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B2B Marketing

What does excellence look like in B2B Marketing?
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According to recent research, 82% of business leaders find B2B marketing boring – and 88% of CEOs want a bold, contrarian or provocative approach. That’s fine, says Workbooks’ CEO John Cheney, but execution is just as important as strategy. Before going wild with an innovative B2B marketing strategy, it is vital to put in place the marketing engine and ensure the current ‘people, process and technology’ is set up to effectively deliver campaigns and gain real value from creativity… 

Executing strategy

On the one hand, 60% of B2B marketers face reduced or stagnant budgets in 2023. On the other, marketers are being called to tackle the risk averse culture within the B2B industry. CEOs want the marketing team to take a radical approach to the look and feel of the brand, build synchronicity between different arms of the business to pool creative ideas, even create more intense emotions to drive B2B buying behaviour.

But while this call for change provides marketers with an apparently unchecked opportunity to unleash their creative talents, the reality of B2B marketing is that the business will always be looking for a return on investment and tangible proof of value. And that means the execution is just as important as the marketing strategy: however innovative or just plain ‘out there’, if the business cannot run email or Google Advertising campaigns, if it can’t track leads or benefit from trade shows, all that creative thinking will be pointless.

So, what does good really look like when it comes to B2B marketing? Where does technology, including CRM, fit in? And what steps should a company take to make the most of stretched marketing budgets this year?

Step 1: Self assess to identify execution shortfall

It is vital to honestly assess the current marketing set-up when executing campaigns. How good is the business at running digital advertising campaigns? What is the SEO benchmark, and how is SEO performance measured? How effectively are Marketing Qualified Opportunities turned into Sales Qualified Opportunities? How are results tracked? How are sales measured against different marketing activities?

Whether the focus is brand awareness or lead generation – the team needs to both effectively run campaigns and measure the results. The data provided by every campaign is key to the evolution of the marketing strategy, so without that, the B2B marketing process cannot improve. Honestly assessing and then improving any underperforming areas is essential if the business is to truly benefit from the next marketing strategy.

Step 2: Consider technology from a place of success

There are so many marketing technologies available, it is easy to get distracted by the latest innovation. But technology can only accelerate what a business is already doing. So, if the marketing execution process is already working well, adding technology will enhance that process and deliver benefits. If marketing is not working well, tech will simply help the business to do the wrong thing faster: more useless leads, more hits on the landing page that bounce straight off again.

When the execution process aligns with the business goals – the target personas and value propositions – the addition of technology can fast track execution and support the evolution of the marketing strategy.  Using CRM for example, to join up information across the entire sales and marketing process not only transforms B2B marketing activity but also provides the insight required to support ongoing strategy development.

Step 3: Leverage feedback data to support creative strategy

The general perception of marketing is that it is all about creativity, logos and brand awareness. But marketing is actually all about revenue. Without the foundation of ‘execute, measure, learn’, it all falls apart. In addition to using the data provided by effective marketing execution, creating a strong feedback mechanism with the sales team can rapidly highlight the value of leads and provide insight into where plans can be refined to drive additional value.

Conclusion

Innovative, creative campaigns can be hugely exciting, but before turning up the investment dial it is essential that the marketing engine has the capacity to execute well. With marketing execution in place, including the right people, processes and technology, a company can apply a raft of different marketing strategies to reflect and deliver on business goals.

Second Lockdown, Greater Support ‐ 20% off marketing retainers for 3 months
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CCM Group increases marketing offering as a bid to support businesses through a turbulent time…

CCM Group has been providing continued support for businesses throughout the duration of the ongoing global pandemic. Whether it’s small companies who simply need to stay afloat, or bigger businesses who have had to cut back on their marketing activity, CCM’s aim has remained the same – to enable greatness and to help those less fortunate throughout an unsettling and uncertain time.

CCM Group is a rapidly growing, people-focused set of companies; all centred on innovation and excellence, and CCM Creative is its B2B function. Providing customers with creative, marketing and print services as well as offering high quality merchandise and fulfilment services, the CCM Creative team pride themselves on their wealth of experience, their client portfolio and their flexible service and pricing offering which enables customers to build a bespoke package which is tailored specifically to their budget and individual requirements.

So far, CCM Creative has provided free marketing audits; worth almost £1000, free marketing advice and even a free rebrand – and their latest offering consists of substantial discounts on their marketing and creative services. Throughout November and December, new and existing customers can take advantage of 20% off retainer marketing services for 3 months, 25% off marketing audits and 4 x FREE bespoke graphics with all social media packages!

The marketing audits have recently been launched as a brand new service due to popular demand, and CCM Creative are offering these at a hugely discounted price of just £730 plus VAT until the end of December. Audit recipients can expect to see a full website analysis, a comprehensive review of social media activity, competitor analysis and much more. CCM Creative also includes free, professional recommendations on how to utilise and implement an improved marketing plan within the audits, making them an unmissable and invaluable resource during a time when keeping your business relevant and visible is more important than ever.

CCM Creative offers the full marketing mix – from email marketing, social media management, graphic design and analytics, to SEO, website design, animation and photography services and their client portfolio covers a vast array of industries. With a flexible ‘pick n mix’ style pricing structure and prices starting from just £40 plus VAT, CCM Creative has an offering suitable for all budgets. 

To take advantage of these offers or to find out more about CCM Group, head to www.weareccm.co.uk, email marketing@weareccm.co.uk or call 01623 625222.

B2B marketers failing to drive multi-channel campaigns
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B2B marketers struggle to create and deliver multi-channel campaigns that successfully align with their marketing strategy.

This is despite an understanding that the ‘Integration Imperative’ is critical to achieving marketing goals, maximising exposure with target audiences and boosting return on investment.

That’s according to a survey by B2B agency Skout, which polled 100 senior UK marketing professionals and found that 63% feel they are not taking advantage of the different marketing channels available to them.

46% struggle to integrate channels, claiming that this is the biggest obstacle to successfully delivering their marketing activities.

Failure to create content that can actually be used across multiple channels was also identified as a challenge to successful integrated marketing.

40% of marketers don’t reuse content because they feel that it’s unsuitable for other formats, while 35% are concerned that content has lost its value after its initial use and don’t believe it can be used again.

32% blame ineffective campaign planning for not reusing content, suggesting that many marketers don’t fully consider their goals and objectives before developing content programmes.

Interestingly, 42% of marketers agree that using multiple marketing channels is the most important aspect of campaign integration. In comparison, 40% believe it’s the need for marketingand sales alignment and for 36% the imperative is good teamwork. Despite this, respondents admitted to not using content effectively.

For example, 85% of marketers think that case studies should be created for use across many channels for maximum impact. This could include video, podcast, website testimonials, long form PDFs and press stories all from one source. However, many felt these crucial content assets are significantly underutilised.

Reassuringly, 80% of marketing professionals agree that PR is a vital element of improving SEO and link building alongside building targeted brand awareness. 87% also agree that developing a PR programme can also improve social media performance.

However, 57% still struggle to integrate PR, social media, SEO and link building when planning and strategising. Over half of respondents understand the value of integrating channels – both online and offline – but many don’t know how to do it effectively, or feel that they can convey a consistent message across all outlets to achieve campaign goals.

97% of marketeers surveyed identified training, skills and budgets as the things holding them back from improved integrated marketing. Only 16% feel that they are equipped with sufficient training and skills, while just one in five believe that they have the adequate budget in place to support integrated marketing.

Claire Lamb, Director of Skout, said: “Clearly marketers realise the benefits of using multiple channels within their marketing programmes but many are struggling to integrate them effectively. If a business fails to communicate through all the correct channels to reach their audience they’re limiting the exposure of their content and brand. It’s also crucial to integrate Paid, Earned, Owned and Social media, so that they maximise their target audiences in more ways than one. If businesses don’t embrace and work across all channels together, their content won’t gain maximum reach, and they could miss out on new prospects.”

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

Are marketers acquiring enough value from customer data?
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According to new joint research published by B2B Marketing and Avention, just 21 per cent of B2B marketers believe their organisations are getting the most out of customer data; in addition, 67 per cent of the 100 B2B marketers surveyed in the ‘Can marketers see what’s coming next?’ report admitting to not extracting sufficient value from the data they have pertaining to customer purchases, preferences and activities.

Furthermore, regarding the reasons behind these failures, 34 per cent claimed to regret their lack of accuracy in the data sets; and 33 per cent said some of the data collected was not appropriately recorded.

Head of content at B2B marketing, Alex Aspinall, said: “This should be the primary concern for anyone struggling to make headway with the data challenge: disparate data sets are of use to no one.

He continued: “A concerted effort is required from everyone involved with the recording, analysis and retrieval of customer data within an organisation to be singing from the same hymn sheet. Inter-departmental alignment on data practices and processes must be established, and respected, if progress is to be made in this area.”

Download the full report here

B2B marketers can assess ‘video body language’ with new tool…
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The video intelligence platform for businesses, Vidyard, has introduced its new ‘Engage’ tool that claims to ‘extend the power’ of video beyond marketing to sales, support, customer success and other teams across an organisation.

Primarily targeted to B2B marketers, the tool allows a follow up email video sent via Gmail or Outlook email to reach a potential customer; the same methodology as attaching a PDF or Word document file. Therefore, the tool will then notify the sender of what content was viewed; how long it was viewed and which parts were skipped or replayed.

Co-founder and CEO of Vidyard, Michael Litt, said: “Video is the most effective way to connect with modern B2B buyers, and it can also offer incredible insight into the interests and intent of each individual viewer.”

He continued: “Despite its success as a strategic marketing tool, video remains an untapped resource for helping sales reps close more deals or building better relationships with existing clients. We’re addressing this head-on by making it simple for customer-facing teams to share key video assets from right inside their inbox and use viewer engagement data to better understand their audience.”

Read more about Vidyard’s product offering here

ANA: B2B marketers need to ‘step up’ their game in order to succeed…
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The US-based Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has concluded from their recent research that marketers specialising in the B2B sector have a duty to uphold strong leadership skills and ‘deep’ marketing experience in order to drive brand awareness, customer loyalty and ‘play a key role’ in sales operations.

The online survey, which was conducted in partnership with the market and consumer information group, GFK and represented 237 B2B professionals, found that 39 per cent believe their roles are to ensure that the voice of the customer shapes the business strategy and to bring expert marketing competencies to the table. However, marketers also indicated that they are struggling to be viewed as important and strategic assets; fearing that all efforts made are viewed only as an extension of their companies’ sales divisions.

CEO and president of the ANA, Bob Liodice, said: “Our study shows that B2B marketers have much to offer, but that message is not getting through to the right people within their own organisations. These marketers need to implement growth leadership initiatives, put forth a clear vision of their brands, and develop strategies to remove barriers.”

The survey also found that only 42 per cent hold a position the ‘top management’ board of a company, and 37 per cent of respondents enjoy strong recommendation from senior management. Meanwhile, 35 per cent claim that senior management professionals are highly focused on the product and price; ignoring customer insights.

Read more on the research, including the ANA’s top recommendations, here