Purpose centric B2B Marketing
Over the past four years, B2B digital advertising spending has followed a similar trajectory as that of B2C during the beginning of its rise to prominence. Which enabled tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Twitter to become some of today's most influential companies worldwide.
Will this trend continue? If so, US spending on B2B digital marketing could reach $42 billion by 2030 – creating an entire industry from scratch. A range of new jobs and skill sets will be generated; alongside numerous emerging technologies & trade patterns - who knows what major players will dominate the market by 2031?
The world of b2b marketing is ever-changing, and businesses must stay ahead of the curve to remain successful. To discuss strategies and insights into the key skills and technologies required to ensure success, the Growth Intelligence team recently convened a roundtable of leading B2B marketers. Maximize your rewards by optimizing your marketing strategy with their recommendations. Read the full report here.
Thank you Sarah Mackenzie, Kieran Flanagan, Chris Ponting, Matthew McGillicuddy, Joe Edge and Leanne Bevan, for your contribution.
Host
Joaquin Dominguez, was joined by marketing experts to discuss the topic.
Guests
Kieran Flanagan, CMO, Zapier
Chris Ponting, Client Partner, PHD
Joe Edge, Client Partner, MediaWorks
Sarah Mackenzie, Creative Director, FT
Matthew McGuillicuddy, Head of Growth, Infinity
Matthew McGillicuddy, Head of Brand at Infinity, believes that B2B marketing misses the point of being human-focused. He feels that emotion should be leveraged more in B2B advertising, as everyone is still human and susceptible to emotion regardless of whether they are individual consumers or part of a decision-making unit. He points out how rare it is for B2B brands to start leveraging emotion in their advertising. That's one of his most significant criticisms of B2B marketing.
"B2B misses the point of being human-focused, and its implicit complexity may lead marketers to miss customer centricity" Matthew McGuillicuddy
Chris Ponting, Client Partner at PHD, believes that B2B marketing complexity relies not only on the products but also on how people decide what to buy. Because of this, it can be hard for B2B brands to focus on emotions when advertising their product, which might miss out on having more success.
“Give something valuable to your prospects if you want to expect something in return and be purpose-centric.” Chris Ponting
Kieran Flanagan, former SVP of Marketing at Hubspot and the current CMO for Zapier, shared an example to highlight some of Hupspot's success - its purpose. "They don't create software; They create careers. They try to create value before asking for something from you. Whether that's freemium, content, or something else, and then you ""earn"" the exchange of information".
"(Regarding Hubspot) They don't create software; They create careers. They try to create value before asking for something from you. Whether that's freemium, content, or something else, and then you "earn" the exchange of information". Kieran Flanagan
For Sarah Mackenzie, Head of Marketing and Client Services at Alpha Grid-a Financial Times company- content is really interesting because it has to add value to one's audience, but that doesn't always have to be business value. For B2B audiences, she agrees with the previous points: "They're just an audience; it doesn't matter if they're B2B or B2C—we're talking to human beings."
It's key to speak to your customers and look-alike customers to discover pain points and insights. And leverage technology tools to get unbiased results.
"So, we did a survey study last year in FT, wherein we found that audiences are 4.5 times more likely to consider a brand if they see it in print or digital, but they are 6 times more likely to consider the same brand if they see it in both." Sarah Mackenzie
Leanne Bevan, Vendor Marketing Manager at Grey Matter, conducted market research last year with their customers to learn more about the purchasing processes used to choose software. She found that key decision-makers vary significantly, with different people having the final say, such as finance teams, IT managers and CEOs. And people that use the tools have a more significant influence. So, listening to your customers to find out any potential trends within the group is essential. She also suggests the use of in-depth interviews with clones, or look-alike customers, as a technique to compare their pain points.
Matthew McGillicuddy believes every marketing officer should champion and listen to the customer. He acknowledges the complexity of surveying in B2B, with low response rates and bias present in responses; users with a bad experience and less experienced people are more likely to submit a response. To overcome this, he suggests leveraging technology tools such as speech analytics which can provide unfiltered insights that people wouldn't otherwise share.
Where do you think the bulk of b2b digital marketing spend goes these days? Do you think digital advertising channels are changing?
Kieran Flanagan mentioned that it depends on your product and brand, but generally, it's a mixture of paid advertising, brand events and content. Google and Facebook, for the most, have been where brands have advertised. However, the average spent by b2b companies on those platforms has dropped to about 44% for the first time ever.
Kieran believes that more niche networks will emerge, allowing brands to reach their target audience differently. For example, he mentioned DoorDash, Uber networks and Air-flight advertising. And encourages marketers to investigate these platforms and explore creative ways to reach their target audience.
Joe Edge, Growth Director at Mediaworks, believes it is essential for marketers to understand people's lives outside of the laptop and desktop to build brand advocacy. He encourages marketers to identify their target audience's preferred channels and push content in front of them, being cautious that it is within their safe spaces, areas where they would expect to be marketed to as a business. According to Joe, this will ensure that content reaches those few important people marketers want to engage with and ensure they are heard everywhere.
A study conducted by FT found that audiences are 4.5 times more likely to consider a brand if they see it in print or digital, but they are 6 times more likely to consider a brand if they see it in both.
Sarah Mackenzie mentioned that partnered content is interesting because it engages audiences with content relevant to them in an interactive format. For example, FT do videos, print and interactive infographics, getting the audience to explore the data themselves rather than just being talked to through straight articles. And interestingly, cross-platform content increases the consideration considerably. ""So, we did a survey study last year in FT, wherein we found that audiences are 4.5 times more likely to consider a brand if they see it in print or digital, but they are 6 times more likely to consider the same brand if they see it in both.""
For a long time, B2C advertising has been much more confident in submitting budgets for influence. So how much to invest in those one-off ideas that really deliver standout and differentiation?
Matthew McGuillicuddy believes that it is important to spend money on things that will help you become a well-known and trusted brand. He says it can be risky if you only focus on short-term campaigns, so it's better to invest in something that will build your reputation over time.
Chris believes it is important to think about how you spend your money when it comes to advertising. He suggests making sure the way you advertise fits with what your brand stands for and that you look beyond the immediate return on investment to ensure your ad is helping people trust your brand. This will help your business in the long term.
Google and Facebook are reinforcing their commitment to demonstrate other advantages of advertising on their platforms that go beyond financial gain.
Kieran Flanagan mentions that Google and Facebook are attempting to move away from the direct response metrics they have instilled over time. Instead, they are trying to educate marketers on the benefits of aggregating advertising, combining measurable, immediate benefits and indirect influence into one metric. According to Kieran, this move is necessary because direct response metrics worsen over time. And they want to communicate the additional benefits of advertising on their platforms beyond monetary value. This paradigm change will teach marketers to think more thoughtfully about how they measure where they spend their budget and the return on that budget.
Multi-channel and Omni-channel are very different things.
Joel Bransfield, Growth Director at Mediaworks, states that many B2B businesses with a proper CRM system need to track MQLs through to SQLs and understand their conversion rates in the process. He explains that many people think they engage in multi-channel campaigns due to spending on Instagram, Google, or out-of-home. Yet, they must comprehend the necessary steps to create an omnichannel experience. Mullti-channel and omnichannel campaigns are very different things.
How the future looks like in terms of budgets.
Joe Edge believes that the pricing and use of CRM systems have made them more accessible to businesses. This allows for a clearer view of the impact marketing activities have had. For example, he states that it is easier to request budget increases when there is proof of value to which data gives access. More robust business cases can be built up with this data for traditional spaces.
According to Sarah, there is not currently a budget crunch; budgets are not increasing compared to last year, but they are also not decreasing. But clients are making more informed decisions and waiting for evidence before spending. She states that the graph appears to be plateauing and does not anticipate it will go down.
What technology and capabilities do you think B2B marketers need to cultivate to keep up with their counterparts from the B2C industry, who have been leveraging these technologies for 20 years now?
Matthew McGillicuddy identifies the need for creative thinking in B2B marketing, and he believes that companies should invest more in the creative functions of their businesses. He states that this is a key area for opportunity, as it will help to create engaging campaigns and further develop B2B marketing strategies.
Chris Ponting believes that there is a lot to be done with regard to tech stack and business setup. He states that websites are important for varying brands, and an even investment between different areas should be made, including pure marketing spending. He suggests that due to the small pool of target audiences, it is key to make the most out of all the different elements of the journey.
Joel Bransfield comments on the need for improved design and personalization of b2b marketing campaigns. He believes that this is essential to create a more enjoyable marketing experience for users, as opposed to the current trend of recognizable ads on platforms such as LinkedIn.
Kieran suggests that many b2b companies will have to become better at creating content that integrates with internet culture and connects with their target audience. He believes that this can be achieved by taking a more pop culture approach, such as seen in the Fintech industry, where large influencers have made it more entertaining and fun. To create content that users enjoy consuming daily, b2b companies must invest in creating content that is entertaining and engaging.
Join the Precision Punks Community
Access to the slack community of serious B2B advertisers
Chatham House rules ‘Adzact confidential’ events with peers
Private in-person events in London and New York
Exclusive data & learning resources to build your career
