Ways that B2B marketing needs to shift in 2021

At Bang we have worked with a range of B2B companies and have noticed 5 key mindsets that need to shift when it comes to marketing in 2021.

1. Short-term focused

Many B2B companies are working with monthly lead targets in mind and need to create a campaign to support this. Running paid media campaigns is an effective way to get leads, but unless there has been an existing nurture campaign and continual brand awareness, chances are they won’t get results. This is because people need to know and trust your brand before they are ready to engage with you. Given that the average amount of touchpoints required for consumers to purchase is 20, only investing in short-term campaigns will not be as effective. By creating a longer content funnel and offering value to your audience, you will end up with warmer leads who are familiar with your brand and have travelled through the necessary stages of awareness and consideration.

2. Content is too focused on what the companythinkstheir audience wants to read

Developing a strong content strategy (both organic and paid) is key to building a strong following and increasing your position as a thought leader. This will only be effective if the content is what your audience wants to read. Given that we have a short amount of time to capture people’s attention amidst the myriad of other brands, how can we stand out? Research and data is key. Look at your existing content and what has performed the best in terms of impressions, clicks, comments etc. and repurpose it. Another way is talking to customer service representatives and understanding the key pain points customers are facing and developing content speaking to that. Avoid getting caught up in using technical jargon or using unnecessary words or phrases. Instead, make it really easy for the content to be digested and the key points to be clear, focusing on the value that your audience will get. Always think as if you were the reader and ask yourself whether this copy and image motivates you to take action.

3. Not taking advantage of retargeting/tracking

Most people are aware of the importance of using data to inform business decisions and marketing campaigns. However, it is quite common for many companies to come to us wanting to start a campaign within a matter of weeks, without having any Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel or LinkedIn Insights Tag installed. Whether or not you are planning on launching any campaign in the near future, collecting data from your website will allow you to utilise strong data and focus your efforts on audiences that are much stronger and more willing to engage or convert. Installing these tags is simple and will pay dividends.

4. Hyper-targeting

We understand that companies want to make sure they are using their marketing spend wisely by engaging with the right audience and decision makers. However, when defining audiences on social media platforms for paid campaigns, this can make your audience too small for the platform to work effectively. By allowing the platform to find the most engaged audience within your parameters, you will be able to draw some key insights into who is engaging with your content the most and further refine it as you go. Furthermore, LinkedIn reveals that 6-8 people are involved in the purchasing committee in B2B companies, and it doesn’t only include CIOs or senior positions. LinkedIn recommends choosing a maximum of 2-3 parameters (excluding location) when creating your audience.

5. Not having a good understanding of current digital performance

Lastly, before launching a campaign or engaging a digital marketing agency, have a clear understanding of your current performance to be able to measure the success. Key stats such as your average cost per lead, average conversion rate and average click through rate are important to compare before and after the campaign or working with an agency. Sharing this with the wider team is also helpful in proving ROI and understanding if you need to make optimisations.

As consumers, industries and digital platforms evolve, it is important to keep your finger on the pulse whilst remaining customer centric. Bang has a team of experts across development, creative, data, digital marketing and account managers who can advise you on your campaigns and implement best practices to get the maximum ROI. Check out our previous work for examples here or get in touch today!