predecessors. While this may be daunting to the less tech savvy who are not part of this generation, marketing effectively to them involves making use of digital in a whole new way.» NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 7

8 YOU CANNOT AVOID MILLENIALS ANY LONGER THE WAY FORWARD While it s important to take a tailored approach to your B2B marketing, when you think about targeting Millennials there are a few factors you will need to keep in mind. These include making use of mobile marketing and apps, and placing engagement and relevance at the forefront of your strategy. As they get older and rise to more senior positions, the presence and influence of Millennials in the workplace is only going to increase. If you aren t marketing to this group yet you will need to in the future, so you may as well get started now. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 8

9 As they get older the presence and influence of Millennials in the workplace is only going to increase. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 9

10 MOBILE IS MORE CRUCIAL THAN EVER Digital marketing has been around for a while now, to the point where some would argue there is no separation between marketing and digital marketing any more as all marketing is digitally based. Even though the terminology may be the same as it was a few years ago, digital marketing is constantly reinventing itself. While consumers are still using digital as much or more as they were previously, the way they are using it is different. One of the main changes to take place in digital marketing is the rise of the mobile platform. Mobile marketing is most often discussed in relation to B2C marketing but increasingly, mobile platforms are being used by B2B consumers to research and identify new products and services. Here are some of the activities that B2B researchers use their mobiles for: Directly contacting businesses about products Purchasing products directly Comparing products Comparing prices Reading about products Watching videos about different products NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 10

11 MOBILE IS MORE CRUCIAL THAN EVER THE WAY FORWARD As a savvy B2B marketer, it s a good idea to give potential customers an opportunity to interact with your products and business over mobile at every stage of the buying process, including the purchasing stage if possible. A few years ago mobile was primarily used in the early stages of research. Now customers expect to use their mobiles for every stage of the process. Having the facility for them to do this can greatly increase your online visibility and give you the edge over your competition. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 11

12 The terminology may be the same but digital marketing is constantly reinventing itself NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 12

13 5 THINGS EVERY B2B MARKETER SHOULD KNOW START GENERIC Generic is not a concept marketers usually embrace, but when it comes to search engine visibility it can sometimes pay off, at least in the beginning. Over the past few years, marketers have been led to believe that to reach our audience over search, we need to focus on branded search and drill down into being as specific as possible. Research from Google and Millward Brown show this is not always not the best course of action, especially when targeting B2B customers in the early stages of the research journey. According to the report, 71% of researchers begin with a generic search to find the products or services they are looking for. Once they have an idea of the main brands, they will then target their searches more effectively to compare and educate themselves more about each one. This research has shown that while the same number of people may be searching online for B2B products and services, there are some crucial changes in the way they are searching. By the time a searcher engages on a specific site, they will have performed an average of 12 searches already. To reach their target audience in these early stages, B2B marketers need to make the effort to increase their visibility for those more general searches. In some cases this may mean targeting more generic, less specific search terms. If your target audience are performing general searches to find the specific products they want to delve deeper into, being visible from the beginning will give you more opportunities to get their attention and engage them from the start.» NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 13

14 5 THINGS EVERY B2B MARKETER SHOULD KNOW START GENERIC THE WAY FORWARD The Google and Millward Brown research shows that B2B customers generally start their research by looking at products rather than brands. This means that if you are doing paid advertising you may want to think about targeting more product related keywords to capture this group of searchers. It also means making your brand s value proposition and differences clear from an earlier stage than before. You can t afford to wait until your potential customer is engaging with you to show them why they should choose you, the message should be there from the very beginning, and this could be earlier than you realise. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 14

15 71% of researchers began with a generic google search to find what they were looking for. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 15

16 THE ROLE OF VIDEO IN MARKETING HAS CHANGED Unless you ve been hiding under a rock, you have probably heard how important video is when it comes to marketing. What you may not be aware of is that the role of video in the overall marketing process has evolved from simple product awareness into something deeper. The use of video by researchers and potential customers has jumped by over 50% in the last two years, according to the figures from Google and Millward Brown. Not only are your potential customers watching more videos, they are watching them for longer and throughout the different purchasing stages. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MARKETERS? Video is now forming an essential part of the conversation between customers and brands, even in the earliest stages. According to the research, your potential customers are now using video as a way to compare products, watch reviews and learn how to use them, as well as sharing them with colleagues. This increasing use of video as part of the decision making process means that marketers need to make sure they have plenty of high quality, engaging video content available to viewers.» NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 16

17 THE ROLE OF VIDEO IN MARKETING HAS CHANGED THE WAY FORWARD A powerful marketing tool for a few years now, video is starting to take on a number of different roles for business consumers researching their next purchase. Videos are used as a way to learn about product features, gain more information about how to use a particular product or service and to watch customer and professional reviews. As a marketer it s a good idea to have a wide range of content available via video so your target audience can engage with your brand at each different stage of the buying journey. NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 17

18 Customers are watching more videos for longer and throughout the different purchasing stages NEXTMARKETING.COM.AU PAGE 18

19 CONCLUSION Staying relevant is a process of constant evaluation and learning. Research from organisations like Google, along with our own experience have shown us that today s B2B audiences are different from previous years they are younger and they have a more technological mindset than ever before. Marketing strategies that worked even a couple of years ago are likely to lose their effectiveness over time as we see an increase in young, tech savvy business consumers looking for higher levels of mobile engagement and video content. As a marketer you want to make sure you are marketing to the audience of today and tomorrow, and not yesterday s consumers. Hopefully these insights will help set you on a path to successful B2B marketing and business growth in this rapidly shifting time. NEED HELP WITH YOUR B2B MARKETING?

20 nextmarketing.com.au 3/262 Racecourse Road Flemington VIC 3031 Phone: (03)