Essential B2B Marketing Trends in 2017

In 6 points…

1. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Not long ago the hype around Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has started – with most top experts in marketing approving it is the next big thing in B2B marketing. Building marketing target account list for ABM techniques is a shift for many marketers, who have been typically targeting buyer personas (decision makers).

It has been proved that companies practicing ABM have better alignment with sales, often close bigger deals with target accounts, and increase pipeline velocity. ABM, which used to be a strategy employed by only a few big companies to target a few big accounts, is having its breakout moment. If you haven't this year, definitely explore and get ready to plan ABM for 2018.

2. Data-Driven Marketing and Analytics

With advanced B2B analytic tools and external data sources available today marketers can build a complete picture of the customer journey develop new opportunities for monetization and increasing sales for organizations. Predictive lead scoring techniques, which use data models from traditional data sources and third-party sources, are able to precisely evaluate buying intent of our customers. Predictive scoring of marketing automation programs has proven to have substantially increased the revenue within the first two years.

3. Influencer Marketing

I personally love influencer marketing as it has a lot of »working with people« aspect to it, when building and retaining relationships with influencers; it also creates a nice learning curve (usually both ways) within the collaboration process. Marketing influencers are experts and »celebrities« in their respective fields, who help us communicate the benefits of our organization to our potential customers. These influencers can boost a company’s message with their own influential audience and raise credibility of our brands.

But do not forget establishing your own organizations' influencers as well – experts in the field who build their personal brand through speaking opportunities at events and continuous exposure through thought-leadership content in media and digital channels.

4. Video »everywhere«

A trend in marketing, importance of which most of us already know; video has been key marketing channel over the past few years. We have seen short-version videos in digital space become more prominent in B2B with brand videos, client testimonials and video blogs.

However, this year we have and will also see more organizations investing in long-form video content, such as video shows and series (see example Intel’s Meet the Makers mini-documentary series), video in content marketing, and use of live streaming tools to broadcast live events. Live streaming tools - such as Twitter's Periscope, Facebook Live, Livestream, Ustream and Instagram Live Video - open up endless possibilities for showcasing live events, product demonstrations, Q&A panels and “behind the scenes” tours.

5. Advocacy programs

Customer references comprise one of the most valued assets of marketing & sales, yet even large organizations often lack a systematic approach for implementing effective customer reference programs. The references of our customers represent the most trusted source of information »with no agenda« to buyer’s purchasing decisions. Without strong references, B2B sales cycles can get very costly with proof-of-concept studies and other time-consuming activities. Good references of existing customers help new prospects reduce the risk of their purchase high-eur-value decisions. This is nothing new for 2017, but if you haven't yet, get to work - help provide those reference stories and use them on digital marketing channels.

6. Employer branding and recruitment marketing

For many B2B companies - especially those who provide services - finding, attracting and retaining top talent is one of the biggest challenges they are facing today. This isn’t a new issue and HR professionals have been focused on employer branding, employee engagement and talent acquisition strategies for years – in close collaboration with marketing.

According to PWC’s 19th Annual Global CEO Survey, 73% of CEOs are concerned about the availability of key skills. Employer Branding Academy reports 62% of global talent leaders said employer branding was their biggest priority in 2016. And as the war for talent intensifies, these initiatives have become an even larger priority and firms are starting to turn to marketing for help.

Marketing and HR collaboration makes complete sense, as many of HR’s objectives align perfectly with marketing’s skill set. While the audience and “product” are obviously much different, the principles of employer branding and recruitment marketing are innately strategic marketing principles. These initiatives are most effectively accomplished leveraging the best of digital marketing tactics. HR initiatives are starting to appear in many B2B marketing plans and budgets.

In addition to my own writing the following sources were used: article by Tim Asimos, Circle Studio; B2B Marketing article by Jada Balster; MarTech, article by Rachel Balik.