The Future of B2B Marketing: Insights and Findings from 500 B2B Tech Buyers
The B2B marketing landscape has changed.
Factors such as increased competition and economic instability have made sales cycles longer. Buyers face so much low-quality marketing content that they’re starting to tune out most messages. In our quest to help B2B buyers connect better with today’s customers, we surveyed 500 business and IT leaders across North America to learn about their marketing preferences and what inspires trust with vendors.
Here are the top five findings from Nology – State of B2B Marketing for Global Tech report:
1. B2B buying committees are changing.
B2B buying has always been a team sport. But now, there are more players and content involved than ever before.
According to Gartner, the typical B2B buying group includes six to ten decision-makers in every purchase, including procurement, finance, IT, and operations team members.
Each of these buyers self-educates and gathers four to five pieces of content. Then, they get together with the group to recommend and select vendors. Gartner found that 80% of the B2B buying journey involves independent research followed by group discussions.
Each buyer has unique needs and perspectives based on their background or role. This means that B2B marketers must create content that addresses the needs of everyone involved with a buying decision. For example, procurement is less interested in cloud innovations, but do take notice when discussing the pay-as-you-go cloud model and how that will help maintain their budget. To win business, marketers must match the right message with the right buyer.
2. Millennials are making critical buying decisions.
Workplace demographics are shifting, and so are decision-makers. Millennials now fill more than 11 million managerial positions in the U.S. and are responsible for making key purchasing decisions.
LinkedIn refers to these rising B2B leaders as “BETAs (Blurred, Evolved, Technology, Activism).” According to a LinkedIn study, 74% of BETAs are involved with their companies’ buying decisions. They have ultimate decision-making power across various purchases—from IT to employee perks.
LinkedIn also states that since this group has driven vast changes in consumer behaviors, they will do the same in B2B. Research shows that 81% of today’s buyers prefer digital channels over face-to-face. Meanwhile, 63% disregard content that’s not personalized to their interests, needs, industry, or role. BETA buyers want to self-educate, and your content must make this process easier for them by addressing their specific needs.
3. Professionals want more options with events.
In-person events are on the rise, as 63% of marketers plan to host them throughout 2023-2024. This comes with excitement from professionals who are excited about the networking and learning opportunities that these events offer.
However, more than 80% of business and IT leaders prefer the flexibility offered by hybrid events with both in-person and virtual components. A hybrid event can make attendance easier for busy professionals who can’t travel or take time away from the office. They also allow marketers to reach a global audience.
But, with so many virtual event options, event organizers must go above and beyond to ensure their experience is “worth it” for people who attend in person.
4. Opt-in forms will be a thing of the past.
Lengthy forms have long deterred buyers from opting in for B2B content or scheduling product demos. And, with better options available, 34% of decision-makers expect forms to disappear altogether from vendor websites by 2024.
But how do B2B marketers collect information about leads without forms?
Enter the chatbot. More than 70% of B2B buyers have used a chatbot when evaluating solutions. Many found this experience quick and convenient over filling out a form.
With generative AI, the chatbot experience is improving. Generative AI can provide customers with human-like responses and contextually relevant content by predicting customers’ questions based on how the conversation is flowing.
5. AI will review and recommend your solutions.
AI-powered buying is on the rise. By 2024, 76% of IT buyers and 67% of business buyers feel AI will play a significant role in selecting technology for their organizations.
So, what will this look like? Buyers can use AI-enabled procurement processes to search, analyze, and recommend vendors. Some procurement platforms are already starting to incorporate AI to automate sourcing, provide spend analysis, and assess supplier risk factors.
The B2B marketing landscape has dramatically shifted and will continue to do so. To connect with today’s buyers, B2B marketers must adapt to speak to the right audience with the right message, meet the shifting millennial demographics, prioritize preferences towards hybrid settings, and use AI across all facets of B2B marketing. This means learning more about buyers’ current preferences and making decisions based on data, not guesswork.
Get more insights into what today’s B2B buyers want from marketers. Download the Nology – State of B2B Marketing for Global Tech report now.
