Here at the halfway point of 2019, we’re getting a clearer picture of the B2B marketing strategies that are currently leading the pack. We’re also starting to see the outlines of the ones that will likely make a big splash in the months ahead.
If your marketing strategy feels like it’s out of step with the times — or doesn’t yet exist — here are ten up-and-coming strategies you’ll want to take into consideration.
1: Outbound Marketing
It’s often the case that once awareness grows around newer marketing methodologies, some buyers shy away from them, and the traditional methods see a resurgence. This may be the case right now with inbound and outbound marketing. We think that a truly effective and well-rounded marketing campaign needs to do both, but don’t give outbound marketing the short shrift just because it might seem outdated.
2: Employee Advocacy
For a huge number of internet users, social media is their one-stop shop for everything they do online. At the same time, trust in social media is in a bit of a downward spiral.
One way of doing an end-run around social media users’ suspicions is employee advocacy. Employee advocacy is most effective when it reaches users who know the employee, either personally or by reputation, and have a reason to trust their opinions.
3: Business-to-User Marketing (B2U)
This is a fairly new way to employ inbound tactics for B2B marketing, particularly with software companies. Unlike inbound marketing, B2U marketing doesn’t concern itself with shepherding decision makers toward a final answer. Instead, B2U marketing emphasizes introducing solutions to end users.
4: Direct Media Buys
Many users have high levels of trust and respect toward established industry publications. Those publications are able to amass high-quality user data. Because of those two factors, we believe that marketing strategies focusing on direct media purchases from industry publications are likely to provide a substantial return on investment.
5: Influencer and Co-Marketing
We’re living in the age of the influencer, and Instagram is still the capital of their kingdom. A marketing strategy that isn’t getting any likes or shares from us would be one that ignores the unique reach and appeal of social media influencers, and the many possibilities afforded by co-marketing.
Strategy 6: In-House Conferences
It’s great to have a booth at an established industry conference, but if you really want to set the tone and shape the message, create one yourself. Find a venue, publicize the conference, and bring in your target audience. As the host and creator of the conference, you’ll be in charge of lead generation, quality control, the speakers, and every other aspect of the experience.
7: Put Sales Development Under Marketing
Moving sales development under marketing is a good way to have sales development representatives more focused on lead generation.
8: Brand Awareness
As short-term digital marketing tactics become more familiar and less effective, companies keep falling back on brand awareness as a tactic with proven value. Many recent studies have shown the effectiveness of brand awareness over time for generating leads and keeping acquisition costs down.
9: Time Management
Want to get the most out of your marketing dollars? Don’t make your budget too front-heavy. In other words, don’t spend too much at the beginning, when the marketing campaign is just getting off the ground.
10: Content Retargeting
There’s no excuse for losing leads if you can verify their social media identities. Serve ads back to them with a content retargeting program, get remembered, and bring them back into the fold.
Conclusion
There are many ways to market yourself, and in a perfect world you could use all of them simultaneously, and only pay for the ones that generate good leads. Since you can’t do that, do the next best thing: make thoughtful, strategic choices based on solid data analytics, your customers, and your best judgment.
