The 5 biggest B2B marketing trends for 2019
The end of 2018 found us thinking about 2019 and the B2B marketing trends that will emerge in the year ahead. Let’s take a closer look to 2019 trends, predictions and new opportunities.
B2B marketing trends for 2019:
1. Create a unified view of customers
Businesses are still missing out by not being able to understand who their customers really are, their behaviour and their journey. In 2019, marketers are anticipated to try to bring together everything they know about their customers by integrating all the different systems a business relies on, for example CRM and marketing automation. It’s becoming more and more important for marketers to have a complete 360-degree customer view and soon this will be a reality.
2. Leverage the power of AI
Remember when all 2017 and 2018 articles referred to Artificial Intelligence as the upcoming trend? AI, being one of the primary drivers of digital marketing innovation, is expected to change from ‘nice to have’ to ‘business essential’. The digital marketing industry is already focused on automating and streamlining operations and cutting costs, so the use of AI would take the B2B marketing industry one step further, by integrating all the knowledge to generate valuable predictions.
3. Employ a strategic approach to content marketing
B2B businesses have been taking advantage of content marketing (in some form or another). The latest research from the Content Marketing Institute found that B2B marketers are shifting towards a more strategic approach to content marketing. Specifically, they will be focusing on creating more original content rich in thought leadership pieces to educate audience.
4. Community building is on the rise
Only ¼ of B2B marketers initiate and encourage conversation with their B2B customer community through forums, social media, online chats, etc. Unlike common beliefs, community building isn’t just for B2C as human-like experiences is what helps people to know who you are and understand what you do. Through building an online community, B2B businesses can demonstrate their commitment to the satisfaction of their followers while also obtain important information on challenges and problems to help improve their services.
5. Implement an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy
In 2019, B2B marketers are expected to create tight marketing and sales alignment through adopting an account-based approach to marketing. ABM perfectly complements and improves the efficiency of many existing marketing practices such as generating quality inbound opportunities, building stronger relationships with clients, reducing the required time for nurturing a lead, building more targeted marketing campaigns with a focus on increased ROI and much more.
