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How to approach B2B marketing in 2022 and beyond
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and even changed the way we live. Because of this, the way we shop and do business has also had to change. Marketers, specifically B2B marketers, have had to adapt to the new trends existing in a world after experiencing the worst effects of COVID-19. We will explore these trends to give marketers insight into how to approach B2B marketing in 2022 and beyond.
What Is B2B Marketing?
B2B marketing, which stands for business-to-business marketing, is a form of marketing that chooses other businesses, rather than consumers, to be the target market. B2B sales are known as selling a product or service to a business. Examples of these products or services would be cloud-based software or printing services as these are often required in large amounts by businesses and not individuals.
Ways to approach B2B marketing
The first major trend to focus on is personalisation. The pandemic has made customers seek authenticity in brands, as well as brands that have a voice that is genuine and original. Focusing on personalisation also allows you to reflect the voice of your target audience. This should be spread across marketing channels and platforms like the company website, blog posts, and social media profiles, as well as by the sales team. Focusing on this allows your brand to stand out from the crowd.
Another B2B marketing trend would be networking. This trend ties in with personalisation as businesses should network with their competitors and potential customers to build connections. Networking had become a challenge during the pandemic but is now easier as most of the restrictions have been lifted. A way to network would be to become an IMM Associate. Businesses that practice B2B marketing would be able to pursue a Corporate Associateship with IMM. This allows them to network through a connected marketing community while IMM ensures that they uphold best-practice marketing.
The pandemic has resulted in people spending more time online and this has led to shorter attention spans. Now, consumers prefer content that is short but impactful and informative. A way to convey short, impactful, and informative content is for B2B marketers to invest in video marketing. There are a range of different video types to create for B2B marketing, like:
- Corporate Videos. This type of video marketing can be used to display the business’ culture and show originality. These videos are often used on social media as well as in email marketing campaigns.
- Collateral Videos. These videos target a specific audience or market and are often used on websites and in email marketing campaigns. Collateral videos are also used within sales presentations and display the business’ impact.
- Animated Videos. Businesses that offer products or services that are complicated or extremely technical should invest in animated videos. Animated videos can offer a detailed explanation of the product or service while not making it over-complicated or giving an information dump. B2B marketers can use animated videos on websites or on the business’ YouTube channel.
- Short-Form Videos. Seeing that the consumer’s attention span has shrunk, short-form videos may be the smartest choice when investing in B2B video marketing. Short-form videos have been popularised by social media platforms like TikTok and would be an effective way of producing content that is short, impactful, and informative.
In Conclusion
Staying ahead of B2B marketing trends in 2022 is a challenge, but not impossible. If you as a B2B marketer want to reach the success you should, consider the ways we mentioned to approach B2B marketing when devising a B2B marketing strategy. If you as a B2B marketer would like to learn new skills or master your existing ones, we would recommend taking the “The Art of Selling” short course. This short course, offered by the Institute of Marketing Management (IMM), focuses on offering the tools needed to successfully make sales and sell your brand. This course covers topics like technology trends in selling, the selling cycle, the customer buying process, and more!
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