A new decade has begun and the 2020 marketing trends are at hand. B2B trends seen through the eyes of expert guests. "If You Market, They Will Come" is a weekly marketing podcast where B2B industry experts discuss every topic of B2B marketing. In it, four key marketing tactics surfaced. These strategies are expected to continue in 2020 and are indispensable for every B2B marketer.
In 2018, 63% of companies used video marketing. Of these, 82% of companies considered it important to their strategy and 83% reported a good ROI from their video marketing efforts. The popularity of video increased significantly in 2019 and is sure to continue an upward trend in 2020. In one of our previous blogs, we showed you how to Optimize the SEO of your YouTube videos ..
Video can come in all shapes and sizes. Anything from 10-second GIFs to hour-long videos (e.g., webinars). Viewers are expected to be more selective in 2020, so high-quality content is key. In doing so, it is important that video content is relevant and personal. It should match the needs of your target audience. Videos should educate, entertain, inform and/or inspire people. If your video does not achieve that, then your target audience will become "desensitized" to video. Even if you use video for content that doesn't actually need to be used as video.
This is trend we see reflected in multiple studies: in 2020, content marketing will become even more popular. The marketing podcast says, "People have been so bombarded with slogans and advertising messages over the years that they have lost trust in companies. Powerful content, especially given by experts in a particular field, is incredibly valuable today. Relevant and personalized content builds trust that leads to more conversions and sales. Like video, it's critical to provide real value to your target audience."
What makes content engaging? Content for content's sake is not enough. Whether it is video, audio or text, an emotion must be created in the reader. In 2020, it's about the personal interactive experience the customer has with your content, making your content engaging enough to stand out among all the competitors. B2B marketing content often does not align with the different stages within the customer journey. The different texts do not always send visitors to the next stage in a logical order. If your content is experiential and engages your audience on a deeper level, your marketing message will have much more impact.
Smart B2B marketers will find ways to offer their audience a better experience at every stage of the customer journey this year. In our blog last year, we already provided some tips to improve your content marketing. One of the best and fastest growing methods to give your prospects a great experience with content marketing is to start your own podcast. Almost a quarter of all podcast listeners have started in the past six months. Moreover, 51% of the U.S. population over the age of 12 has listened to a podcast.
As in 2019, it is expected that sales and marketing funnels will likely continue to merge in 2020, resulting in the customer journey will become more personal. Laura Patterson of Vision Edge described in a podcast "Because business purchases are generally more complex than B2C interactions, the customer journey in B2B is even more important than that of B2C. These purchases often require consultation and coordination with a manager or director.
Last year, the number of B2B buyers who said they found interaction with a sales representative valuable when gathering information on their own was slightly higher. Despite the fact that more transactions will take place digitally in 2020, the fusion between sales reps and digital should also increase. This trend should prompt the sales team to look at solutions to increase the value of their product/service with greater involvement of a real person in transactions.
The increased value of being more personal, and human as a company, is a big part within merging the sales and marketing funnels.
Bottom line: As automated interactions increase, human interaction will become even more important.
Product Centric marketing focuses on the vendor's product. Consumer Centric Marketing focuses on the customer's needs and wants. Since marketing is driven by providing a good experience to the customer, Consumer Centric is the preferred marketing method in 2020. The creation of products and content that want a pain point or need from your targets will naturally contribute to an enjoyable experience for prospects. The focus is on customer experience and addressing the customer's immediate needs. This will be one of the biggest marketing trends in B2B marketing in 2020.
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