The Future Of B2B Marketing / By @TheCoolestCool

A LOOK AT WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS: THE FUTURE

OF B2B MARKETING

ROSS SIMMONDS | WWW.ROSSSIMMONDS.COM

Spoiler Alert! You’ll never succeed in

marketing if you continue to

embrace the past without

looking forward to the future.

Essentially, you need to be constantly thinking about where the puck is going,

instead of sitting back and hoping it will come to you.

Here’s a little good news:Keeping up with the trends and

the future of marketing is becoming easier and easier.

Sure, trends are happening more rapidly, but the

CONNECTIVITY OF MINDS

from around the world is making it easier to stay ahead of the curve.

OVER THE YEARS, THE ENTIRE SALES AND MARKETING PROCESS

FOR B2B AND ENTERPRISE ORGANIZATIONS HAS

These companies are no longer armed with

information that is hidden from the public and sales

teams are no longer in the driver seat.

i iii

i

With information more readily available, leads and prospects now hold the power and the increase in competition has resulted in a plentiful supply of choice.

B2B

Beyond that, technology has completely disrupted the once linear buying process

and behaviour of B2B customers.

This change has forced marketers to become more strategic and efficient

in their approach.

Here’s a few trends that I believe are going to redefine

B2B marketing over the next few years:

A LOOK AT WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS:THE FUTURE OF B2B MARKETING

1Social Data Starts To Drive Conversion 2 Personalized

Tracking Hitsthe Real World

3Big Data StartsDriving MeaningfulIntellegence 4 Growth Hacking

Goes from B2C to B2B

SOCIAL DATA STARTS TO DRIVE CONVERSION


Every minute, the amount of data being distributed and created on social media channels is growing.

Relationship data companies like Introhive and RelateIQ have already started to unlock the power of this data for sales teams. It’s time for relationship data to arm the marketing departments with insights that drive results.


The professional social network, LinkedIn, is a powerful B2B marketing tool.

Business Insider shared a leaked report in which LinkedIn highlighted plans to build a $1 billion B2B marketing business by 2017. The plan highlights the predicted role that social data will play in the future of B2B marketing and is one that every B2B marketer should read.


Imagine for a second that your connections list on LinkedIn becomes a CRM system.

Imagine having the ability to tag someone on LinkedIn as a potential prospect and then automate outreach and conversations with these individuals over the course of 3-6 months.

For example, you could create your own system that automatically sends out personalized “Congrats On The New Job” when a user changes their position on LinkedIn and would be able to test the different automated messages to see which works best.


Imagine the data you’d be able to compile as the administrator of your company page.

You could pull insights that include trends in which companies are adding your employees to LinkedIn and how many of your employees are actually leveraging LinkedIn to communicate potential prospects.


On top of that, the insights could share broad, yet actionable data surrounding the types of prospects that have looked at your company page in the last 365 days.

All of this data ultimately arms managers and executives with the ability to better understand their workforce and develop strategies that will drive conversion.


Furthermore, insights into what types of organizations are viewing your profile would give you the ability to be more strategic in advertising.

Layer in the ability to automate messages to these users when they visit your company page and you’re instantly presented with a quality opportunity to turn strangers into customers.

PERSONALIZED TRACKING HITS THE REAL WORLD


Imagine you’re walking down the street and you see a digital billboard for the pair of shoes you’ve been looking at online.

Imagine that the website you were visiting has the ability to track you in the real world because you happened to visit it using your mobile phone which is now traceable.


Now let’s imagine that you’re walking into a conference and upon your arrival, you see a welcome sign from one of the brands competing for your business.

And yes, it doesn’t just say Welcome To The Conference, it says your name at the end of the sentence.

WELCOME,JIM!

Imagine for a second that your connections list on LinkedIn becomes a CRM system.

Imagine having the ability to tag someone on LinkedIn as a potential prospect and then automate outreach and conversations with these individuals over the course of 3-6 months.

For example, you could create your own system that automatically sends out personalized “Congrats On The New Job” when a user changes their position on LinkedIn and would be able to test the different automated messages to see which works best.


This is what the future of personalized tracking could look like. As a consumer, you might be thinking this is going to be invasive and creepy.

As a brand or marketer, you need to think of the possibilities that this could open up for new touch points and new areas of conversion.

WELCOME,JIM!


In the future, the way we browse the web will be similar to the way in which we browse the world.

The personalized experience we have online when we leave one website to the next will be replicated in the real world and shift from solely being a B2C opportunity to being an important driver of B2B success.

WELCOME,JIM!

BIG DATA STARTS DRIVING MEANINGFUL INTELLIGENCE

BIG DATA

+

=


Today, one of the biggest challenges associated with big data is the marketing teams’ ability to assess and determine what information is worthwhile.


A study from eMarketer.com found that 71% of marketers were interested in adding predictive analytics around the lifetime value of customers to their customer data profile – figuring out who would be their best customers moving forward and possibly even how to attract more of these customers.


The most innovative and forward thinking companies are already using big data to learn about their customers and use this information to drive results.

The majority of these organizations consists of SaaS products, social networks, mobile apps and other forms of software.

Now let’s imagine that you’re walking into a conference and upon your arrival, you see a welcome sign from one of the brands competing for your business.

And yes, it doesn’t just say Welcome To The Conference, it says your name at the end of the sentence.


The fact that these organizations are built on innovative technology makes it an easier sell and a more logical decision to capitalize on big data.

That said, all B2B organizations can benefit from the power of Big Data when their plan is implemented correctly.

This is what the future of personalized tracking could look like. As a consumer, you might be thinking this is going to be invasive and creepy.

As a brand or marketer, you need to think of the possibilities that this could open up for new touch points and new areas of conversion.


For example, a HR firm could quickly leverage insights around their existing clients and the strength and weaknesses in their recruitment tactics.

Big Data can uncover insights like identifying which channels the best recruits come from, what types of emails tend to perform better during the first contact or what type of clients tend to be the better fit for this firm.


All of these insights will be captured by implementing the right technologies and help companies ranging from Human Resources to Industrial Relations unlock insights about their organizations that they’d never seen before.

GROWTH HACKING GOES FROM B2C TO B2B

GROWTH HACKING

TECHNOLOGYMARKETING

Today, one of the biggest challenges associated with big data is the marketing teams’ ability to assess and determine what information is worthwhile.


Many B2B marketing teams are still thinking about B2B marketing as a linear process between inspiration and acquisition.

In reality, the process for converting a B2B lead into a customer is becoming more and more challenging as time goes on.


The emergence of companies like DropBox and Yammer has resulted in blurred lines between products that solely serve B2B and those that serve the B2C market.

As a result, organizations of all shapes and sizes must be aware of the challenges and opportunities that exist in a world where brands are more connected and consumers are more empowered.

The most innovative and forward thinking companies are already using big data to learn about their customers and use this information to drive results.

The majority of these organizations consists of SaaS products, social networks, mobile apps and other forms of software.


Enter the world of Growth Hacking. Coined by Sean Ellis of GrowthHackers.com, a Growth Hacker is a person whose true north is growth.

Sure, traditional marketers and marketing teams have always considered growth as one of their pillars of attention, but a Growth Hacker has one singular goal. The true power of a growth hacker is found in their obsessive focus on growth. Presenting the opportunity to ignore almost everything else, these individuals can achieve the one task that matters most.


Hubspot, one of the leaders in Marketing Automation generates a staggering 1 million visitors and over 60,000 leads through their website every single month. The team at Hubspot has been able to attract this massive growth through a combination of free tools and content marketing. Growth hackers are individuals who look for opportunities like tool development and content marketing and use them to help organizations succeed.


In the future, growth hackers will be an integral part of the B2B landscape as they also play a role in helping organization create an optimized sales funnel.

For example, when a customer signs up for your product, how do you ensure word of mouth?

$$$


If you’re like most B2B professionals, you simply ask your new customer to keep you in mind and then get down on your knees and pray that they actually send leads your way.

A growth hacker understands that referrals are the most important and most effective driver of new business, but also has the skillset to craft more effective and efficient referral programs for your organization and company.

IT’S DEFINITELY NO EASY TASK TO

IDENTIFY WHAT TRENDS WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS BUT IT’S

DEFINITELY A LOT OF FUN.

THE FUTURE OF MARKETING IS

EXCITING!

B2B marketers will be given opportunities to achieve higher quality real results quicker than ever before.EXCITING!

B2B

Will you be at the front of the change driving results for your

company?

B2B

Or the one reacting to the changes that the future brings?

It’s never too late to get

ahead of the game.

SO TAKE THESE INSIGHTS, BEGIN THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH

YOUR MARKETING TEAMS, AND

SHAKE THINGS

UP

@TheCoolestCool

www.rosssimmonds.com

S.S B2B