Despite the pandemic: B2B marketers are looking forward to the new year with optimism. (Photo: Pixabay)

Marketing Remains Online

Even before the pandemic, the shift from offline (print and trade shows) to online marketing was unmistakable. For industry professionals, it was therefore unsurprising that, during the pandemic, overall marketing budgets declined, while spending on online advertising remained stable or even increased. From branding initiatives to the “ultimate discipline” of lead generation, B2B marketing benefits from the ubiquity of digital media, the intensive use by target audiences, and location independence. An increasing awareness of environmentally friendly practices is also noticeable: the keyword “green marketing” focuses on reducing CO2 emissions. Reducing travel and scaling back print campaigns also benefits the environment.

No Marketing Without a Solid Data Foundation

It is all the more important to keep the characteristics and potential of digital media in mind in order to fully exploit the potential of online marketing. One thing quickly becomes clear: data-driven marketing has long been the standard in B2B, and almost no company can do without it. However, this also means that even the best strategy will yield few results without a solid data foundation. Whether launching brand messages to your target audience or generating leads, the outcome of your efforts depends on the quality of the data used. Data sets are far more than impersonal information: they provide exact details about your target audience, contact information, needs, and, ideally, even budget. When marketing efforts appear to fail, it is often due to poor data quality—a key area for improvement in the new year!

Marketing is Personal

Alongside data-driven targeting comes the trend toward increased personalization in B2B marketing. While B2B marketing primarily targets positions rather than individual people, there is hardly any alternative to closely understanding the needs of decision-makers. Choosing the right channels is essential, as is knowing typical user behavior on those platforms. It quickly becomes clear that B2B marketing is becoming more direct, more targeted, and more personal: whether you want to deliver your content to relevant decision-makers, generate leads for a specific solution, or directly address a selected list of accounts, B2B marketing is personal—a trend that will continue into the coming year.

Conclusion

Beyond specific solutions in content, branding, and lead generation, it is clear that companies should place particular value on a solid foundation for their marketing strategy. Concretely, this means at least a mixed-channel approach ideally combining various online and offline channels, a robust data foundation, and targeted engagement with decision-makers. A B2B marketing expert can provide valuable support in strategy, setup, and execution.

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