76% of B2B marketers have a formal marketing plan, but what B2B marketing trends can you optimize in your 2021 digital marketing strategy?

Understanding where B2B industries are going with their marketing strategies can help you identify trends and outpace your competition. Our 2021 B2B marketing trends summarises the key tactics you can look to for increased sales and conversions over the next few months. We’ve taken a look at the B2B 2021 Marketing Mix Report from Sagefrog Marketing Group to see what the state of B2B marketing currently is. We’ve highlighted what we believe are some of the key trends that could help you see more success from your marketing planning in 2021. "Use a structured framework to create a plan and improvement process. The RACE practical digital strategy Learning Path is designed for marketers to plan, manage and optimize their digital marketing strategy."

[si_learning_path_module_shortcode_block id=147574]

Most organizations have…

Real-world examples of PR getting an account-based makeover

You ride on the ABM train because your destination is a results town. Life is all about the names on your account list that you’ve converted into customers and the revenue you’ve brought in from doing so. There’s a beauty to this kind of commercial simplicity! Although the endpoint is succinct and straightforward, that doesn’t mean to say the process will be. You’ll likely have to flip, hack, and smash your way through the age-old promotional mix in a way that befits an approach that operates with laserlike focus. This brings a neat blend of freedom and flexibility when you’re looking at the activities to deploy as part of an ABM campaign. One such area that’s been under the spotlight for me recently in helping companies with ABM strategy is PR: specifically account-based PR. Before we get into the detail on that - first things…

B2C strategies can also be used for B2B audiences, after all, all marketing is human to human

B2B marketing strategies can be hard to get a handle on since reaching potential customers is very different from B2C ones, right? Or are there strategies that translate from consumer-focused organizations to B2B ones? In a word, yes...and it is those strategies that need to infiltrate our marketing efforts in the business-to-business world to compete in the current and future age. All marketing is, after all, human to human. In their article (and accompanying infographic), Imaginasium, a B2B marketing agency, demystifies B2B marketing with stats, tips, and strategies you can put to use today. First, let’s review a couple of those surprising stats about B2B marketing strategies; for more of these, see the full infographic below. 51% of companies don’t have a clear marketing strategy 68% struggle with getting enough quality B2B leads 79%…

It’s never been easier for B2B businesses to identify and target their ideal customers online.

"I have a great product or service but I just can’t seem to be able to find buyers." I hear this a lot. It's one of the most frustrating things for a passionate business owner or manager with a solution that can solve a genuine problem for people. For anyone who says "my product/service is for anyone that wants it", this may be true; but it won’t help you with your marketing strategy. [si_guide_block id="18795" title="Download our Individual Member Resource – Customer persona guide and template" description="This template will be useful for both agency and client-side marketers to help them create compelling customer personas for their marketing plans."/] Think about a sliding scale. At one end you have people who don’t, and probably never will have an interest in your solution. At the other end, you have the person who recognizes…

Three ideas to help plan your digital marketing in 2019

With the end of the year on the horizon, as inevitable as night follows day, many people will be looking ahead to 2019 with a host of New Year resolutions: Whilst some claim that these good intentions don’t work, it’s hard to argue that an ambition to get fit, eat well or start a new initiative isn’t a positive way to start the year. New Year resolutions may not always last, but at least people acknowledge that there may be room for improvement in their lives. Good businesses will also be looking for ways to improve and there is already a range of business-critical trends to bear in mind for 2019. As with personal resolutions, professionals are always looking for an…

How to boost business results by recognizing cognitive biases

In the 1970’s two young psychologists named Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky pioneered a new field of study, which eventually became known as behavioural psychology. They were interested in understanding whether humans were rational, economic decision-makers or fallible creatures, vulnerable to mistakes and errors as a result of ‘cognitive load’. Their research suggested that our brains use two ‘systems’ for making decisions: In the words of Daniel Kahneman, system one ‘runs the show’ but is powered by a range of heuristics, or rules of thumb, which lead to biases and behavioural quirks. There are now nearly 200 recognized cognitive biases that can affect how we make decisions in a multitude of different ways. Some are fairly well known (e.g. anchoring) whilst others are slightly more obscure (e.g. the false consensus…

How do you know who isn't converting and how can you make the most of the data to bring them back to your site?

Have you ever looked at your website analytics in real-time and watched as people entered the site? To your excitement, some of them filled out a form and converted into a lead. I have, and it’s awesome seeing the 5-6% of people that make it through your website funnel pop out the other end. 

But what about the 94-95% of people who don’t convert? Most likely you’ve got a remarketing campaign setup, which is bringing some of them back. But is there anything else you can do?

[si_guide_block id="59581" title="Download our Quick Win – Inbound marketing Quick Wins template" description="Completing a website audit with the aim of improving results from your inbound marketing isn't easy if you're starting with a 'blank piece of paper'…

Find out the most effective steps that will help you grow your company and generate leads

With software development setting records every year, it is easy to see why SaaS presents a lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurs. But like in every other business, you need to have a sound plan if you want to grow. Luckily, new technologies allow for the creation of new software and enable companies in this niche to grow more rapidly. So, what are the marketing strategies that can help your SaaS business get the most out of its lead generation efforts? Take a look at our tips below. [si_guide_block id="5676" title="Download FREE Resource – Digital marketing plan template" description="Our popular marketing planning template built on the Smart Insights RACE planning system."/]

Content marketing

Everybody knows that content is the king. If that is so, why wouldn’t you use his majesty to attract more visitors to your website? The thing with content…

“Buyers are becoming more discerning and selective in the content they decide to consume”

As B2B purchases become more complex, it’s important to take a look at some of the latest B2B buyer trends in the market. Buyers are becoming more selective in terms of the content they consume, to make their buying decision. While B2B buyers continue to rely on trustworthy and credible sources, expert opinions and their peers to inform and educate themselves, their content preferences keep fluctuating over time, with various new content formats being introduced into the market. According to Demand Gen Report’s annual survey on content preferences, B2B buyers are “becoming more discerning and selective in the content they decide to consume”. Majority of the respondents (88%) said that content producers need to focus less on content around product specifics and more on…

10 CEOs share sales and marketing alignment tips through Account-Based Marketing

Sales and marketing alignment is one of the secrets to the success of any business. According to a recent study published by Celsius International, companies with sales and marketing teams that are aligned with each other have a 67% success rate in closing sales. Additionally, having an aligned sales and marketing team can help your business generate revenue 32% times faster than those that don't have an alignment.

[si_guide_block id="82849" title="Download Business Resource – Account-based Marketing Guide" description="Not sure if ABM is for you or want to know how to do it better, our ABM guide is your companion."/]

Despite the fact that companies recognize the need for sales and marketing alignment, the reality is that a lot of B2B companies struggle with this. In fact, 90% of B2B marketers admitted that aligning with the company's sales team…