B2B Marketing Spotlight: September 2022
Now that September has drawn to a close, we’ve taken a look at the B2B marketing news that caught our attention last month. Can B2B beat the ‘boring’? Which marketing trends should businesses be focusing on for the rest of this year and beyond? Find out in this month’s B2B marketing spotlight.
B2B Worldfest is Back for 2023
Since discussion in the past couple of years about whether B2B (business-to-business) marketing is ‘boring’ compared to B2C marketing, there’s been a noticeable hustle from B2B companies to boost their creative efforts. But are those efforts working, and is monumental growth really around the corner? To discuss these questions and a plethora of others, a number of big names in B2B marketing will converge in 2023.
Some B2B marketers have claimed, since the pandemic, that the practice is reaching a golden age. But considering factors like inflation and geopolitical turmoil, the world is as uncertain as ever. To help B2B marketers make that golden age a reality, The Drum (in partnership with Stein IAS) will be bringing a range of B2B marketers to B2B Worldfest.
Just a handful of the speakers will include Raja Rajamannar (chief marketer at Mastercard), Alvaro Del Pozo (VP of international marketing at Adobe), Amanda Malko (chief marketer at G2), and Martin Kihn (senior VP of strategy at Salesforce Marketing Cloud).
The event will cover a number of topics currently in the B2B spotlight, including predictions for how B2B marketing will look in 2030, how to reach that aforementioned golden age, and the future of the role the Metaverse is playing in B2B marketing.
B2B Marketing Promotes Richard O’Connor to CEO
Just six months after joining the company, Richard O’Connor has been promoted from managing director of B2B Marketing to CEO. Deemed the go-to resource for B2B marketers worldwide, the company noted O’Connor’s exceptional performance since being appointed as managing director back in February of this year. Prior to joining B2B Marketing, O’Connor’s career included stints at The Independent, UBM, Informa, and RELX.
Such a fast turnaround from newly appointed to CEO might seem uncommon, but chair of B2B Marketing, Susanna Kempe, has implied that O’Connor was essentially acting as their CEO already. “He is a true leader and as so, fully promoted to the position of CEO, to nurture and grow B2B Marketing’s global business, across all product and service lines,” she said, in reference to the promotion.
It just goes to show that oftentimes, the best person for the job will be right in front of you.
B2B Marketing Trends for September 2022
How can B2B marketers get ahead in such a complex environment? Keeping a keen eye on your strategy is key. The following are a couple of the current B2B marketing trends worth bearing in mind in September and beyond. Both will give your company a better chance at remaining profitable, relevant, and competitive.
First off: AI (artificial intelligence). It seems that basically, every industry is seeing innovations in AI right now, and B2B is certainly no exception. Entire B2B companies rely on AI amidst their daily operations. What once seemed an extremely complex technology can now be smoothly integrated into the way companies do business, particularly when it comes to scalability, engagement, automation, and even human interaction. This technology is more accessible than ever, and can be of great help when it comes to digital marketing and even if you’re on a budget, content creation.
Video marketing isn’t going anywhere, and neither is its consistent effectiveness. It’s long been one of the most surefire ways to connect with your audience and accounts for a great deal of online traffic every year. Mobile apps like TikTok are continuously creating new, exciting methods for marketing, for both B2C and B2B.
Payments: The Crucial Final Stage of the B2B Customer Journey
Back in 1960, E. Jerome McCarthy coined the four Ps of marketing in Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. Those Ps included price, product, promotion, and, finally, place. By McCarthy’s logic, these were the four most important aspects of your marketing strategy.
But, lately, it’s become increasingly apparent that the fifth P – payment – is equally as crucial. Now that most customers have grown accustomed to a fast, easy payment process, it’s their expectation that your business will offer the same experience.
Even something as simple as inputting credit card information could be deemed an irritant for buyers whose information is usually entered automatically with just one tap, or whose payments go through with Apple Pay.
Is it a little different when it comes to B2B buyers, compared to B2C? Sure. But everyone’s looking for a strong user experience. If you’ve fallen behind on modernising your payments, now is the time to change that.
