Content Marketing

B2B – get with the program and join the evolution of marketing

B2B businesses may question whether to invest in digital and move with the evolution of marketing, but it must be done. Here's why.



A friend of mine went for a job interview at an agency that creates online educational content for businesses. In her pre-interview research, she was surprised by the lack of links to the agency’s social media channels on their website, so she asked her interviewer about it and was told, “We’re a B2B agency, so we don’t see the need to be on social media.”

 She knows how strongly I feel about B2Bs needing to use digital marketing just as well as their B2C counterparts. Like it or not, the evolution of marketing is causing businesses of all types to re-evaluate their digital presence (or lack thereof). In this post, I’ll persuade you that if you’re a B2B business without a digital marketing plan, you need to get your act together.

You can choose not to use old forms of advertising, but you must adopt the new

From print to radio and TV to digital, advertising has evolved into many forms over the centuries. And with each new modus operandi, comes the pressure for businesses to move with the curve. That said, abandoning all other forms of advertising might not be the best move, especially if a brand is seeing a decent ROI from print or radio ads. Actively choosing not to adopt the newest species in the evolution of marketing, however, is setting yourself and your business up for a rough ride.

You will see results, you just need to be patient

Enough storytelling, let’s talk numbers. According to these stats from the Content Marketing Institute, of the 86% of B2B businesses already doing content marketing, only 38% say it’s effective and even fewer are seeing ROI on it. On the surface that might sound like B2B needn’t evolve alongside B2C marketing, but the reality is quite different. B2B businesses simply need to be patient when it comes to reaping the very real rewards of digital marketing.

Digital marketing is more a process than an action or quick fix – it will take longer than a few weeks or months to get results, but you will see results in two years. And if you think that isn’t good enough, try reflecting on these wise words from Bill Gates: “Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” 

The problem isn’t that B2B digital marketing takes a while to see results, it’s that businesses lack patience.

Not having a digital marketing plan is a huge missed opportunity

Given the amount of time people (your potential customers) spend online, not having a digital marketing plan is not smart. Even though as a B2B enterprise you’re targeting business people and not consumers (i.e., people buying on behalf of a business and making decisions based on reason rather than emotion) you’re still targeting human beings. Those human beings are spending an hour a day on Facebook according to this Business Insider article. Have a digital strategy in place to meet this audience where they are, (you might catch them while they’re stalking their ex) otherwise, you may as well be playing survival of the weakest.

 


 

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