The B2B landscape has undergone a significant transformation over the years. The emergence of digital technologies and platforms has created a drastic impact on marketing strategies. In an information-hungry age, customers are playing a more active role very early on in the sales process. The role of digital marketing is to address this change in the sales process by reaching the prospects at the right time. Companies have thus modified their B2B digital marketing strategy to include the digital channels like email, social media, content marketing, etc. to establish a strong brand presence and drive lead generation and nurturing.

B2B markets include manufacturers, affiliates, resellers, government, non-profit organizations, etc. and they concentrate on offering their products and services to different other enterprises.

These days, online B2B marketing is broadly practiced since internet plays a standout amongst the most critical parts in promoting businesses on the web. Digital advertising is especially advantageous to those organizations, which are occupied with online business exercises and e-commerce proceedings. Digital marketing in B2B enhances the effective execution of marketing framework by boosting the administration of supply network. In B2B digital marketing, deals and sales are relative to the trackable executions than feeling.

Four key issues that differentiate research in B2B market & B2C market are-

Comparative complexities involved in different decision-making units of B2B markets

Comparative complexities in product, services and related applications for B2B markets

Small size of clients in B2B markets who however have a greater utilization of items and administrations than the B2C markets.

Critical role of personal relationships in B2B markets

B2B marketing has found one of its best outlets on the internet to resolve all such issues in the most efficient manner possible. Businesses find internet very useful in conducting their operations. Some comparative advantages of b2b digital marketing are-

The improvement in the operations of supply chain management

Automation of product content and internal messaging system

Better analytics and enhancement on returns on investments

Ease of functioning and better controlling

Key Trends of Digital Marketing in B2B markets

1. Video Ads

Last year, there was talk of Google finally getting on board with in-SERP video advertising. As the world’s most used web search engine, the first page of Google is a coveted spot for any business engaged in getting their brand and content out in the digital world.

But whether or not Google’s latest update is to come around soon, video ads are a worthy strategy to develop. With 65% of the population claiming to be visual learners, brief and engaging content is what buyers will be looking for.

Videos, which are proven to be easily viral and shareable, is a great way to incorporate your brand’s narrative through an engaging set of visuals.

2) Marketing Automation

Adoption of Marketing Automation in B2B industry is growing at fast pace. Thanks to the affordability and simplicity of the web/cloud based MA platforms .

Businesses using Marketing Automation are mostly using the email marketing automation feature and yet to harness the full potential of the MA systems to provide seamless customer engagement across the buying journey. On the other hand I foresee more businesses are going to adopt automation, an easy start would be from email marketing.

It’s the right time to segment and classify the customer database, understand customer needs and set up need based or seasonal email marketing campaigns targeting highly specific audience and trigger behavior based emails (Drip email marketing). Businesses need to integrate their content marketing strategy with email marketing for a seamless outcome.

3. Advocate Marketing

This is one of the most effective marketing strategies for B2B that makes use of your existing networks and expands their influence to generate new clients.

Since people are more likely to trust someone whom they already know, this is an effective strategy in gaining a steady and stable network. Advocate or advocacy marketing may be done through physical networking, but it can be just as effective online.

Advocate marketing software platforms such as Influitive and CustomerAdvocacy help marketers build advocate relationships with clients at scale by increasing social media engagement, generating more reviews and capturing referrals.

Companies like Docu-Sign have used Influitive’s platform to grow over 1,000 advocates and influence over $3 million in their sales pipeline.

4) Social Media Marketing- LinkedIn is Going to Rule

B2B organizations are not far behind in harnessing the potential of social media. Twitter & Facebook will still remain the favorite with small to medium businesses & start-ups, Instagram marketing will be driven by influencers.

Organizations are going to strengthen their presence on LinkedIn. LinkedIn with 500M users is consistently improving its algorithm and ad interface, it’s going to be one of the favorite among brands.

5. Micro-Targeting

Micro targeting is a trend that draws from data and analytics to better understand your target audience. By doing so, you can respond in real time with targeted messaging and content that is personalized to customers’ specific needs at the exact time of that need. It saves you the time, effort, and possibly even the budget that often goes to taking a wild stab in the dark with a random audience.

The downside to micro targeting is that it may mean that you’re not hitting potential clients in an attempt to really zero in on specific target groups. While it minimizes the possibility of rejection and increases the chances of an ROI from your focus market, you also won’t be engaging in a wider range of clients who might be interested in your services, but who just haven’t come across your brand.

Ultimately, like all business marketing strategies, micro targeting has its own risks, but also its own upsides. It may not have such a wide reach, but it can be just as effective. It’s about improving the client journey through more targeted and relevant 1-to- 1 interactions.

7. Client Feedback

What better way to target the right marketing strategy than to find out what works and what doesn’t straight from the clients themselves? Including a feedback form or any type of feedback mechanism in whatever marketing strategy you choose to engage in unlocks potential data.

This data could range anywhere from current trends, market preferences, interesting innovations in the industry that you can also use as a leverage, and other important things that will help you improve your strategy. Once you’ve figured it out and organized it all, they will really come in handy during events, conferences, and trade showswhere you’ll be presenting your brand and your knowledge of the industry.

There’s no one way to developing the perfect strategy, especially when it comes to a market as complex and diverse as the one created by today’s digital disruption. Analyzing statistics, numbers, and cold, impersonal trends won’t give you the insight you need into what clients are looking for. The best way is still, ultimately, to ask them directly.

Feedback from clients is still the best gauge of how effective your current strategy is going, so it’s best to make use of this a resource as well.

Along with over-mentioned B2B digital marketing Trends, B2B marketers need to bear some statistics in mind in order to succeed in their best B2B marketing campaigns-

B2B companies should be listed on search engines as 70% of B2B buyers start their purchase by searching on different search engines.

B2B websites should be optimized for right keywords as per Google updates because 77% of B2B prospects like to use Google than other search engines and they mostly click on organic search results.

B2B marketers should invest in Pay per Click as it plays as significant roles in ensuring ROI as organic results do.

By implementing best B2B digital marketing Strategies and paying due heed upon over-mentioned statistics, you can effectively channelize result-oriented B2B marketing campaigns.