In our previous blog post, we have covered digital marketing trends. With the new year, we also want to discuss the B2B marketing trends of 2022. Let's discover them together in 10 steps. Remember to follow the tips as well!
The growing importance of videos
A 2017 Cisco report predicted that by 2022, videos would make up 82% of all internet traffic.
Now it's 2022… Video has become the fastest-growing content type used by 80% of marketers worldwide, reaching the top. 84% of purchasing agents say they've been more convinced to invest in a product or service when watching a promotional or comparison video.
Tip – When you share the videos on your website with an "embed code", you can track your video's performance.
Social media is everywhere
With 4.48 billion active users worldwide, social media is at the top of the list of rising trends in 2022. According to Hubspot's year-end research, social media outperformed e-mails and company websites by being the number one marketing channel in 2021.
Tip – When you share the videos on your website with an "embed code", you can track your video's performance.
The proliferation of omnichannel marketing
Now, B2B buyers await more demanding and B2C-inspired brand and customer experiences. Sadly, finding the best platform for well-addressed B2B marketing efforts alone is not enough. You also need to offer your customers multiple options to interact with your company. In fact, McKinsey considers "being omnichannel not an exception but a necessity."
Tip - These channels include face-to-face, phone, e-mail, live chat, social media, website forms, and more!
The increased use of artificial intelligence (AI)?
As a key component of data strategies, AI will strengthen its position in the 2022 marketing world. AI is expected to make swifter and more precise decisions compared to humans, deliver better insights and faster analysis, anticipate customer needs and behaviours, customize campaigns, and automate and streamline routine tasks, thus enabling more efficient and smarter marketing processes.
Tip - The first and most essential step of joining the AI world can be via chatbots!
Current customers are now more valuable
Although continually acquiring new customers is a must to expand profit margins and grow business, retaining available customers during periods with high uncertainties and poor stability provides the sustainability of your business. While building deeper relationships with current customers, topics to be emphasized include comprehensive and accurate customer data, data-driven account profiling and identification, customized messaging and marketing, and customer experience development.
Tip - Marketing and sales teams need to work in cooperation - not side-by-side! - to help the success of these strategies that combine today with the future.
The return of events
We have welcomed 2022 with COVID-19 as well. For now, we do not know whether and when the pandemic loses its effect. However, many changes, including reduced travel, working from home, and virtual meetings, introduced into our lives by the virus will indeed become permanent. Yet we also have good news: Although their form is changed, events, a significant pre-pandemic item of marketing budgets, will also occupy a critical place in our lives in 2022. Now, the success of these new virtual and/or hybrid events is evaluated according to the quality of the participation, not its crowdedness. That means what's important is not the number of participants but how much demand an event creates...
Tip - Enhancing the technical quality and leveraging the benefits of holding events digitally with additional features is required to achieve successful virtual events. We recommend you have a look at JakoMeet.
Digitization is accelerating, but wait! Where are the cookies?
We seem to hear you say,"More cookies?". Yes! Digital trends, which have accelerated with the recent advancements, are not projected to slow down. While marketing technologies (MarTech) are expanding, marketing professionals are provided with more power with tools offered "as a service" by cloud technologies. However, Google Chrome's ban on transaction tracking between websites via cookies is among the primary changes that will affect marketers in 2022's online world.
Tip - Creating user IDs without third-party cookies is also doable by using data obtained from first-party data, social media, e-mail, and other digital platforms.
Customer orientation is at the heart of growth strategy!
We have previously mentioned the recent demand of B2B buyers for B2C experiences. Buyers particularly want this acceleration to happen, but they also increasingly value the seamless and uninterrupted B2B processes - just like they expect from the retailers like Amazon and services like Netflix. In 2022, B2C-inspired and CX-focused B2Bs will gain a competitive advantage.
Tip - Here are some fundamental concepts to become customer-oriented: Options, omnichannel marketing, hyper-targeting, and customized services & products.
Mobile-first marketing strategies offer advantages
The current number of smartphone users in the world today is 6.4 billion. Moreover, 80% of online shoppers use their mobile phones to either look up product reviews or compare prices. Research shows that the shift to online and, thus, mobile-first marketing strategies will resume in 2022. Therefore, designing a user-friendly, mobile-focused experience with the ability to streamline the customer journey for both existing and potential customers is significant, all the more so.
Tip - Mobile device optimization boosts your brand's target-reaching and engagement while allowing you to improve customer experience via customization.
Preserving employee loyalty is now more important
B2B companies also pay more regard to employee loyalty practices to cope with the "Great Resignation" wave of the pandemic and retain their best talent. Research shows that employee loyalty can assist business development, boost sales, enhance customer experience & satisfaction, lower customer loss, and drive profitability. Remember: Your employees are your best brand ambassadors!
Tip - Brands can adapt the practices addressed for their customers to enhance employee loyalty (such as listening to their employees' feedback and creating solutions accordingly, designing the employee journey, focusing on advancing communication and engagement).
Digital is both the present and future of B2B!
Well... Although the pandemic occupied an important place in our lives with its oppressive elements in 2020-21, it is still here. Despite introducing many negativities, it also smoothed the path for the digital world. Besides, it also presented a chance to open the door to new methods and approaches. Digital marketing is growing, evolving, and uncovering new ways. Especially B2B trends point out B2C. Thus, it is read as further use of customized applications in B2B marketing. Although developing technologies provide conveniences for marketing teams, employing every key competency within an organization is not always possible. Here, digital agencies come in. Growth-oriented agencies with creative works and comprehensive technical know-how streamline the efforts of both B2B and B2C marketing teams.
